Selling or Buying a San Diego Home with a VA Loan in 2026

San Diego has one of the largest military populations in the country. If you are selling here, there is a real chance your buyer is using a VA loan — and if you are buying here while serving or after serving, the VA benefit is very likely the strongest financing tool you have.

Both sides of that transaction have rules that changed recently. Here is what actually matters in 2026.

For Sellers: Should You Accept a VA Offer?

Short answer: yes, and the old objections are largely outdated.

There is a persistent myth in this county that VA offers are difficult, slow, or likely to fall apart. In my experience the opposite is closer to true. VA buyers are typically well qualified, highly motivated, and are not going to walk away casually over a small repair item — they have often been house-hunting for months and have a move date they cannot change.

• No down payment does not mean no strength. VA buyers still go through full underwriting.
• VA appraisals are not stricter on value. They use the same market data any appraiser uses.
• The Minimum Property Requirements are real, but reasonable. The VA wants the home safe, structurally sound, and sanitary — working heat, no exposed wiring, a sound roof, no active infestation. On a well-maintained San Diego home this is rarely an issue.

Where I do pay attention is on older properties in Ocean Beach, Point Loma, and parts of National City and El Cajon, where deferred maintenance can trip an MPR item. If your home has a known issue, we plan for it before we go live rather than discovering it during the appraisal.

The 4% Seller Concession Rule, Explained

This is the piece most sellers have heard of and few understand precisely.

On a VA purchase, seller concessions are capped at 4% of the sale price for certain categories — things like paying the buyer’s VA funding fee, prepaid taxes and insurance, or paying off a buyer’s debt. Ordinary closing costs that a seller customarily pays are treated separately and generally do not count toward that 4%.

• On an $800,000 home, 4% is $32,000 — a large ceiling that most transactions never approach.
• If you agree to pay the buyer’s agent, that amount counts toward the 4% cap. This is the change sellers most often miss post-2024.
• Your lender and escrow will confirm the categories on your specific deal. The rules are precise and worth confirming rather than assuming.

For VA Buyers: What Changed in 2024 and 2026

For decades, VA borrowers were prohibited from paying their own buyer-agent commission. After the 2024 commission rule changes, that prohibition made VA buyers uniquely disadvantaged — sellers were no longer advertising compensation, and VA buyers were not permitted to cover it themselves.

The VA responded with a temporary policy in August 2024 allowing veterans to pay buyer-broker fees, and made that change permanent in 2026. Fees must be reasonable and customary for the market.

The practical effect for a San Diego VA buyer: you now have the same flexibility every other buyer has. You can negotiate for the seller to cover it, you can cover it yourself, or you can split it.

Can a VA Buyer Get a Buyer Rebate?

This is the question I get most from military buyers, and the answer is generally yes — with one important condition: it has to be disclosed and handled through the loan file correctly.

• The rebate is disclosed to your lender up front.
• It appears as a credit on your Closing Disclosure, applied toward closing costs or prepaid items.
• Your lender confirms how it interacts with your specific VA loan and any seller credits already in the deal.
• Because VA buyers often bring little or nothing to closing already, this credit frequently goes further than it would on a conventional purchase.

On an $800,000 San Diego home, a rebate of up to 1% is up to $8,000 — real money for a service member relocating on orders with a fixed timeline and a fixed budget.

The San Diego Neighborhoods VA Buyers Shop Most

If you are selling in one of these, there is a good chance your buyer pool includes VA borrowers — worth knowing before you decide how to handle buyer-agent compensation:

• Chula Vista and Imperial Beach — proximity to Naval Base San Diego and NAB Coronado
• Oceanside and Vista — Camp Pendleton
• Coronado and Point Loma — Naval Air Station North Island and Naval Base Point Loma
• National City, Santee, and El Cajon — commutable and within the VA price range for many buyers

Selling to a VA Buyer for a 1% Listing Fee

The two things go together better than most sellers expect. Because my listing fee is 1% instead of 2.5%, you have roughly $12,000 more room on an $800,000 sale to be flexible on the buyer side — which is exactly the flexibility that makes a VA offer work smoothly.

Preguntas Frecuentes

Should a San Diego seller accept a VA loan offer?

In most cases yes. VA buyers go through full underwriting and are typically well qualified and highly motivated. The VA’s Minimum Property Requirements ask that the home be safe, structurally sound, and sanitary, which a well-maintained San Diego home normally satisfies. Older properties with deferred maintenance are where issues arise, and those can be addressed before listing.

What is the VA 4% seller concession rule?

Seller concessions on a VA purchase are capped at 4% of the sale price for certain categories, including paying the buyer’s VA funding fee, prepaid taxes and insurance, or paying off buyer debt. Ordinary seller-paid closing costs are generally treated separately. If the seller agrees to pay the buyer’s agent, that amount counts toward the 4% cap.

Can VA buyers pay their own real estate agent in 2026?

Yes. The VA introduced a temporary policy in August 2024 permitting veterans to pay buyer-broker fees, and made that change permanent in 2026. Fees must be reasonable and customary for the market. Confirm current guidance with a VA-experienced lender, as this policy has changed recently.

Can a VA buyer receive a buyer agent rebate in California?

Generally yes, provided the rebate is disclosed to the lender and documented on the Closing Disclosure as a credit toward closing costs or prepaid items. Your lender confirms how it interacts with your specific VA loan and any existing seller credits.

Does a VA appraisal come in lower than a regular appraisal?

No. A VA appraiser uses the same market data as any other appraiser to determine value. What is different is the Minimum Property Requirements review, which looks at the safety and condition of the property, not at whether the price is supported.

Selling to a VA buyer, or buying with your VA benefit in San Diego? Talk it through with Justin Santolaya — San Diego’s trusted 1% listing agent. No pressure, no obligation. Just answers.