Is it ok to receive Assignment fees outside of escrow??

[Carlos Toussaint]

Hey Guys, a buddy of mine has a contract that he wants to assign. He doesn't have a. Bigger pockets account, so I thought I should help him by creating this forum. He wants to avoid double closing, so he wanted to form an assignment deal just between him and the buyer. His plan is before assigning the contract to the end buyer. The buyer has to deposit 20% non refundable fee into his account , then pay the remainder at closing. What do you guys think? Can he burnt with this type of strategy?