Buyer's Agency Contract (Exclusive Buyer's Agency Agreement)

A Buyer's Agency Contract — typically the BCREA Exclusive Buyer's Agency Agreement (EBAA) — is the buyer-side agency contract a BC buyer signs with a designated licensee. Under BC's designated agency model, in force since June 15, 2018, the agency relationship is between the client and the individual licensee (NOT the brokerage). The EBAA defines (1) the buyer's designated licensee; (2) the contract duration (commonly 30-90 days, sometimes property-specific); (3) the geographic scope (e.g., "Fraser Valley" vs "Greater Vancouver" vs a specific city); (4) the commission structure, including how the buyer is to be compensated if the listing brokerage offers a commission shortfall to the cooperating licensee.

Negotiate the geographic scope and the duration before signing. A 90-day-province-wide EBAA effectively blocks the buyer from working with any other licensee in any other market for 90 days; you may need to step out of one market into another and the EBAA prevents it. Negotiate scope and duration to match your actual search. Also: most EBAAs have a "commission shortfall" clause where the buyer pays the difference if the listing brokerage offers less commission than the EBAA stipulates — read this clause carefully, and ask the licensee to walk you through the math on a hypothetical $1.5M deal where the listing brokerage offers a 2.5% buy-side commission against an EBAA stipulating 3.0%. The Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services (DORT) form is signed earlier than the EBAA — typically before the first showing — and is a separate document.