It's a built-in safety valve in the VA appraisal process. If the VA-approved appraiser expects the value to come in below the contract price, the appraiser initiates the VA Tidewater process through the lender, giving interested parties typically about 48 hours (generally two business days, excluding weekends and federal holidays) to submit additional comparable sales before the appraisal is finalized. Get in front of it early, and a low appraisal is often fixable — not fatal.
Why this matters more here than in a lot of markets
Tidewater gets triggered when an appraiser believes the available market data doesn't support the contract price. In tighter markets like central Johnson City or Kingsport, comps are usually easy to find. But a lot of Tri-Cities VA buyers are looking outside the city core — unincorporated Washington or Carter County, larger-acreage parcels, or newer construction in areas where recent resales are thin. Rural properties, acreage homes, and newer construction often have fewer recent comparable sales, making a Tidewater notification more likely if the contract price isn't well supported. Knowing the process ahead of time, instead of learning it mid-transaction, is what keeps these deals moving.
How the Tidewater window actually works
The appraiser has to have already completed the site visit and confirmed the property's condition before Tidewater can be invoked — this isn't a desk-based guess. Once triggered, the process moves through the lender, and the clock starts on a window of typically about 48 hours (generally two business days, excluding weekends and federal holidays). During that window, the buyer's agent, the listing agent, or the lender can submit additional comparable sales — closed sales the original appraisal may have missed, or sales that better reflect the subject property's condition, location, or lot size. The goal is to get that data in front of the appraiser before the Notice of Value (NOV) is issued, because it's much easier to influence a value before it's official than after.
A Tidewater notification is not a low appraisal. It's simply the appraiser's opportunity to consider additional market evidence before determining value. Plenty of properties that get a Tidewater notice still appraise at or near contract price once that additional data is reviewed.
If Tidewater doesn't resolve it: the Reconsideration of Value (ROV)
If the Tidewater window closes and the Notice of Value still comes in under contract price, the next step is a formal Reconsideration of Value. Unlike Tidewater, an ROV happens after the NOV is issued, and it's the Veteran (through the lender) who requests it — not the listing agent unilaterally. The request goes in writing with supporting market data, ideally formatted like the comparable sales grid on the standard appraisal report. VA generally reviews Requests for Reconsideration of Value promptly once all supporting documentation is received, and if the data supports it, VA can issue an amended Notice of Value.
What happens if the value still won't move
If neither Tidewater nor an ROV gets the appraisal to contract price, you have a few real options: renegotiate the purchase price down to the appraised value, bring the difference between the appraisal and the contract price to closing in cash, or, if the purchase price exceeds the appraised value, cancel the contract without forfeiting earnest money under the VA Amendatory (Escape) Clause — generally, when that clause is included in the purchase contract. None of these are pleasant conversations, but knowing your options ahead of time — instead of scrambling after a low appraisal shows up — is what keeps you from feeling stuck.
How I help before this ever becomes a problem
The best time to think about appraisal risk is before you write the offer — not after the appraiser calls. On rural or edge-of-market properties, I flag the comp risk with your agent up front so nobody's caught off guard, and if Tidewater does get invoked, I already know the timeline and exactly what data the appraiser needs to see. Buying with your VA benefit in the Tri-Cities? Start with the VA loan overview, or see what the appraisal and inspection process looks like more broadly on what VA loans require.