Unfortunately I don’t see how you can hold him to the contract but I would report him to NAR and your local New York licensing board.

ONce it came back with these title issues the deal gets re traded or it dies .. the contracts in most states if they are MLS Nar type contracts allow for seller to back out and buyer to back out and get EM returned if title cannot be cleared at the price your paying for it. the only way this person would take title to liens is if the title company missed them and would be on the hook to clear them at their cost.. or she did her own closing with no title company or insurance and since there is a new lender involved they will want a lenders policy so that answer that quesiton.. to me this is simply a case of title company waiting to long into the process to run full title and do their date downs.

US District Court just ruled in NAR's favor in one of them just last week.

The Department of Justice and NAR have also entered into an antitrust settlement that states you can not advertise your services as free.

Fred and NAR are too macro on their views for specific markets. 

@Tom GimerTaken from the NAR (National Association of REALTORS©) website:A real estate broker who becomes an agent of a seller or buyer, either intentionally through the execution ofa written agreement, or unintentionally by a course of conduct, will be deemed to be a fiduciary.

@Connor Heffler there was an article Bigger Pockets sent out 3 days ago titled "These 10 Markets Could Boom in 2023 - According to the NAR."

Exam prep courses and exam fees, licensing fees to the state, local MLS dues, NAR dues, business licensing fees, and mandatory errors and omissions insurance will add up very quickly into the thousands of dollars in just that first year, and that's before you even start talking with a broker about desk fees or commission splits. 

There are tens of thousands of licensees out there who make the same assumptions about PM as most rookies on BP...and they make the same mistakes, to the detriment of their Clients.4) As a licensee, and assuming your Company requires you to have membership in the NAR or other trade organizations, you are required to adhere to a Code of Ethics in all aspects of the business.

I was a recipient of the Hall of Fame award through the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) for my RPAC participation and was inducted into the Omega Tau Rho fraternity of NAR for "outstanding contribution to REALTOR education".