Contracts is the heaviest national domain (about 19% of the exam). Multiple-offer and counteroffer mechanics are Apply-level items: one wrong step can bind a seller, reject a good offer, or look like undisclosed dual agency.
Presenting offers
- Present every written offer promptly — even if it looks weak, late, or arrives after a verbal 'we have a deal.'
- A seller may accept, reject, counter, or let an offer expire. Silence is not acceptance.
- Do not tell one buyer the terms of another offer unless the seller authorizes that disclosure.
- If the listing agreement or brokerage policy requires a specific presentation method, follow it.
Counteroffers and backup offers
- Counteroffer
- A rejection of the original offer plus a new offer on different terms. The original cannot later be accepted unless it is revived in writing.
- Multiple counteroffers
- Sending the same counter to more than one buyer at once can create two contracts if more than one buyer accepts. Use a form that says acceptance is not binding until the seller picks one in writing.
- Backup offer
- A secondary contract that becomes primary only if the first contract fails. It should say so in writing.
- Highest and best
- A seller request that competing buyers submit their strongest terms by a deadline. It is an invitation to offer, not a contract.
- Revocation
- An offeror may withdraw an offer any time before it is accepted, unless the offer is an option supported by consideration.
Exam trap: a counteroffer kills the original. If the seller later says 'we'll take your first price,' that is a new offer the buyer must accept. Another trap: telling Buyer B the exact number Buyer A offered, without seller authorization, can breach confidentiality.