What is the exam-ready distinction?
| Official syllabus topic | Contracts: Offer, Acceptance, Counteroffer, and Multiple Offers |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Contracts |
| Published weight | 19% of the 100-question national portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes a weight for the complete official area, not a guaranteed count for this individual comparison. Use the source, document, actor, event, and timing stated in the question before applying a memorized definition.
Side-by-side comparison
Read across each row. The terms are deliberately compared on identical dimensions so the difference remains clear when the exam hides the vocabulary inside a scenario.
| Decision dimension | Offer | Counteroffer | Multiple offers |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Proposal capable of acceptance | Rejection of the prior offer plus a new offer when terms materially change | Two or more offers the owner may evaluate |
| Who holds power | Offeree during the offer's life | Original offeror becomes offeree to the counteroffer | Each offer follows its own revocation, rejection, expiry, and acceptance status |
| Contract effect | No contract until effective acceptance | Original offer is ordinarily no longer open after a true counteroffer | Acceptance of one does not silently create contracts with the others |
| Exam clue | Definite terms and intent to be bound | Changed price, date, or other material term | Seller choice, presentation, confidentiality, and timing |
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A buyer offers $410,000. The seller signs a response changing the price to $425,000. The buyer then tries to accept the original $410,000 offer.
Reason it through. The seller's material price change is a counteroffer and ordinarily rejects the original offer. The buyer cannot revive it unilaterally.
Answer. The $425,000 response is a counteroffer, and the $410,000 offer is no longer open unless renewed.
Common exam traps
- Calling a request for information a counteroffer without examining the words
- Treating a counteroffer as acceptance
- Assuming multiple offers may be disclosed freely
- Ignoring delivery, expiry, or revocation
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A buyer offers $410,000 for a home. The seller signs and delivers a response changing the price to $425,000. The buyer then signs an acceptance of the original $410,000 offer. What is the result?
- A. A contract at $410,000, since the buyer accepted in writing
- B. No contract, since the counteroffer ended the $410,000 offer
- C. A contract at $425,000, since the seller signed the response
- D. No contract until the listing broker picks which price applies
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. No contract, since the counteroffer ended the $410,000 offer
A counteroffer that changes a material term such as price rejects the original offer and makes a new one. The $410,000 offer was no longer open, so the buyer had nothing to accept, and the buyer never accepted the $425,000 counteroffer. The seller's signature looks plausible, but signing a counteroffer is not acceptance.
Question 2A listing broker holds two offers on a Georgia home. The seller has not authorized sharing any terms. The first buyer's agent asks the price in the second offer. What should the listing broker do?
- A. Share it, since multiple offers turn the sale into an auction
- B. Share it, since the broker must be honest with every party
- C. Decline to share it unless the seller authorizes disclosure
- D. Hint that the other offer is higher to draw a better bid
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. Decline to share it unless the seller authorizes disclosure
Multiple offers are separate proposals, and one buyer's terms belong to the transaction the listing broker handles for the seller. Revealing them without the seller's authorization acts outside the broker's authority and can undercut the seller's negotiating position; if the seller has asked for confidentiality, BRRETA makes it an express duty. The honesty duty forbids false statements, like hinting at a higher offer, but does not require disclosing another offer's terms.
Question 3A listing broker receives a signed offer the broker thinks is far too low. The seller has given no instruction about which offers to present. What does Georgia law require?
- A. Hold the offer until a higher one arrives
- B. Reject the offer for the seller as too low
- C. Return the offer and ask for a higher price
- D. Present the offer to the seller promptly
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. Present the offer to the seller promptly
BRRETA (O.C.G.A. 10-6A-5) requires a seller's broker to timely present all offers to the seller, even when the property is already under contract. The seller, not the broker, decides how to respond. Holding a low offer for a better one is the plausible shortcut, but it substitutes the broker's judgment for the seller's choice.
Ready to move on?
You have this distinction down when all of these are true.
- Define every compared term without using the other term as the definition.
- Rebuild the comparison table from memory.
- State the decision rule and Georgia distinction without notes.
- Solve the worked example after changing one key fact.
- Explain the rule or fact that makes each distractor wrong.
- Answer all three original questions correctly in mixed practice on a later day.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Lease Option Versus Lease Purchase. Next, lease option versus lease purchase applies the same question of who holds the power to accept, comparing a tenant's right to elect a purchase with a binding promise to buy later.
Return to the complete exam-concept library or the Contracts hub.