Selling to a VA Buyer
VA Buyer-Broker Compensation: What Home Sellers Need to Know
A VA buyer can ask you to pay some or all of the compensation owed to the buyer's broker. That does not mean you automatically have to agree to the request.
Treat it like every other part of the offer. Put the request into dollars. Look at the purchase price, concessions, contingencies, appraisal risk, repairs and closing date. Then decide whether the complete offer works for you.
Do not evaluate a $10,000 buyer-broker request by itself.
Ask what you are receiving in exchange for the complete $10,000 decision.
Quick Answer
Does a seller have to pay a VA buyer's real estate agent?
No fixed seller-paid buyer-broker amount is required simply because the buyer is using VA financing.
A VA buyer may ask the seller to pay some or all of the buyer-broker compensation. The seller can evaluate that request as part of the offer, subject to the written agreements already in place.
The buyer's use of a VA loan does not create a required seller-paid percentage.
Current VA Rule
A VA buyer may be able to pay their own buyer-broker charges
VA historically restricted Veterans from paying real estate brokerage charges in a VA-financed purchase. That changed in 2024.
Under VA Circular 26-24-14, qualifying Veterans may pay reasonable and customary buyer-broker charges when the conditions of the temporary variance are met.
VA's current Circulars register continues to list this policy as valid until rescinded.
The Veteran May Pay
The current VA variance allows a Veteran to pay reasonable and customary buyer-broker charges when its requirements are satisfied.
The Seller May Pay
VA specifically states that the variance does not prevent the seller from paying the Veteran's buyer-broker charges.
The Amount Is Negotiable
VA encourages Veterans to negotiate buyer-broker charges whether the Veteran or seller ultimately pays them.
The Written Agreements Matter
What the buyer owes the buyer's broker and what the seller agrees to pay should be clear in the applicable written agreements and transaction documents.
The VA 4% Question
Does seller-paid buyer-broker compensation count against the VA 4% seller-concession limit?
Under the current VA policy, VA does not treat the seller's payment of buyer-broker charges as a seller concession.
That distinction matters because VA separately limits seller concessions to no more than 4% of the home's reasonable value.
Do not put every seller-paid dollar into one “4% VA bucket.”
Buyer-broker compensation, ordinary allowable closing costs and items VA defines as seller concessions are not automatically the same thing.
The buyer's lender should confirm the treatment and structure for the specific loan before the parties rely on it.
Your Decision
What can you do if a VA buyer asks you to pay their broker?
Start with the written offer and the agreements already in place. Then look at the request as one negotiable part of the transaction.
Agree
You can agree to the requested payment if the purchase price, terms and estimated seller proceeds make sense.
Counter
You can negotiate the requested amount along with price, concessions, repairs, timing and other terms.
Decline
Subject to your existing written obligations, you can decline the buyer's request. The buyer then decides how to proceed.
Look at Another Structure
Depending on the contract, buyer-broker agreement and lender requirements, there may be another way to structure the transaction. Confirm the exact structure before signing.
Put It Into Dollars
A percentage is easier to understand when you see the money
These are examples only. They are not recommended buyer-broker compensation amounts.
The question is not, “Is 2% normal?”
The useful question is, “What does this particular request cost me, and does the complete offer justify it?”
Compare the Complete Offer
A VA offer is more than the buyer-broker request
Suppose a VA buyer offers a strong price but asks you to pay $10,000 toward buyer-broker compensation.
Another buyer may offer less money and ask for no buyer-broker payment.
You cannot tell which offer is better from the compensation request alone.
Put these numbers and terms next to each other:
- Purchase price
- Buyer-broker compensation requested from you
- Other seller-paid closing costs or concessions
- Inspection rights
- Appraisal provisions
- Earnest money
- Financing terms
- Repairs or credits
- Closing date
- Estimated seller proceeds
A VA offer asking you to pay buyer-broker compensation is not automatically a weak offer.
A VA offer asking for no buyer-broker payment is not automatically a strong offer.
Compare the complete transaction.
How Compensation Is Handled
The buyer-broker amount is not a required number attached to the listing
Buyer-broker compensation should be handled through the appropriate written agreements and transaction documents.
Compensation offers are not placed in the MLS. A buyer can still ask a seller to pay buyer-broker compensation as part of an offer.
Not a Required Percentage
There is no VA rule requiring every seller to pay the same buyer-broker percentage.
Not an MLS Offer
Buyer-broker compensation is handled outside the MLS compensation field structure that existed before the 2024 industry changes.
Put It in Writing
The compensation obligation and any seller-authorized payment should be documented through the appropriate written agreements.
How I Look at It
I do not want you negotiating from a rule of thumb
If a buyer asks you to pay $10,000 toward buyer-broker compensation, I want you to see the $10,000.
Then we put it next to the purchase price, other concessions, inspection terms, appraisal risk, repairs, closing date and what you are estimated to keep.
I will tell you what I think matters, what the offer actually says, what the numbers mean and what I recommend.
You decide.
My job is to make sure you understand the decision before you make it.
FAQ
VA buyer-broker compensation questions
Does a seller have to pay a VA buyer's agent?
No fixed seller-paid buyer-broker amount is required simply because the buyer is using VA financing. The buyer may request seller payment, and the seller can evaluate that request subject to existing written agreements.
Can a Veteran pay their own buyer broker?
Under VA's current temporary variance, qualifying Veterans may pay reasonable and customary buyer-broker charges when the policy's conditions are met.
Can the seller still pay the Veteran's buyer broker?
Yes. VA Circular 26-24-14 specifically says the temporary variance does not prevent the seller from paying the Veteran's buyer-broker charges.
Does seller-paid buyer-broker compensation count toward VA's 4% seller-concession limit?
VA currently states that seller-paid buyer-broker charges are not treated as seller concessions. The buyer's lender should confirm the structure for the specific loan.
Is buyer-broker compensation fixed by law?
No. Real estate broker compensation is negotiable and is not set by law.
Should I reject a VA offer because it asks me to pay the buyer broker?
The compensation request is only one part of the offer. Compare the purchase price, compensation request, concessions, contingencies, appraisal provisions, repairs, closing date and estimated proceeds before deciding how to respond.
Related Seller Questions
Go deeper only where you need to
Have a VA Offer?
Put the whole offer on one sheet before you decide
If a VA buyer asks you to pay buyer-broker compensation, send me the complete offer.
We can put the purchase price, compensation request, concessions, contingencies, repairs, appraisal terms and estimated proceeds next to each other.
Then you can see what the offer actually means to you.
Real estate broker compensation is negotiable and is not set by law. Uber Realty's listing-side compensation and any seller-authorized buyer-broker compensation are separate unless a written agreement provides otherwise. VA, lender, MLS and contract requirements can change and may depend on the specific transaction. The applicable written agreements control the parties' obligations.