VA ISSUES TEMPORARY POLICY CHANGE ON HOME LOAN BUYER-BROKER FEES

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a circular announcing a temporary policy change that will enable borrowers using the VA home loan program to pay certain real estate buyer-broker fees when purchasing a home.

The circular comes in the wake of the class-action settlement involving the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and several major brokerages which resulted upcoming changes to the real estate broker commission structure. Prior to this policy shift, the VA home loan program prevented buyer-broker fee compensation/

The VA stressed the policy change was temporary, adding the department will monitor the effects of the settlement on the brokerage market before pursuing rulemaking on the matter.