To help real estate licensees avoid allegations that an offer was not submitted to the seller or not provided in a timely manner, Arizona REALTORS® added a box to the contract to prompt the seller to acknowledge that an offer was submitted and rejected on the date specified.

While the seller’s initials evidence that both the listing broker and the buyer’s broker complied with the ADRE rules, Commissioner Judy Lowe recently made the state association aware that the department has seen an increasing number of complaints on the issue.

To help clarify the ethical requirements within the Code of Ethics, Standard of Practice, the National Association of REALTORS® revised section 1-7 earlier this year.

When acting as listing brokers, REALTORS® shall continue to submit to the seller/landlord all offers and counter-offers 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.

The rationale for this addition to the Code of Ethics is that it benefits the listing brokers by confirming their ethical duty to present offers consistent with the other provisions of Standard of Practice 1-7, and it benefits cooperating brokers by affording them written confirmation of offer presentation to provide to their buyers.