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June 13, 2017

NAFCU urges greater clarity, accountability in veteran-guaranteed home loans

NAFCU's Ann Kossachev, in a letter Monday, said that the association hopes to see greater accountability and clarity as the Department of Veterans Affairs works on a rulemaking related to expenses that a veteran may be charged when obtaining a VA-guaranteed home loan.

"NAFCU and its member credit unions are pleased that the VA is reevaluating its regulations regarding permissible charges and fees to provide greater clarity to the industry," wrote Kossachev, NAFCU's regulatory affairs counsel. She added that NAFCU hopes to see a "return to the regulatory framework that permitted lenders to charge costs and expenses normally paid under local lending customs" and "greater accountability for settlement and real estate agents who participate in the VA-guaranteed home loan market."

Under the current framework, which restricts the types of charges and fees veterans are allowed to pay, Kossachev explained that sellers and lenders working with a VA-guaranteed loan borrower are forced to pay many of the customary real estate transaction expenses. This places veteran borrowers in diminished bargaining position, so the VA is requesting feedback on possible revisions to these regulations.

In her letter, Kossachev shares NAFCU's responses to the VA's questions posed in its advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, pertaining to veteran borrowers' closing costs, third-party charges and fees, and loan origination fees, among other topics.