I represent sellers in Southlake and Keller, and I have sat in listing appointments where the question came up before we finished the pricing conversation: “we’re not going to have to take a VA offer, are we?” It is usually not hostility. It is a story somebody heard in 2009 and never updated.
So here is the current version, with the parts that are true kept in.
The VA reported appraisal turn times averaging about seven business days as of the end of May 2026. That is not a slow appraisal by any standard.
The VA has also been actively removing friction. Effective after 1 May 2026 it rewrote its Minimum Property Requirements — removing the radon testing requirement entirely and revising the standards for pre-1978 and post-1978 homes. Its stated reason was that those items were “long-standing MPR topics that frequently contributed to appraisal delays or added costs for Veterans.”
If your agent tells you a VA offer means a slow close, ask them when they last did one.
This is the real fear and it deserves a real answer, not a brush-off.
The VA appraisal does two jobs: it sets a value, and it checks the house against a standard the VA summarizes as safe, sound and sanitary. Conditions that fail that standard get flagged and must be corrected before closing.
What does get flagged: a roof that will not keep water out, exposed or unsafe wiring, no working permanent heat, active leaks, broken windows, missing handrails, unsafe steps, no safe drinking water or sewage disposal. On a well-maintained Southlake or Keller home, usually nothing.
One Texas item that is genuinely non-negotiable: a wood-destroying insect report is required on every VA purchase in this state, and it has to be in before the Notice of Value issues. Texas is on the VA’s statewide list. Budget for it and do not let it surprise you at day twenty.
I went through the whole inspection in what a VA appraisal actually looks for.
No. The VA’s buyer’s guide says the seller, lender or any other party can pay fees on the buyer’s behalf. Permissive, not mandatory. Seller concessions are capped, not required.
Federal regulation works the other way round from how people describe it: it sets out the charges a veteran may pay, and provides that no other charge shall be made against the borrower. In practice a handful of costs therefore land on the seller or the lender. It is a known, short list, your title company handles it routinely, and it is a line item to negotiate rather than a blank check.
I am not going to pretend this one away, because it is real and you should price it in.
Federal regulation requires this language in the contract on a VA-guaranteed purchase where the contract is signed before the buyer receives the Notice of Value:
“the purchaser shall not incur any penalty by forfeiture of earnest money or otherwise be obligated to complete the purchase of the property described herein, if the contract purchase price or cost exceeds the reasonable value of the property established by the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
In plain terms: if the appraisal comes in low, your buyer can walk with their earnest money. You cannot strike it — without the clause the VA will not guarantee the loan, so there is no deal to have.
Two things worth putting next to that. First, the buyer is not obliged to walk; plenty choose to bring cash and close. Second, a conventional buyer with an appraisal contingency has substantially the same out. The VA version is statutory rather than negotiated, which feels different, but it is not a uniquely dangerous position for a seller.
The useful response is not to refuse VA offers. It is to price defensibly and be ready for Tidewater — if the appraiser thinks value is coming in short, they must say so before finishing the report and give roughly two business days for someone to send supporting sales. That someone is your listing agent. An agent who is unreachable, or who sends a screenshot instead of closed comparables with adjustments, has just wasted the best chance your deal had.
Put the myths down for a second and look at who is actually making the offer.
I have never had a VA transaction fall apart for a reason that was actually about the VA. I have had them wobble because a house was priced ahead of the comparables, or because somebody treated a two-business-day window as optional.
Listing in Southlake or Keller and unsure about VA offers? Ask me before you screen one out. I will walk you through what the appraisal will actually look at on your specific house, what to fix before we go live, and how I handle Tidewater if it comes up. In Keller alone there are about 2,711 veterans — that is a slice of the buyer pool worth keeping.
Talk to me about your listingChecked September 2026. Texas tax rates are adopted each August and September and VA rules change — confirm current figures with your lender, the VA, or your appraisal district before you rely on them. I am a REALTOR, not a lender or a tax professional.
REALTOR® · BHHS PenFed Realty Texas
I help buyers and sellers across the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex — Fort Worth, Burleson, Crowley and Keller, and the surrounding Dallas area. I write these because they are the questions I answer on the phone every week, and most people never get a straight answer to them. If you have one I have not covered, ask me — I will probably turn it into the next post.