Learning Library · VA Home Buying · lesson 2
Using your VA loan in the Philadelphia market
5 min read
The VA appraisal, minimum property requirements, and making a VA offer compete.
The VA appraisal and MPRs
VA appraisals confirm value and check Minimum Property Requirements — the home must be safe, sound, and sanitary: functioning heat and utilities, a defensible roof, no active leaks, no peeling paint in pre-1978 homes, safe access. In our older housing stock, small MPR repairs before closing are common and usually handled without drama. What MPRs quietly rule out are true project houses — for those, other loan types fit better.
Making a VA offer compete
Some listing agents carry outdated assumptions about VA deals being slow or fragile. Modern VA loans close on normal timelines with a competent lender — and part of our job is making sure the listing side knows your file is solid: a strong local VA lender, a clean pre-approval, terms structured to reassure. The Tidewater process (the VA's heads-up when an appraisal may come in low) also gives your side a chance to submit supporting comparables — an advantage conventional buyers don't get.
Quick answers
Do sellers pay VA buyers' costs?
Sellers aren't required to pay anything — but VA rules cap certain fees to the buyer, and seller credits are negotiated the same as any deal. The old myth that VA offers cost sellers money is mostly that: a myth.
PA perks for veterans?
Pennsylvania runs its own veteran programs, and a real-estate tax exemption exists for certain 100% disabled wartime veterans — worth checking your county's process once you own.
Educational content only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Program details, rates, and tax figures change; verify current specifics before relying on them. The Woods Team · Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS® · Equal Housing Opportunity.