VA revised chapter 5 of the Lender’s Handbook (M26-7). Topics 1 through 4 of chapter 5 were updated as follows:
- Topic 1 to replace references to the Regional Loan Center with VA, to add a step in section a for submission of VA Form 26-8937 (Verification of VA Benefits) if the borrower has a pre-discharge disability claim pending with VA, to replace references in section b to e-benefits with va.gov, and to update section f with information on pre-discharge claim information;
- Topic 2 to replace the reference in section a to the Veterans Information Portal (lenders are now referred to Appendix B for information on submitting documents to VA);
- Topic 3 to:
- Replace references to the Regional Loan Center with VA;
- Remove references to processing requirements involving a VA-appointed fiduciary;
- Remove from section a the prior approval requirement for loans involving a VA-appointed fiduciary and to clarify which types of loans are required to be submitted for prior approval;
- Rename and update section c to refer lenders to the updated stacking orders provided in Appendix B, Topic 2;
- Move the information in section e to Appendix B Topic 2;
- Update section h (pertaining to changes occurring after issuance of the Certificate of Commitment);
- Remove from table 4 in section I the conditional commitment condition for loans to be made to a borrower and fiancé(e) who intend to marry prior to closing and who will hold title as borrower and spouse;
- Update section k to refer lenders to the updated stacking orders provided in Appendix B, Topic 2 and to add additional information related to the late reporting certification required if the loan is not reported in a timely manner; and
- Topic 4 to update section a with additional information related to the required late reporting certification if a loan is not reported in a timely manner, to remove from sections b and c the stacking orders for manual guaranty requests and for VA Full File Loan Review requests (lenders are now directed to the updated stacking orders in Appendix B).
Topics 1 through 4 were also updated to make minor grammatical edits. In addition, topic 5 was removed and the contents were added to Appendix B. The revisions went into effect May 14, 2024.
Click to view the VA Pamphlet 26-7, Revised Change 41: https://www.tenaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/VA-Pamphlet-26-7-Revised-Change-41-05-21-24.pdf
