So we are selling our house, the buyers have a VA loan. They just had the appraisal last week and got the information back today. Back story: We bought the house three years ago using a Rural Develpoment loan which is similar to a VA/FHA loan in that the house has to be in a certain condition. Anyways the deck was not stained, the garage door panels were bent when we bought it... Now their appraisal came in and says that they cannot buy the house until:
1. The garage doors are replaced (even though they work and are not broken just dented)
2. The deck needs to be stained .... It is winter here in MN ... and the temp tonight is 27 degrees... How in the world do we stain a deck in the winter???
3. Scrape peeling paint on garage door trim
Is this for real? I'm beyond livid......
Re: Staining a deck in winter?
I'm going to guess it's for real becuase your buyers won't get their loan approved until these things are met.
1). You might be able to just replace the panels that are dented or possibly have the dents pulled out. That would be cheaper than buying a new door.
2) I have no idea how to do it in the winter but I assume it's because you probably should have some sort of protection on the wood so that it doesn't rot and need replacing soon. I agree with the pp that I think it needs to be at least 50 outside to do this. No clue how you would do it in cold weather.
3) I think there is a similar policy for FHA loans. No peeling paint. You just need to scrape or sand it and repaint quickly. Shouldn't take too long.
I'm not familiar with the loan, but can you offer a credit to have them get it stained next spring on their own? You may have to get a quote and credit that amount.
I'm not sure if that would work.