Since

August
17,
2024,
when
the
business
practice
changes
went
into
effect,
Lichtenstein
said
his
firm
has
completed
381
buy
side
transactions,
and
they
have
ultimately
looked
into
three
contracts
for
issues. 

“For
the
brokerage
community,
if
the

Buyers
Broker
Agreement
(BBA)
is
written
up
and
executed
properly
and
the
Buyer
purchases,
it
means
we
will
get
compensated
for
the
work
we
have
done.
That
is
reassuring
on
our
end
and
a
sigh
of
relief
as
most
every
other
profession
gets
paid
as
they
do
their
job
and
with
health
and
401k
benefits,”
Lichtenstein
wrote
in
an
email.
“Our
pay
structure
is
by
choice,
and
we
get
out
of
it
what
we
put
into
it.
But,
getting
compensated
is
something
we
expect
at
the
end
of
a
deal.”

According
to
Lichtenstein,
at
the
end
of
2024,
he
and
his
team
were
alerted
by
a
mortgage
broker
that
a
buyer
the
mortgage
professional
knew
was
working
with
Echo
Fine
Properties
had
just
presented
another
offer
with
a
different
buyer’s
broker.
He
said
they
immediately
notified
the
buyer
of
the
issue;
however,
the
buyer
ignored
the
communication,
resulting
in
Echo
filing
for
arbitration
after
the
transaction
had
closed. 

Buyer
signed
an
amended
buyer
broker
agreement

During
the
discovery
related
to
the
arbitration,
Lichtenstein
said
his
firm
found
that
the
day
after
they
had
alerted
the
buyer
to
the
issue,
one
of
the
buyers
signed
an
amended
buyer
broker
agreement,
swapping
out
the
name
of
the
original
buyer
for
that
of
his
mother.
Three
weeks
later,
another
amendment
to
the
contract
saw
things
reversed
with
the
mother’s
name
swapped
for
that
of
the
original
buyer. 

Through
arbitration,
the
arbitrator
concluded
that
the
buyer
broker
agreement
used
by
Echo
Fine
Properties
is
unambiguous,
and
its
terms
were
clearly
stated.
Additionally,
the
arbitrator
found
testimony
from
the
buyer
that
he
did
not
read
the
agreement
before
signing
it,
that
the
180-day
protection
period
for
the
agreement
is
“excessive,”
and
that
the
agent
from
Echo
Fine
Properties
provided
little
to
no
benefit
or
help
were
unpersuasive. 

Due
to
the
arbitrator’s
findings,
the
buyer
was
found
to
have
breached
his
contract
by
entering
into
a
purchase
agreement
without
the
involvement
of
his
Echo
Fine
Properties
agent
and
subsequently
refusing
to
pay
the
commission
Echo
Fine
Properties
was
entitled
to
based
on
the
buyer
broker
agreement.
As
a
result,
the
arbitrator
awarded
the
brokerage
$24,000
due
to
the
breached
contract.
This
sum
represented
the
3%
commission
agreed
upon
in
the
buyer
broker
contract
on
the
purchase
of
the
$800,000
property. 

Lichtenstein
noted
that
even
if
only
1%
of
transactions
have
an
issue,
in
a
year
with
just
4
million
existing
home
sales,
that
could
potentially
mean
40,000
arbitration
cases
a
year,
involving
a
purchaser
owing
a
commission
to
a
brokerage. 

“We
have
no
desire
for
this,
but
collections
is
appearing
to
be
a
new
category
for
brokerage
houses
as
a
result
of
the
BBA,”
Lichtenstein
wrote.
“For
purchasers,
if
you’ve
committed
to
a
Realtor,
then
don’t
try
to
pull
a
fast
one.
Understand
how
much
work
is
involved.
The
brokerage
community
takes
a
client
on
with
no
guarantee
of
being
paid
unless
one
buys
a
home.
Agents
put
in
a
tremendous
amount
of
time
and
their
knowledge
and
that
work
is
what
educates
a
client
and
helps
to
get
a
deal
over
the
finish
line.”