As of November 25, 2022, the VA Circular announces that “an ongoing maintenance agreement from a homeowner’s association or a joint maintenance agreement from the owners of properties accessed by the private road or shared driveway is no longer required for properties with private roads and shared driveways.“

State Laws & Waivers

This is great news for Veterans! Here’s why:

  • many states have enacted laws for the maintenance of private roads and shared driveways and
  • Veterans could request a waiver if a joint maintenance agreement did not exist.

Furthermore, requesting a waiver is considered a “burden,” because it creates a disadvantage to the Veteran in two ways:

  1. cost of a waiver and
  2. the time it takes to obtain VA loan financing

Thus, the Department of Veterans Affairs has ceased the maintenance agreement requirement.

Permanent Easement Still Required for Private Roads & Shared Driveways

Now, the only requirement is a recorded permanent easement or right of way from the property to public road. This information should be in the title report. Thus, this change will make it easier for borrowers to obtain VA financing for properties with private road or driveway access. In fact, Hawaii has many properties that share driveways and private roads. So this will also be less headache for us as your VA lender! 

Hawaii VA Loans makes it easy to purchase a home with a private road or shared driveway. Begin your VA home loan purchase in Hawaii! Contact us at 808-792-4251 or fill out our online loan application.