I just went over this with a mortgage broker to find out what programs would cover various levels of disrepair in a property. As has been the case for many years VA is the more strict of the two programs. She said right now that is even more so the case.Don’t take this as a set answer however it always makes sense to ask around. FHA has its requirements which are as much bureaucratic hoops to jump through, IMO, as they are about quality control but some quality control is there. Even FHA 203k will not allow for serious problems like cracked slabs.

When I used my VA in 1995, I was allowed to buy a fixer, with no repairs in escrow, that FHA would have never allowed. It is important to keep in touch with a good mortgage broker or a least ask your loan originator about these trends before writing offers.In case anyone doesn’t know, you can give the lender the MLS number and some descriptions of the defects and ask them what it would take to make it through a possible escrow.You can also use your real estate agent to help find a match of loan to property. People waste a lot of time and emotion with loan/ property mismatches sometimes.