What does BRRETA require of the listing broker?
- AHold the offer until the first contract fails
- BReturn it unopened, because the property is under contract
- CPresent it only if the seller signed a backup offer addendum
- DTimely present it to the seller, even though the property is under contract
Pick an answer before you read on.
Answer: D
Timely present it to the seller, even though the property is under contract. Section 10-6A-5 requires a seller's broker to timely present all offers to and from the seller, even when the property is subject to a contract of sale. The same subsection says the broker does not have to go looking for more offers while the property is under contract, unless the brokerage engagement says otherwise.
Why each choice is right or wrong
A. Hold the offer until the first contract fails
The existing contract does not suspend timely presentation of an incoming offer. The seller should receive it without waiting for the first deal to fail.
B. Return it unopened, because the property is under contract
Being under contract does not authorize discarding the offer. The seller's broker still owes the presentation duty.
C. Present it only if the seller signed a backup offer addendum
A backup-offer addendum is not a prerequisite to presenting an offer. Presenting it also does not give the seller a right to breach the first contract.
D. Timely present it to the seller, even though the property is under contractCorrect answer
Section 10-6A-5 expressly requires timely presentation even while the property is under contract. Seeking more offers and presenting ones received are separate duties.
The trap
Two separate duties are easy to merge. Presenting offers that arrive is required. Marketing for new offers while under contract is not, unless the listing says so.
The Rule
Present incoming offers while under contract. Seeking more is optional unless the engagement requires it.
What would change the answer
- If the listing agreement says the broker will keep marketing while under contract, the broker must keep seeking offers, because § 10-6A-5 lets the engagement override the default.
- The same rule runs the other way. A buyer's broker must timely present all offers to and from the buyer, even when the buyer is already under contract.
Where the rule comes from
- O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-5, Duties and responsibilities of broker engaged by seller. A seller's broker must perform the engagement, promote the seller's interests (including timely presenting all offers to and from the seller even when the property is under contract, though it need not seek more offers then unless the engagement says so), exercise reasonable skill and care, obey the law, keep requested confidences, and disclose to all parties actually known adverse material facts about the property's physical condition and conditions within one mile that a diligent inspection would not reveal.
- O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-7, Duties of broker engaged by buyer. A buyer's broker must perform the engagement, promote the buyer's interests (seeking a property at acceptable price and terms, timely presenting all offers to and from the buyer even when the buyer is under contract, disclosing actually known adverse material facts concerning the transaction, advising expert help, and accounting for money), use ordinary skill and care, obey the law, and keep confidences the buyer expressly requests; in a seller-financed sale or loan assumption it must also disclose to the seller actually known adverse material facts about the buyer's financial ability and, in a residential sale, whether the buyer intends to occupy the property as a principal residence.
This is an original teaching question written from the statute. It is not a PSI exam item, and it is not copied or reconstructed from one. On the exam, BRRETA sits inside the Georgia agency and listing content. The BRRETA guide covers the client and customer table and the dual and designated agency rules in one place.