Buyer registration

Definition

Joining a broker's buyer list to see the deals it is already selling.

Why It Matters

It is access and not advocacy, and the two get confused because the paperwork feels like being taken on as a client. Signing up puts you on a list, gets you the listings first, and changes nothing about who the firm is working for, which is the seller who pays it. Read what you sign anyway: some registrations include a non-circumvention clause that ties you to that firm for any business it introduced, for a period after you stop talking. Useful for deal flow, and never a substitute for someone on your side of the table.

In numbers: Registering costs nothing and buys access to that firm's own listings, while the seller still pays the success fee, commonly 10% of a $1.2M sale.