VA and FHA Appraisal Repairs in El Paso
Updated August 2026
Two out of three El Paso home purchases are financed with a government-backed loan, which is what Fort Bliss does to a housing market. When your buyer is using VA or FHA, the appraiser can call out physical conditions that have to be corrected before the loan is eligible. Sage completes those items on the contract clock and hands you a written record the underwriter can read. Registered with the City of El Paso, LCCR26-00183, insured and bonded. Call 915-505-1323.
Why this comes up more here than almost anywhere.
65.9%
Government-backed share · El Paso purchase originations · 2025
In 2025, lenders reported 8,387 originated home-purchase mortgages in the El Paso metro area: 35.8 percent FHA, 29.0 percent VA, 1.1 percent USDA, and 34.1 percent conventional. Government-backed loans accounted for 65.9 percent of purchase originations, against 31.8 percent statewide in Texas. Narrow it to owner-occupied, first-lien, site-built single-family purchases and the government-backed share is 72.9 percent.
So an appraisal condition is not an edge case in this market. It is the ordinary path a deal takes, and the reason it derails closings here more than it does in most of the country.
Source: FFIEC and CFPB HMDA Data Browser, 2025 Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset, El Paso TX metro area, published 23 June 2026. HMDA covers lenders meeting federal reporting thresholds and Snapshot figures are provisional.
What appraisers call out most often on El Paso homes.
Every item on that list is work Sage may advertise
Not one of them is a separately licensed trade in Texas. That is not a coincidence, and it is the reason this page exists. The conditions that hold up VA and FHA closings in El Paso are almost entirely general contracting scope, so one contractor can carry the whole list against one deadline instead of you chasing four vendors. When something genuinely electrical, plumbing, or mechanical does appear, Sage brings the licensed trade and manages it alongside the rest.
Peeling paint, and why the year built decides it.
This is the item most commonly published wrong, and VA revised it in February 2026. On a VA loan, defective paint on a dwelling built in 1978 or later is normally considered cosmetic. That changed the older rule, which required repair of exterior defective paint exposing the subsurface to the elements.
Before 1978, which is most of the older El Paso neighborhoods, the opposite applies. Lead-based paint must be presumed present, any defective lead-based paint is a safety hazard that must be remediated, and cost is not an acceptable reason to waive it. Defective means cracking, scaling, peeling, chipping, or loose paint, not intact paint.
VA allows two treatments: the surface is thoroughly washed, scraped, wire brushed or otherwise cleaned to remove all cracking, scaling, peeling, chipping and loose paint and then repainted with two coats of a suitable nonleaded paint, or, where the integrity of the surface cannot be maintained, the paint is completely removed or the surface covered with a suitable material.
FHA runs its own rule on the same wall. Federal regulation requires the appraiser to inspect a dwelling built before 1978 for defective paint surfaces, and where found, the paint must be covered or removed. FHA is explicit that washing and repainting without thorough removal or covering is not adequate treatment, and that machine sanding and open-flame methods such as propane or gasoline torches are prohibited.
A separate obligation sits on the contractor
VA and FHA set what the property must look like. EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule separately governs how the work may be performed on pre-1978 housing, and it binds the contractor rather than the loan. Work disturbing a painted surface on those homes is performed by an EPA-certified firm under Sage's management. The two requirements are independent and satisfying one does not satisfy the other. More on how repairs run on older El Paso homes.
Sources: VA Pamphlet 26-7 Chapter 12, Minimum Property Requirement, version effective for appraisals ordered on or after 1 May 2026, Topics 32 and 21; 24 CFR 200.805 and 200.810; HUD Handbook 4000.1.
Appraisal, condition, correction, funding.
On an FHA loan the appraiser notes the repairs needed together with an estimated cost to cure, and the FHA-approved lender determines whether the property satisfies the Minimum Property Requirements. The appraiser provides preliminary verification; the determination is the lender's. Repairs generally have to be completed before the mortgage is eligible for insurance, with limited exceptions such as 203(k) rehabilitation loans and properties in Presidentially-Declared Major Disaster Areas.
On a VA loan the property must meet the Minimum Property Requirements before VA will guarantee the loan. Repairs can be escrowed and completed after closing, but they must be finished and the escrowed funds released before VA guarantees. A veteran may also request a waiver of specific repairs after the Notice of Value is issued, if the lender concurs and the property is still habitable in terms of safety, structural soundness, and sanitation. VA will not waive a lead-based paint repair for cost.
One practical note that saves arguments: an FHA appraisal returned as-is does not by itself mean the property needs no repairs. As-is is also required when establishing value for a 203(k), when a property is recommended for rejection, and in pre-foreclosure, claims-without-conveyance, and REO transactions.
Sage does not determine VA, FHA, or lender compliance and will never tell you an item is or is not required. Appraisers, lenders, and VA do that. We tell you what it takes to correct what they wrote, and how long.
For agents and lenders.
Send the appraisal conditions and the address. You get one point of contact, a walk, and a written scope you can hand your underwriter, rather than a verbal number that changes once somebody is on a ladder.
Your buyer will be comparing what we quote against the appraiser's estimated cost to cure, and we would rather that comparison happen with a real scope in front of everyone. Where our number differs from the appraiser's, we will tell you why in writing, which is a more useful conversation than either party guessing.
Sage works with El Paso agents, brokers, and lenders as a referral partner and keeps your name in front of your client throughout. How the partner relationship works.
Appraisal repairs in El Paso, answered.
What is the difference between a VA or FHA appraisal and a home inspection?
They are different jobs and the appraisal is the narrower one. A VA appraisal is not a home inspection: the fee appraiser notes readily apparent repairs that are needed but does not perform operational checks of mechanical systems or appliances, which is why utilities are not required to be on for the visit. An FHA appraiser's observation is likewise limited to readily observable conditions and is not as comprehensive as an inspection by a licensed home inspector. HUD says plainly that an FHA appraisal is not a home inspection and does not replace one. Readily apparent is the load-bearing phrase in both.
Who decides whether a repair is actually required?
On an FHA loan the FHA-approved lender determines whether the property satisfies the Minimum Property Requirements. The appraiser provides preliminary verification, notes the repairs needed, and gives an estimated cost to cure, but the determination is the lender's. On a VA loan the property must meet VA's Minimum Property Requirements before VA will guarantee the loan. In neither case does a contractor decide, and Sage will never tell you an item is or is not required. We tell you what it takes to correct it.
The appraiser called out peeling paint. Does that always have to be fixed?
It depends on the year the home was built, and VA changed this in February 2026. On a VA loan, defective paint on a dwelling built in 1978 or later is normally considered cosmetic. On a dwelling built before 1978, the opposite applies: lead-based paint must be presumed present, any defective lead-based paint is a safety hazard that must be remediated, and cost is not an acceptable reason to waive it. Defective means cracking, scaling, peeling, chipping, or loose paint, not intact paint. FHA runs on its own rule: federal regulation requires the appraiser to inspect a dwelling built before 1978 for defective paint surfaces, and where it is found it must be covered or removed.
Can I just wash and repaint it?
On a VA loan that is one of two allowed treatments: the surface is thoroughly washed, scraped, wire brushed or otherwise cleaned to remove all cracking, scaling, peeling, chipping and loose paint, then repainted with two coats of a suitable nonleaded paint. Where the integrity of the surface cannot be maintained, the paint is completely removed or the surface is covered with a suitable material instead. FHA is stricter on the same point: washing and repainting without thorough removal or covering is not adequate treatment, and machine sanding and open-flame methods such as propane or gasoline torches are prohibited outright.
Do the repairs have to be finished before closing?
Usually, with a path around it. On a VA loan the property must meet the Minimum Property Requirements before VA will guarantee, but repairs can be escrowed and completed after closing, provided they are finished and the escrowed funds released before VA guarantees the loan. A veteran may also request a waiver of specific repairs after the Notice of Value is issued, if the lender concurs and the property is still habitable in terms of safety, structural soundness, and sanitation. VA will not waive a lead-based paint repair for cost. FHA generally requires repairs completed before the mortgage is eligible for insurance, with limited exceptions such as 203(k) rehabilitation loans and Presidentially-Declared Major Disaster Areas.
The appraisal came back as-is. Does that mean nothing needs repair?
Not necessarily, and this catches people. Under FHA policy an appraisal is rendered as-is when the appraiser notes no repair, alteration, or inspection conditions, but that is one of several triggers rather than the only one. FHA also requires an as-is condition when establishing value for a 203(k), when a property is being recommended for rejection, and for pre-foreclosure sale, claims without conveyance of title, and real estate owned. An as-is FHA appraisal does not by itself mean the property needs no repairs.
How fast can you turn appraisal repairs around?
Call and you get a real answer in that conversation rather than a promise off a web page. What we can tell you is how we work it: the notice is scoped line by line against what the appraiser actually wrote, we tell you which items we can carry directly and which need a licensed trade, and you get the scope in writing before anyone starts. The items appraisers call out most often are exactly the ones a general contractor carries directly, which is why this tends to move faster than people expect.
Do you work with agents and lenders directly?
Yes, and it is usually the faster path. Send the appraisal conditions and the address and you get one point of contact, a walk, and a written scope you can hand your underwriter. Your buyer will be comparing what we quote against the appraiser's estimated cost to cure, so we would rather that comparison happen with a real scope in front of everyone than with a number nobody can defend.
Does Sage handle the electrical items an appraiser flags?
Visible frayed or exposed wiring is a common VA call-out and it must be repaired. Sage does not perform electrical work and does not advertise it, because Texas licenses that trade separately and requires a licensee to publish a license number in every advertisement. Sage brings the licensed electrical trade, manages the schedule against your closing date, and stays accountable for the whole list, so you are not coordinating three vendors against one deadline.
Updated August 2026 · VA and FHA requirements on this page were verified against VA Pamphlet 26-7 Chapter 12, HUD Handbook 4000.1, and 24 CFR, current through August 2026
The Deal Is On A Clock
Send the conditions. Get a scope you can hand the underwriter.
Send a photo of the appraisal conditions and the address, and you will get a straight answer about what fits the contract date.