VA and FHA Appraisal Repairs in El Paso
When a VA or FHA appraisal on an El Paso, Texas home lists required repairs, the lender or VA decides what must be fixed, usually before the loan closes or is insured. Sage Intelligence corrects the general contractor items on the contract clock and schedules electrical and plumbing items it does not perform, under their own permits where required.
How common are VA and FHA loans in El Paso?
65.9%
Government-backed share · El Paso metro home-purchase originations · 2025
Very common: in 2025, 65.9 percent of the 8,387 home-purchase mortgages originated in the El Paso metro area were FHA, VA or USDA loans.
By loan type, 35.8 percent were FHA, 29.0 percent VA, 1.1 percent USDA and 34.1 percent conventional. HMDA covers lenders that meet the federal reporting thresholds, and the figures are as the FFIEC HMDA Data Browser served them when this page was checked.
Which appraisal repairs does Sage correct?
The general contractor items on a VA or FHA repair list, listed below.
- Peeling or deteriorated paint
- Missing or loose handrails and guardrails
- Damaged drywall and ceilings
- Broken window glass and torn screens
- Trip hazards in walks, drives, and thresholds
- Exposed subfloor and damaged flooring
- Doors and locks that do not work
- Damaged stucco or siding letting water in
- Termite-damaged wood repaired after treatment
The whole list is general contractor work
Every item on that list is general contractor work, so Sage can carry the whole list against one closing date as your one point of contact. When an electrical, plumbing or mechanical item appears, it is handled as trade work, on a schedule Sage coordinates alongside the rest.
Items outside an appraisal, such as a seller's punch list, are covered under home repairs.
Who handles termite findings on an El Paso home sale?
Inspection for and treatment of wood-destroying insects are done by a TDA-licensed pest control business, and Sage repairs the damaged wood.
In Texas, inspecting for wood-infesting organisms and treating them for pay is regulated work under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1951 (Section 1951.003), and Sage does not inspect for or treat termites. Once the treatment is done, Sage repairs or replaces the damaged framing, subfloor, trim or siding; a question about structure goes to the paid on-site Feasibility Audit, whose fee is given by phone.
For context, the residential design table the City of El Paso adopted rates termite damage exposure here as Moderate to Heavy (EPMC 18.10.050, Table R301.2(1)). That is a building-code design criterion, not a finding about any one house.
Whether a wood-destroying insect report is required depends on the loan. On a VA loan, VA requires wood-destroying insect information for the entire state of Texas before it issues the Notice of Value, and apparent infestation or damage makes the appraisal subject to an inspection, with all damage repaired (VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 12, Topic 33; VA Local Requirements). On an FHA loan, the appraiser makes the appraisal subject to a pest inspection by a qualified specialist when there is evidence or notification of infestation, including a prior treatment (HUD Handbook 4000.1 II.D.3.m.iii).
On the Texas resale contract, treatment for wood-destroying insects that a lender requires sits in the lender-required repairs paragraph, and unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, neither is obligated to pay for those repairs (TREC form 20-19, paragraph 7E). Your agent explains how your contract reads.
Do appraisal repairs need a City permit in El Paso?
Most do not, but a few common ones do: in the City of El Paso, painting, papering, siding and similar finish work need no permit, while replacing exterior windows or doors does, and so does replacing 25 percent or more of a house's roof covering (EPMC 18.10.040; City of El Paso permit sheet).
Each rule is explained on the page that sells that work: finish work on the painting page, window and door replacement on the windows and doors page, and re-roofing on the roofing page. On a closing clock one more rule matters: residential roofing and window replacement permits expire one month after they are issued, with no extension (EPMC 18.02.105.23), and the permit guide covers how long other permits last.
Inside the City of El Paso, Sage pulls the permit for its own scope under LCCR26-00183, and trade work carries its own permits where the City requires them. A home in another town or in unincorporated El Paso County answers to a different permit office.
Can Sage fix the repairs on my buyer's home inspection report?
Yes, the general contractor items on it, on the same contract clock, with electrical, plumbing and mechanical items, which Sage does not perform, handled as trade work under their own permits where the City requires them.
A home inspection and an appraisal are different documents. On the Texas resale contract, the buyer's inspection is made by TREC-licensed inspectors or others permitted by law (TREC form 20-19, paragraph 7A), and the report reaches well past what an appraiser notes for the lender. Which items become agreed repairs is between the buyer, the seller and their agents.
Once repairs are agreed, the same contract asks the seller to complete them before closing, obtain any required permits, use repair people the contract allows, and give the buyer documentation from the repair person showing the scope of work and payment (paragraph 7F). Sage provides the written scope, the paid invoice and dated photos for each item it corrects, and each trade item comes with its own.
The form quoted here is TREC's One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) as effective July 1, 2026, and your agent explains how your contract reads.
What happens between the appraisal condition and funding?
The appraiser notes the condition, the lender or VA decides whether it must be corrected, the repair is done, and the loan moves once the lender clears the condition.
Sage's part is the middle step: a written scope before work starts, the correction, and dated photos of each finished item for the file. Who decides which repairs are required, escrow and waivers, and as-is appraisals are answered in the questions below.
What should an agent or lender send first?
The appraisal conditions or the agreed repair list, the address and the closing date; Sage works with agents, brokers and lenders directly.
Call 915-505-1323, in English or Spanish. The repairs are priced on the phone, the scope is written before work starts in a form you can hand the underwriter, and you get dated photos as each item is finished. Your buyer may compare the price with the appraiser's estimated cost to cure, so Sage walks through any difference with you on the call.
Sage works with El Paso agents, brokers and lenders as a referral partner and keeps your name in front of your client throughout; the partners page explains how the relationship works.
Getting the yard ready before a listing is covered under yard cleanup.
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. An FHA appraiser identifies readily observable defective conditions, and HUD's own notice to buyers says an appraisal does not replace a home inspection. Readily apparent and readily observable are the phrases doing the work.
Who decides whether a repair is actually required?
On an FHA loan, the appraiser reports the repairs needed with an estimated cost to cure, and the FHA-approved lender determines which repairs are required. On a VA loan, the property must meet VA's Minimum Property Requirements before VA backs the loan, and the Notice of Value carries the repair conditions. In neither case does a contractor decide, and Sage will never tell you an item is or is not required. Sage tells you what it takes to correct it.
The appraiser called out peeling paint. Does that always have to be fixed?
Not always. The appraiser reports the condition, and the lender or VA decides which items must be corrected before the loan moves. Each program has its own rule for defective paint, and FHA's handbook, for one, calls for repair where exterior paint leaves the surface underneath exposed to the elements. Each paint item on your conditions is read against your program on the call.
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 backs the loan, but the lender may hold funds in escrow for repairs finished after closing, as long as they are completed and the funds distributed before VA backs it. A veteran may also ask VA to waive specific repairs after the Notice of Value is issued, if the lender concurs and the home is habitable in terms of safety, structural soundness and sanitation; VA will not waive a lead-based paint repair for cost. On an FHA loan, repairs are finished before closing, or the lender may set up a repair escrow for work that cannot be, provided the home is habitable and safe at closing, and the lender certifies the completed repairs afterward.
The appraisal came back as-is. Does that mean nothing needs repair?
Not necessarily. Under FHA policy an appraisal is rendered as-is when the appraiser notes no repair, alteration or inspection conditions, and FHA also uses as-is when establishing the as-is value for a 203(k), when a property is being recommended for rejection, and for pre-foreclosure sales, claims without conveyance of title and real estate owned. Even an as-is appraisal can report cosmetic or minor repairs FHA does not require, such as holes in window screens or cracked window glass, and a buyer's own inspection may turn up more.
How fast can you turn appraisal repairs around?
Call and you get a real answer in that conversation. What Sage can tell you here is how the work runs: the conditions are read line by line against what the appraiser wrote, you hear which items Sage carries and which are trade items Sage schedules but does not perform, the repairs are priced on the phone, and the scope is written before anyone starts. Give the closing date on the first call, because it sets the order of the work.
How are the electrical items an El Paso appraiser flags repaired?
As electrical work, under its own permit where the City requires one. Visible frayed or exposed electrical wires are one of the conditions VA says must be repaired. Sage does not perform or advertise electrical work, as the property maintenance page explains; the repair is scheduled against your closing date, and Sage stays your one point of contact for the whole list.
VA, FHA, City and Texas facts on this page checked September 27 and 28, 2026.
Sources
- FFIEC HMDA Data Browser, 2025 data, El Paso TX MSA (21340), originated (action 1) home-purchase (purpose 1) loans: 8,387 total; by loan type FHA 2,999 (35.8 percent), VA 2,436 (29.0), USDA 90 (1.1), conventional 2,862 (34.1); government-backed 5,525 (65.9). Checked .
- VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 12, Minimum Property Requirement Overview, Effective after May 1, 2026 (KnowVA, article modified August 12, 2026): Topic 1 (MPRs met before VA backs the loan; an appraisal is not a home inspection), Topic 14(c) (frayed or exposed electrical wires), Topic 32 (lead-based paint, change date February 27, 2026), Topic 33 (wood destroying insects), Topic 43 (waivers; escrowed funds). Checked .
- VA Home Loans, Local Requirements (wood-destroying insect information required for the entire state of Texas before the Notice of Value; page last updated July 11, 2025). Checked .
- HUD Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, Last Revised 8/12/2026: II.A.6.a.viii(B) (repair completion escrow), II.D.3.a.iii (readily observable defective conditions), II.D.3.i (defective paint), II.D.3.m.iii (wood destroying insects), II.D.3.n (the mortgagee determines required repairs; cosmetic repairs), II.D.4.c.ii (appraisal conditions, as-is). Checked .
- HUD-92564-CN (02/09/2023), For Your Protection: Get a Home Inspection (an appraisal does not replace a home inspection). Checked .
- Texas Occupations Code 1951.003, the regulated business of inspecting for and treating wood-infesting organisms. Checked .
- El Paso Municipal Code 18.10.050, Table R301.2(1) climatic and geographic design criteria (termite: Moderate to Heavy). Checked .
- El Paso Municipal Code 18.10.040, work exempt from permit (Building item 4: painting, papering, siding and similar finish work; item 7: replacing less than 25 percent of a residential roof covering). Checked .
- City of El Paso, When Do I Need a Permit (exterior window and door replacement; roof covering of 25 percent or more). Checked .
- El Paso Municipal Code 18.02.105.23(1)(d), residential roofing and window replacement permits expire one month from issuance with no extension. Checked .
- Texas Real Estate Commission, One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC No. 20-19, effective July 1, 2026: paragraphs 7A (TREC-licensed inspectors), 7E (lender-required repairs include treatment for wood destroying insects), 7F (completion of repairs, permits, documentation of scope and payment). Checked .
Send The Conditions
Send the conditions and the closing date.
Send a photo of the appraisal conditions or the agreed repair list, with the address. Call 915-505-1323, in English or Spanish. Sage prices the repairs on the phone and tells you straight what fits the contract date.