The practice changes from the National Association of Realtors settlement took effect August 17, 2024, and they changed the buyer side of a transaction more than the seller side. Two changes do most of the work: a written buyer agreement is now expected before you tour a home with a buyer, and offers of compensation are no longer communicated through the MLS.
The rules themselves are not complicated. The hard part is doing them consistently on every buyer, and having a file that shows you did. This checklist walks through what to document so a buyer deal holds up later.
Quick answerOn every buyer engagement, your file should show:
- A written buyer representation agreement signed before the first showing
- Clear compensation terms agreed in writing with the buyer
- A record of how compensation was handled outside the MLS
- A showing log tied to the active agreement
- Renewal or expiration tracking for the agreement
Get it in writing before the first tour
The core change is timing. The written buyer agreement should be signed before you tour a home with the buyer, not after an offer is drafted. Build the habit so it is the first step of working with any buyer, the same way a listing agreement is the first step with a seller.
The agreement should be specific enough to be real: the services you provide, the term, and how you are compensated. Vague placeholder language is what gets challenged later.
Compensation is negotiable, just not on the MLS
Compensation remains negotiable between you and your client. What changed is that it is no longer advertised through the MLS. That puts the burden on your paperwork to show what was agreed and how it was handled, since the old MLS field is not there to point to.
Document the compensation terms in the buyer agreement, and keep a clear record of how any compensation from a seller or listing side was arranged. The goal is a file that answers "what did the buyer agree to pay, and how was it actually paid?" without guesswork.
Tie showings to the active agreement
A showing log that connects each tour to a signed, in-term agreement does two things. It proves the agreement was in place before showings happened, and it surfaces when an agreement is about to expire while you are still actively working with the buyer. Both are easy to lose track of across several buyers at once.
Track renewals and expirations
Buyer agreements have terms, and terms end. An expired agreement on an active buyer is exactly the kind of gap that is invisible until it matters. A simple renewal tracker keeps you from showing homes under an agreement that lapsed last month.
Make it repeatable
None of this is hard on a single deal. It falls apart when you are running several buyers and trusting memory. The fix is a repeatable workflow and a few standard templates you use every time.
The Buyer Agreement Compliance Pack is built for exactly this: an editable buyer representation agreement template, compensation disclosure language, a showing log, and a renewal tracker, organized around the post-settlement workflow. If you also coordinate files across a team, the Transaction Coordinator Compliance Desk Pack keeps the broader deal file complete from opening to closing.
Want your whole buyer workflow in one place?The Buyer Agreement Compliance Pack gives you the templates and logs to make the post-settlement process the same on every deal.
See the Buyer Agreement Compliance Pack
_This article is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal advice or a substitute for your brokerage's policies, your MLS and association rules, or a qualified advisor. Practice requirements vary by brokerage, MLS, and state. Verify the current rules that apply to you before you rely on this. E&F Compliance Services does not guarantee any outcome._
_E&F Compliance Services helps founders and small operators in heavily regulated industries get compliant and stay compliant, from DOT to AI governance. Reach out at_ _team@efcompliance.com__._
_The E&F Compliance Team_