0601  Overview

This chapter establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) financial policies regarding land acquisitions.

Key points covered in this chapter:

• In accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 2406, 38 U.S.C. § 8103, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4651-4655, and 41 C.F.R. §102-73 VA is authorized to acquire land  from non-federal entities;
• Non-contractual obligations will be recorded for authorized land acquisitions, including relocation, closing, and settlement costs, at the time VA enters into an agreement for land; and
• The use of a miscellaneous vendor code is not permitted for land acquisition obligations. The brokered closing or settlement agent responsible for facilitating the settlement of VA land acquisitions must be individually vendorized.

0602 Revisions

Section	Revision	Office	Reason for Change	Effective Date
Various	New policy	OFP	New policy	September 2026

For a complete list of previous policy revisions, see Appendix A: Previous Policy Revisions.

0603 Definitions

Appraisal – A written statement prepared independently and impartially by a qualified appraiser setting forth an opinion of defined value of an adequately described property as of a specific date, supported by the presentation and analysis of relevant market information.

Brokered Closing/Settlement Agent – Entity qualified to facilitate the closing of land acquisitions. This includes ensuring all documents are signed and disbursing funds in accordance with the settlement statement.

Land – Real estate exclusive of any buildings or other assets situated on the property. The owner may be awarded the right to use all natural resources on and under the land, which may include water rights, fishing rights, mining rights, and so forth.

Non-Contractual Obligation – This term encompasses obligations with special statutory authority or other regulatory authority to exempt the obligation from Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). There are instances where these obligations may be generally defined as a contract (agreement between two parties), but these obligations do not follow FAR-based procurement procedures.

Obligation – A legally binding agreement that will result in outlays, immediately or in the future. An obligation is a legal liability of the Government against an available appropriation.

0604 Roles and Responsibilities

Administration and Staff Office Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are responsible for ensuring the proper processing of land acquisition obligations in accordance with the guidelines in this policy.

Office of Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) is responsible for VA’s land acquisitions and provides design, major construction, design and construction standards, environmental services, and historic preservation services.

Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction (OALC) is responsible for overseeing the formulation and execution of VA acquisition plans and strategies relating to land acquisition.

Office of General Counsel (OGC) is responsible for reviewing land acquisition agreements prior to execution to ensure legal requirements are met.

Financial Services Center (FSC) is responsible for processing land acquisition payments in VA’s accounting system and then remitting to the brokered closing or settlement agent.

0605 Policies

060501 General Policies

1. VA will acquire land in accordance with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 4651 and 41 C.F.R. 102-73.
2. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 8103, VA may acquire land as necessary for the construction and alteration of medical facilities. 
3. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 2406, VA may acquire land as needed for national cemeteries.
4. In accordance with the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act (URA), VA will provide relocation assistance to displaced persons, businesses, farms, and nonprofit organizations impacted by land being acquired.
5. Land acquisitions obtained from non-Federal entities are procured in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 2406 and § 8103 and therefore are not subject to Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).
6. See Volume IX, Chapter 5 – Intragovernmental Transactions and Volume IX, Chapters 6 and 7 – Buy/Sell Transactions (Paper Form and G-Invoicing) for information regarding acquiring land from another Federal entity, which are subject to FAR.
7. VA’s Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) will establish land acquisition policy and procedures. 
8. Land acquisitions will be approved and executed in accordance with CFM’s Office of Real Property (ORP) policy.
9. OALC will establish land acquisition forecasts with applicable details to ensure VA has the necessary land resources to optimize health care delivery and related activities.
10. Land acquisitions must comply with the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
11. Land acquisitions must be concurred upon by OGC prior to the execution of an agreement.
12. Approval must be obtained from the VA officials with delegated authority to execute land acquisitions within established thresholds prior to any public notification, request for proposals, environmental analysis, request for legislation or funding, press release, negotiation with external parties, other official notice. Refer to CFM’s Land Acquisition Management Policies and Procedures for guidance.
13. VA will obtain an appraised value for the land that will be acquired. The appraisal will establish an amount estimated to be the just compensation for the purchase.
14. An offer will then be made to the non-federal entity (seller) through a brokered closing or settlement agent.
15. If needed, VA will negotiate on the purchase price to acquire the property. Negotiation thresholds will be established and approved by the official with real estate contracting authority at the time of concept approval for the acquisition. As a part of this approval, the authorized official will define the acceptable terms and limits for negotiated acquisitions. For example, a project with an estimated land acquisition cost of $1 million may include, within its concept approval, authorization to acquire property at up to 10% above the appraised value without requiring additional approval through the administrative settlement process. This approach allows for timely negotiations while maintaining appropriate oversight and alignment with project approvals. Any negotiation exceeding the approved government appraisal and not specified in the concept approval must be authorized through the administrative settlement process.
16. Upon acceptance and full execution of the agreement, an obligation will be recorded in VA’s accounting system. The brokered closing or settlement agent will be the vendor on the transaction.
17. The obligation amount will include the total cost of the land acquisition including but not limited to; recording fees, closing and settlement costs incurred at the time VA entered into an agreement for the land. Funding for the offer to buy must be obligated after acceptance and full execution of the offer but before payment is made.
18. Obligations pursuant to this policy must follow the requirements for all government obligations, established in Volume III, Chapter 2 – Obligations.
19. VA will ensure required documentation for land acquisitions (e.g., appraisals, offers,  lease or purchase decisions, OGC Concurrence, settlement statement, executed agreements, Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Certificate of Inspection and Possession, title report, deed, and other documentation) is retained in accordance with NARA standards. for audit and review purposes.
20. The reference number applicable to the fully executed agreement or details applicable to the fully executed agreement must be recorded on the non-contractual obligation document in VA’s accounting system to enable audit and subsequent review purposes. This will also provide proof that proper documentation was used to record the obligation in accordance with 31 U.S.C. §1501.
21. All documentation related to land acquisitions will be retained in accordance with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Records Schedule.
22. Brokered Closing or Settlement agents used for land acquisitions will be individually vendorized; the use of a miscellaneous vendor code is not permitted.

060502  Integrated Financial and Acquisition Management System (iFAMS)

1. When recording a land acquisition obligation in iFAMS, the document type OSE (Standard Obligation (non-acquisitions obligation)) must be used.
2. When making a payment for land acquisitions in iFAMS, a PAE (Enterprise Payment Authorization) will be used as the payment document type for wire payment. The payment will then be processed by Financial Service Center’s (FSC’s) Financial Operation Service (FOS) as a wire transfer to be remitted to the brokered closing or settlement agent.

060503  Financial Management System (FMS)

1. When recording a land acquisition obligation in FMS, VA Form 1358, Approved use / authority code “20” and sub-authority code “A” must be used.
2. Payment for land acquisitions will be processed by FSC’s FOS as a wire transfer to be remitted to the brokered closing or settlement agent.

0606 Authorities and References

• Public Law 89-665, National Historic Preservation Act, 1966
• Public Law 91-190, National Environmental Policy Act, 1969
• United States Code (U.S.C.)
  • 31 U.S.C. §1501, Documentary evidence requirement for Government obligations
  • 38 U.S.C. § 2406, Acquisition of lands
  • 38 U.S.C. § 8103, Authority to construct and alter, and to acquire sites for, medical facilities
  • 42 U.S.C. § 4651, Uniform policy on real property acquisition practices
• Code of Federal Regulations
  • 41 C.F.R. 102-73, Real Estate Acquisition
• VA Financial Policy Publications
  • Volume III, Chapter 2 – Obligations
  • Volume IX, Chapter 5 – Intra-governmental Transactions
  • Volume IX, Chapter 6 – Buy/Sell Transactions (Paper form)
  • Volume IX, Chapter 7 – Buy/Sell Transactions (G-Invoicing)
• Construction and Facilities Management’s Office of Real Property (CFM ORP) Land Acquisition Management Policies and Procedures
• National Archives and Records Administration Records Schedule
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0607 Rescissions

None.

Appendix A: Previous Policy Revisions

None.