It’s hard to tell if your offer has really been presented to the seller, especially in these high-volume multiple offer scenarios. Occasionally, a Balboa agent will tell me they suspect the listing agent has not presented their offer to the seller.
When this happens, we typically request the “rejection of offer” on page 10 of 10 of the RPA to be initiated. Usually listing agents will comply, but what happens when they don’t?
Below is a list of important factors to know about presenting offers. I will use “broker” to encompass both the broker and agent because the rules apply to both, regardless of whether it’s two people or one.
- A listing broker has the legal obligation as a fiduciary to present all offers to the seller.
- The seller is not legally obligated to respond to any offers. This means that you could send an offer to a listing agent and there is no requirement for the seller to sign a rejection or even respond.
- A selling broker (buyer’s broker) can request in writing that the listing broker affirm in writing the offer has been presented to the seller or the seller has refused (in writing) to review any more offers. This is not statutory, it’s just NAR/CAR code of conduct.
- If a buyer’s broker makes a reasonable attempt to make contact, and is completely ignored by the listing broker for at least one day, the buyer’s broker can inform the listing broker in writing that they are left with no choice but to contact the seller directly and proceed. Please make sure you contact me before you do this.
If you are in contact with the listing agent, and they tell you your offer was rejected, you can always send a CAR letter called the “Demand That Offer Be Presented,” found in Zipforms under the CAR sample letters category.
This will likely get you a written rejection from the listing agent, which you can pass to your buyer, but that’s about it.