On August 26, 2016 I wrote a legal tip discussing the new Offer Rejection Form that was required under the new Real Estate Agent law.
South Carolina Code §40-57-135(I)(5) states, “If an offer is rejected without counter, an offer rejection form, promulgated by the commission, signed by the licensee affirming presentation of the offer must be provided to the offeror by the licensee, whether the agent of the buyer, the seller, or if acting as a transaction broker.”
Even though the statute only uses the term “offer” and does not include the term “counter-offer” it is likely the Real Estate Commission would hold that the statute applies to both offers and counter-offers because the statute says it applies to agents for the buyer and seller. Since sellers do not typically initiate offers, the intent of the statute arguably includes both offers and counter-offers.
Why does this matter? If counter-offers are included as we suspect the Commission would hold that they are, then every time you negotiate a contract that is not ratified the negotiation has to end with the Offer Rejection Form because the final counter-offer was rejected and not countered. Therefore, every negotiation ends with either a ratified contract or an Offer Rejection Form. An email saying “my client is no longer interested” is insufficient. The statute requires use of the Commission’s form. From our conversations with agents, we understand this is not taking place.
BLAIR CATO’S ANNUAL CINCO DE MAYO EVENT IS ONLY TWO-WEEKS AWAY!
