Home seller decides how offers are presented
Q: (Regarding your Nov. 3 column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal about real estate agents presenting offers), are they presented to sellers in the order received? Can the Realtor collect several offers and present them all at one time so the seller can select the best one? Thank you for your response.
- Jerry G., Henderson
A: Realtors generally present offers to buy a home in the order they were received. But the process really depends on the seller, the seller's schedule and the number of offers being made on the property. For example, it can be challenging to schedule a time for all sellers involved in a transaction to meet to review the one or more offers they have received. Sometimes, the seller may tell their agent that they want to see all offers at a certain time. In any case, those instructions should always be put in writing.
The Nevada Real Estate Commission's Nevada Law and Reference Guide states: "The issues of when, how and by whom offers are presented are determined by the client, not the licensee. There is no law or regulation stating how an offer is to be presented - whether the seller sees the offers in their submission order, all at once, the highest price first, or so forth. There is no law or regulation requiring the seller to reject one offer before seeing the next one. Clients have various desires on how they want to review any offers. A licensee must honor, within the limits of the law, those desires."
It's a good idea for the listing agent to let buyers' agents know if there is a specific date on which offers will be presented. It's not necessarily required, but it's a good idea to keep everyone informed.
It can be confusing to work through multiple counter offers in trying to secure the "highest and best" offer, especially when the buyer offers cash at the list price with no conditions and they still don't receive acceptance of their offer and their agent finds out that a lower-priced offer was accepted. Personalities or an owner who is currently living in the home can be factors in such situations.
I'd like to reiterate the main point I made in this space on Nov. 3 when I explained that Nevada law requires a real estate licensee to "present all offers made to or by the client as soon as practicable."
This rule is reinforced in the code of ethics all Realtors pledge to uphold.
In rare circumstances, a seller may elect to waive the agent's duty to present offers. In that case, no offers are presented by the licensee.
So, either all offers should be presented, or no offers should be presented. There is no in between.
Sellers can accept, reject or counter each offer. They may, but are not required to, counter any or all of the offers presented to them. Either way, it's the seller's choice as they try to secure the best offer they can.
Keep in mind that the highest offer is not always the best. There may be other terms in an offer that are more important to the seller than the proposed sales price, especially if two or more competing offers are close in price.
If a would-be homebuyer has evidence that their offer was never presented to the seller, they can file a complaint with the Real Estate Division. And if the listing agent is a Realtor, they also can file an ethics complaint with the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.
As always, you should consult a qualified attorney with any specific legal questions you may have.
Kolleen Kelley is the 2012 GLVAR president. To ask her a question, email her at ask@glvar.org. For more information, visit www.lasvegasrealtor.com.
