Experiences with exclusive buy search brokers?

Definite red flag. Avoid them or negotiate it out of the contract if you really like them. However, just that they already included that in the terms is a bad sign of what a working relationship with them might be like in the future.

I'll give you a perspective from an advisor/broker. I recently took on a searcher client to see if it's something that we'd consider doing more of. First off, I probably won't. Massive investment of time, looking for and sifting through dozens and dozens of deals. In regards to sharing fees, many brokers won't share, or will only pay referral. So, it falls on the buyer to pay a fee in many cases, although I discounted my fee if my buyer sourced the deal. Benefit to them is we're able to find and evaluate many more deals with my team and resources than he would on his own. But again, even at a Lehman Scale fee structure, we're spending way too much time compared to sell-side engagements. Unless we find a way to tighten up the process, I likely won't seek more searchfunder type engagements. Too small. too much time required.