VA Issues Temporary Local Variance for Buyer-Broker Charges

The VA recently issued a circular announcing a temporary local variance that allows Veterans to pay for certain buyer-broker charges.  The variance is subject to certain requirements, including the following:

• the buyer-broker charges may not be included in the loan amount;
• the charges paid or to be paid by the Veteran must be considered in evaluating the Veteran’s liquid assets;
• the total amount paid must be listed on the Closing Disclosure; and
• lenders are expected to include the buyer-broker representation agreement in the sales contract package when requesting an appraisal and retain the agreement in the loan file.

The temporary local variance is effective beginning August 10, 2024.  The VA also stated that it intends to develop a permanent policy through notice-and-comment rulemaking.