Have you ever wondered if your buyer’s offer or your rental client’s offer was presented to the seller or landlord, or whether your seller’s or landlord’s counteroffer was presented to the potential buyer/tenant by the buyer’s broker?

Article 1, Standard of Practice 1-7 states: “When acting as listing brokers, REALTORS^® shall continue to submit to the seller/landlord all offers and counteroffers until closing or execution of a lease unless the seller/landlord has waived this obligation in writing. Upon the written request of a cooperating broker who submits an offer to the listing broker, the listing broker shall provide, as soon as practical, a written affirmation to the cooperating broker stating that the offer has been submitted to the seller/landlord, or a written notification that the seller/landlord has waived the obligation to have the offer presented. REALTORS^® shall not be obligated to continue to market the property after an offer has been accepted by the seller/landlord. REALTORS^® shall recommend that sellers/ landlords obtain the advice of legal counsel prior to acceptance of a subsequent offer except where the acceptance is contingent on the termination of the pre-existing purchase contract or lease.”

When you are not sure if your offer has been presented to the seller/landlord, send a written request (email or text message is sufficient) to the listing broker and ask for affirmation that the offer was either submitted to the seller/landlord or the seller/ landlord waived the right to see the offer.

Illinois REALTORS^® has created the Affirmation to Cooperating/Buyer’s Broker form. To address the presentation of counteroffers, Article 1, Standard of Practice 1-8, was recently added to the Code of Ethics, and became effective Jan. 1, 2022. This Standard of Practice states:

“REALTORS^®, acting as agents or brokers of buyers/tenants, shall submit to buyers/tenants all offers and counteroffers until acceptance but have no obligation to continue to show properties to their clients after an offer has been accepted unless otherwise agreed in writing. Upon the written request of the listing broker who submits a counteroffer to the buyer’s/tenant’s broker, the buyer’s/tenant’s broker shall provide, as soon as practical, a written affirmation to the listing broker stating that the counteroffer has been submitted to the buyers/tenants, or a written notification that the buyers/tenants have waived the obligation to have the counter-offer presented. REALTORS®, acting as agents or brokers of buyers/tenants, shall recommend that buyers/tenants obtain the advice of legal counsel if there is a question as to whether a pre-existing contract has been terminated.”

When you are not sure if your counteroffer has been presented to the potential buyer/ tenant, send a written request (email or text message is sufficient) to the cooperating broker and ask for affirmation that the counteroffer was either submitted to the buyer/ tenant or the buyer/tenant waived the right to see the counteroffer.

Illinois REALTORS^® has also created the Affirmation to Seller’s Broker form that you can use for this purpose.

Finally, while it is best for the seller/landlord or the buyer/tenant to sign the agreement itself noting their rejection, neither party is subject to the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, or the Real Estate License Act, for that matter. Thus, the private parties can’t be “forced” to sign anything. The forms provided above are offered as the “next best thing” to be available for REALTORS^® to assure their respective clients that offers, and counteroffers (depending on the circumstances) have been presented to the opposing party, or that the party rejected the right to see the offer or the counteroffer.