North Cincy News

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to temporarily lift its ban on buyers directly paying for professional real estate representation until the agency deems it necessary to engage in a formal rulemaking process, a VA official said at a Mortgage Bankers Association conference in New York.

Although not an official announcement, VA Deputy Director of Policy Michelle Corridon’s comments were met with relief from the real estate industry, as the VA’s home loan guaranty is the only loan program with this explicit prohibition. Veteran buyers have limited options in situations where the listing broker makes no offer of compensation to the buyer broker, potentially leaving veterans without professional representation or forcing them to switch to less favorable loan products.

"We Need Your Help: Calling for Veteran Homeowner Stories – We need your help to educate lawmakers and the Administration about the importance of helping veterans through the home-buying process. As you know, veterans earned their VA Home Loan Guaranty, which provides them with an affordable mortgage program that requires no money down. We must do everything we can to ensure that the program does not prevent Veterans from using professional representation when buying a home," read a statement from NAR. "NAR has launched a new portal to capture NAR members’ experiences serving veteran home buyers to help advance our efforts to ensure veterans’ access to professional representation. Please send us your stories today!"