Seller Representation Agreement
What goes on with a Seller’s Representation Agreement and what happens when multiple offers are received from Buyers for commercial real estate? The broker’s responsibility when having representation with the seller is to provide all known information to the Seller so that the Seller can make an informed decision to counter an offer , accept an offer or reject an offer. The offer by law cannot be rejected due to race, color, religion , sex or national origin. The same rule applies for physically handicapped buyers. As a listing broker and having a representation agreement in place, the broker cannot not make any inquires or disclose information to a Buyer that is intended to have any preferences by the Seller based on the agreement in place by Seller and Broker.
Seller and Listing Broker Neutral
This means the Seller and the Listing Broker must be neutral in their response to the Buyer’s attributes as listed above. Decision making processes can be documented to avoid any confusion or claims against an impropriety being used. Usually offers that are made by Buyers are not alike even though they are for the same listing. Contingencies are weighed in the decision making such as financing requirements, inspection results and time to close. It is common sense that an offer with the least amount of contingencies and the shortest time to close usually gets the deal done. However before a seller representation agreement is executed is important for the seller and the listing agent to be on the same page regarding marketing and pricing and the time to able it takes to close the listing.