An agent must communicate every offer to his client
A worked RES examination question on offer and acceptance, from our Paper 1 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.
The question
A seller instructs her agent at the outset that she will not consider anything below $2 million, having had the property valued informally by a friend in the business. Six weeks into the marketing the agent receives a written offer of $1.95 million from a buyer who can complete quickly. Believing that the seller will refuse it, and not wishing to trouble her during a period when she has been unwell, he does not pass it on and tells the buyer it has been declined. The market softens over the following two months and the property eventually sells to a different buyer for $1.88 million. The seller has since learned of the earlier offer.
Which statement most appropriately describes the position?
The answer, and why
Answer: B
The rule. An agent must communicate every offer to his client. His own view of what the client will accept does not entitle him to filter them.
Why B is correct. He should have passed it on.
The other options.
- A relies on the stated floor price
- C on professional judgement
- D on contemporaneous documentation. Each is a reason for *advising against* the offer, and none is a reason for withholding it.
Exam note. He could have passed it on with a recommendation to refuse. Advising and withholding are different acts.
More on Offer and acceptance
Want a full paper instead of one question?
The free half-paper is 20 questions with a Section B case study, explained to this same depth. The paid sets are ten full 80-question papers across Paper 1 and Paper 2, every figure checked against the current IRAS, CEA, HDB, URA and SLA position.
Looking for past-year papers? CEA doesn't publish them — here's what it does publish.
Independent study material. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Council for Estate Agencies. No pass guarantee — for study use only.