The 15 Most Common Appraisal Repairs — And What Each One Actually Costs

The 15 Most Common Appraisal Repairs — And What Each One Actually Costs

After you've seen enough appraisal repair lists, a pattern becomes impossible to miss: the same fifteen or so items account for the overwhelming majority of required repairs. Not because homes are all the same, but because the standards appraisers work from are narrow and specific. They aren't hunting for everything wrong with a house — they're checking a defined set of safety, soundness, and security conditions.

That's genuinely good news. It means an appraisal repair list is predictable, and predictable problems can be solved fast.

Below is each of the most common conditions: what triggers it, which loan programs care, what it typically costs, and how long it takes. Cost ranges are typical U.S. market estimates and vary meaningfully by region, property access, and contractor availability.

1. Peeling, chipping, or defective paint (pre-1978 homes)

Why it's flagged: Lead-based paint wasn't banned for residential use in the U.S. until 1978. On any pre-1978 home, deteriorated paint is treated as a potential lead hazard by FHA, VA, and USDA.

Programs: FHA, VA, USDA strictly. Conventional only if it contributes to a poor condition rating.

Typical cost: $300–$2,500 depending on surface area. Lead-safe work practices raise the cost meaningfully over ordinary scraping and painting.

Typical time: 1–3 days, plus weather dependency on exterior work.

The trap: Painting over deteriorated paint doesn't satisfy the requirement. The surface has to be properly stabilized, and on pre-1978 homes that generally means lead-safe methods.

2. Missing handrails and guardrails

Why it's flagged: Fall hazard. Stairways with a meaningful rise — commonly three or more risers — need a secure handrail, and elevated decks, porches, and landings need guardrails.

Programs: FHA and VA routinely; conventional by lender overlay.

Typical cost: $150–$800 per run.

Typical time: A few hours.

This is the single cheapest and most frequently cited appraisal repair in the country. It's also the one most often forgotten before listing.

3. Roof leaks, missing shingles, and end-of-life roofs

Why it's flagged: The roof must keep moisture out and have reasonable remaining service life — commonly framed as roughly two years or more on government-backed loans.

Programs: All.

Typical cost: $400–$1,500 for targeted repairs; $8,000–$25,000+ for full replacement depending on size, pitch, material, and number of existing layers.

Typical time: 1–2 days for repairs; 2–5 days for replacement, weather permitting.

This is the highest-stakes item on the list. A roof condition can single-handedly reshape a transaction's economics.

4. Exposed wiring and open junction boxes

Why it's flagged: Shock and fire hazard — a clear safety failure under every standard.

Programs: All.

Typical cost: $200–$1,200 depending on how many locations and whether new circuits are involved.

Typical time: Hours to one day.

Must be licensed. Underwriters routinely reject unlicensed electrical work even when it looks correct.

5. Missing GFCI protection near water

Why it's flagged: Ground-fault protection in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry areas, garages, and exterior locations is a basic electrical safety expectation.

Programs: FHA and VA commonly; conventional by overlay.

Typical cost: $150–$600 for several locations.

Typical time: A few hours.

The trap: Swapping in a standard receptacle doesn't satisfy a GFCI condition. The protective device has to actually be there.

6. Inoperable or unsafe heating system

Why it's flagged: Habitability. The home needs a permanent, adequate, safely vented heat source appropriate to the climate. Space heaters and unvented fuel-burning heaters as a primary source don't qualify.

Programs: All, most strictly FHA, VA, and USDA.

Typical cost: $200–$1,500 for repairs; $4,000–$12,000+ for replacement.

Typical time: Same day for repairs; 1–3 days for replacement, longer if equipment must be ordered.

7. Water heater problems

Why it's flagged: A water heater must be operational, properly vented, and equipped with a functioning temperature and pressure relief valve with a proper discharge line. A missing or improperly terminated TPR discharge line is a genuine explosion-risk item and gets flagged constantly.

Programs: All.

Typical cost: $100–$400 for a TPR valve and discharge line; $1,200–$2,800 for replacement.

Typical time: Hours for valve work; a day for replacement.

8. Active plumbing leaks

Why it's flagged: Water damage, sanitation, and structural soundness.

Programs: All.

Typical cost: $150–$900 for typical supply or drain repairs; more if walls or floors must be opened.

Typical time: Hours to one day.

9. Broken windows and doors that won't secure

Why it's flagged: The "secure" leg of safe/sound/secure. A home that can't be locked or has broken glazing fails.

Programs: All.

Typical cost: $150–$700 per opening; more for large or custom units.

Typical time: Same day for hardware and glass; 1–2 weeks if a unit must be ordered.

10. Standing water, poor grading, and wet crawl spaces

Why it's flagged: Chronic moisture undermines structure and creates sanitation problems. Grading that drains toward the foundation is a recurring flag.

Programs: All.

Typical cost: $300–$3,000 depending on whether it's regrading, downspout extensions, a sump installation, or drainage work.

Typical time: 1–3 days.

11. Structural defects and rot

Why it's flagged: Soundness. Rotted sills, joists, support posts, deck framing, and evidence of active foundation movement.

Programs: All.

Typical cost: $500–$10,000+, with a very wide range depending on extent.

Typical time: 2 days to 2 weeks.

The trap: Where movement is suspected, the appraiser may require a licensed engineer's report before repairs are even scoped — adding a week before work starts.

12. Wood-destroying insect damage

Why it's flagged: Active infestation and structural damage from prior infestation.

Programs: VA prominently, and where state rules require an inspection; also FHA and USDA situationally.

Typical cost: $400–$1,800 for treatment; structural repair on top of that.

Typical time: 1 day for treatment; longer for repairs and documentation.

13. Well water quality and wellhead condition

Why it's flagged: Safe potable water is non-negotiable. Testing for bacteria and nitrates, adequate separation from septic components, and a sanitary, properly capped wellhead.

Programs: USDA most strictly; FHA and VA where applicable.

Typical cost: $75–$300 for testing; $200–$1,500 for shock chlorination, wellhead repair, or treatment.

Typical time: The repair is fast. Lab turnaround is the delay — often several days, and a retest doubles it.

14. Septic system failures

Why it's flagged: Sanitation. Surfacing effluent, a failed drain field, or a system inadequate for the bedroom count.

Programs: USDA most strictly; all programs where a system exists.

Typical cost: $300–$800 for inspection and pumping; $5,000–$25,000+ for drain field or full system replacement.

Typical time: Days for service; weeks for replacement, including permitting and health department sign-off.

15. Unfinished or incomplete work

Why it's flagged: An incomplete dwelling isn't marketable collateral. A half-finished addition, a kitchen without installed fixtures, a gutted bathroom, missing flooring over bare subfloor.

Programs: All.

Typical cost: Wildly variable.

Typical time: Variable — this is often the item that pushes a file toward a renovation loan product instead of a repair addendum.

What appraisers do not require repaired

Just as useful to know. Outside the scope of a required repair:

• Dated kitchens, bathrooms, and fixtures
• Worn carpet, scuffed paint in good condition, minor wall dings
• Unfashionable finishes or colors
• Small cosmetic cracks in drywall
• Landscaping appearance
• Appliances that aren't part of the realty (in most cases)
• Normal wear consistent with the home's age

Appraisers are not home inspectors. A home inspection report and an appraisal repair list are different documents with different purposes, and confusing the two causes a lot of unnecessary spending. Only the appraisal-driven items are loan conditions.

The cost that doesn't appear on any invoice

Add up the fifteen items above and most appraisal repair lists come in somewhere between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars. Meanwhile, a two-week delay on a mid-size loan can cost several hundred to well over a thousand dollars in rate-lock extension fees alone — before counting a lost interest rate, moving costs, temporary housing, or a deal that falls apart entirely.

That asymmetry is the whole story of appraisal repairs. The work is cheap. The delay is expensive. And the delay almost never comes from the repair — it comes from the days spent finding someone qualified to do it.

How AppraisalFix shortens this timeline

The repair itself is rarely the bottleneck — the search is. A homeowner gets a repair list, then starts cold-calling contractors who don't return calls, can't produce insurance certificates, or can't start for three weeks. Meanwhile the rate lock burns.

AppraisalFix was built for exactly this window. We read the appraisal, isolate the lender-required items, match the file to licensed and insured repair professionals already vetted in that market, document the completed work with before/after photos and receipts, and coordinate the 1004D recertification with the original appraiser. Because we already know which of these fifteen items each loan program actually requires, the scope we build matches the underwriting condition rather than a general contractor's interpretation of it.

Have an appraisal with repair conditions? Submit the report and we'll return a scoped repair plan with vetted local pros — usually within 24 hours.

Frequently asked questions

What repairs do appraisers require most often?

Deteriorated paint on pre-1978 homes, missing handrails, roof defects, exposed wiring, missing GFCI protection, inoperable heating, and water heater safety issues account for the majority of required repairs.

Do I have to fix everything the appraiser mentions?

No. Appraisals distinguish between items merely noted and items the value is made 'subject to.' Only the required repairs are loan conditions. Ask your loan officer for the exact underwriting condition list.

Can I do appraisal repairs myself?

Sometimes for simple items like handrails. For electrical, plumbing, HVAC, structural, roofing, and pre-1978 paint work, expect the lender to require a licensed contractor with documentation — unlicensed work on those categories is a common reason a re-inspection gets rejected.

How much do appraisal repairs cost in total?

Most lists total a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Roof, septic, and structural items are the outliers that can run into five figures.

Will cosmetic issues fail an appraisal?

No. Dated finishes, worn carpet, and cosmetic wear aren't required repairs. The test is safety, structural soundness, and security.

The bottom line

Fifteen items cover nearly every appraisal repair list you'll ever see. Learn them and an appraisal condition stops being a surprise. Get the exact required-repair language, put licensed pros on the licensed-trade items, complete everything in one pass, document it properly, and get the 1004D ordered the same day the last item is finished.