Agents Say “The New Buyer Agreement is NOT Enforceable”

This post has many moving parts.

Please reach out if the interviews with your colleagues have proved worthwhile.

Based on my nine in-depth interviews with very successful, experienced agents, this post may answer questions many of you have been asking in your training but still have not gotten “complete” answers to.

All nine agents made a case for why THEY BELIEVE a buyer-broker agreement is ultimately “not enforceable” from a “practical standpoint.”

Their insights appear quite sound, so I’m sharing them with you in time for office meetings and the implementation of the NAR’s civil case on August 13.

Ask the Quiet Part Outloud! Don’t Be Gaslighted at These Meetings!

In this week’s upcoming meetings, “grill your sales trainers” and sales managers for answers. Who will (prefer) refer you to CAR’s Legal Help Line?

Please reach out if my interviews with your colleagues have proved worthwhile. And forward this to your colleagues.

There’s No Commission Sharing. Effective August 13,

The buyer contract pays buyer agents, thus eliminating “Procuring Cause” and making every buyer comm a “jump ball” until the final day of COE.

“Buyers are Liars”

Some buyers will sign multiple contracts with several agents as they negotiate with multiple agents for a lower fee.

There’s Only ONE Commission Check! Buyers will (eventually) “Ghost you.”

Some will choose another agent that charges less – OR – try to contact the listing agent directly, hoping to get “any buyer concessions” credited to themselves.

Even if you have a signed BBAC; Whether it is “exclusive or not” – will not matter;

If a buyer “ghosts you” (at any point in the process) and goes with another agent, the MLS will not get involved with buyer commission issues.

Let’s Assume a Buyer Has Signed the Buyer Agreement to Pay You 2%

But later buys a home and refuses to pay even though the contract was still in effect

EVEN IF a home is shown (by you), then you write an accepted offer, but the deal blows up (for the time being), and the buyer (later) purchases the very same home (despite NOT having officially canceled your buyer broker contract)…You are very unlikely to get a comm check!

What Options Do Buyer Agents Have? Only 1, Litigation.:

Mediation, arbitration, and court filings to force the buyer to pay 2%

Even if the agent wins, they still have to collect. Good luck with that.

This Entire Process is Going to Be Problematic, at Best!

Remember: Just like “listing agreements’, your broker OWNS your buyer broker agreements. Email your broker and ask them how they will respond to you filing a lawsuit against the buyers to collect a 2% commission owed.

Spoiler Alert: Ultimately, your broker will answer “No and Hell No! They’re in the business of selling homes, NOT engaging in comm enforcement.

For Arguments Sake:

Let’s Say the Nine Agents are” Inaccurate.”

What’s Next? Let’s do the math of litigation.

1) Having the buyers served a demand letter for the 2%. Cost? Hundreds of dollars?

2) Filing for mediation. Will your broker split the costs?

According to an online post by Thomas Alan Grossman,

a Mediation Attorney in Palm Springs, CA,

“Mediations for a full day can range from $1,500 to $6,000 (and more), depending on the mediator and the Dispute Resolution Service.

3) “Filing for arbitration?” Will your broker split the costs?

According to a web post by ‘JAMS:”

“For two-party matters, the Filing Fee is $2,000”.

“Of the issues involving three or more parties, the filing fee is $3,500”.

“Legal costs can range from $400 to $1000 per hour”.

“The consumer must only pay $250 for matters involving consumers”.

JAMS Policy on Consumer Arbitrations Under Pre-Dispute Clauses.

4) Retain an attorney (Does your broker have one on “retainer” to represent you?) By now, can you see what your colleagues are alluding to?

The BBAC is ‘”flawed.”

This BBAC has so many ‘holes’ that the Marines could drive an armored column through it—that’s self-evident.

Another three issues the interviews didn’t cover were:

1) “Which RE brokerage wants to be the first to face the media scrutiny of filing comm lawsuits against consumers? That’s media suicide!

There’s NO case law on this.

2) Just because the geniuses at NAR and CAR conceived this doesn’t mean it will hold up in court.

“In a New York minute”!

3) How fast will consumer advocacy (“CFA”) groups line up with the “buyer defendant)” to provide them with legal help?

The Buyer Broker Agreement is worthless for the above reasons.

“Many” of your sales trainers and management crews (allegedly) have been aware of the “flaws” and chosen not to share their insights—at least not with”rank-and-file agents!”

Call Me! I look forward to the opportunity to live up to
your professional expectations and my own reputation.

Daniel Dobbs (.org)
Mutual Home Mortgage
Cell: 949 250-3981
Dandobbs6@gmail.com
DRE # 00986886 …..NMLS# 307631