UPDATE: The lawyers have clarified which workarounds Realtors are not allowed to use under the new rules for buying a house
There's been a lot of confusion on here about what Realtors are allowed to do following the settlement in the class action lawsuit. Agents have been posting workarounds right and left in Facebook groups.
Thankfully, some of the lawyers involved issued a statement a couple weeks ago to clear up how buyer's agents should behave. If you spot any of these things, you should probably treat it as a sign that your Realtor doesn't really care about the rules and is trying to score a bigger commission.
Your Realtor wants you to amend the buyer agreement or for you to sign a second buyer agreement to increase his commission. If your agent wants to amend the buyer agreement to increase his commission after he learns what the sellers are offering, that's a huge red flag. Realtors aren't allowed to increase their pay just because they talked to the sellers and learned more is being offered. The new rules are designed to lock in the commission upfront so it can't be increased later.
Your Realtor wants to accept a bonus. If your Realtor is trying to get a bonus or some kind of extra payment from the seller or builder, that's a red flag. All the compensation has to be clearly disclosed and agreed to in the buyer agreement. Realtors aren't allowed to go and collect more money from the sellers, even if it's a builder advertising a bonus.
Your Realtor tries to get you to sign a second buyer agreement with a commission after you had already agreed to free tours. If your Realtor wants you to sign a new buyer agreement with a commission after you've already looked at houses under a buyer agreement with free tours, that's a red flag. The rules are that your Realtor cannot get paid a commission on the houses you looked together under a free tour agreement. (Zillow free touring agreements will probably be going away very soon.)
Your Realtor wants to put "minimum" and "maximum" commissions in the buyer agreement. If your Realtor is trying to guarantee a "minimum" and "maximum" commission in the buyer agreement, that's a red flag. Compensation terms have to be exact and not open-ended. There should be an easy to understood percentage or amount, not a pay range.
Your Realtor tries to pay himself whatever commission the seller is offering, even if it's more than what was agreed to in your buyer agreement. If your Realtor is wording the buyer agreement to accept whatever the seller is offering, or taking a higher percentage than what's in your buyer agreement, that's a massive red flag. His pay is limited to the percentage or amount that was agreed to in the buyer agreement. Nothing extra is allowed.
Your Realtor wants to wait to sign a buyer agreement until after he's talked to the sellers. If your agent isn't going over the buyer agreement and having you sign it upfront, that's a big red flag. The buyer agreement that spells out what your Realtor gets paid must be signed before you see any houses together. Signing it afterward is not allowed.
This shouldn't be considered legal advice but hopefully it helps some homebuyers and future homeowners out there from being taken advantage of.
Please post other examples in the comments if you know of any.