Where this fits on the exam
| Official syllabus topic | Offer, Acceptance, Counteroffers, and Electronic Contracting |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Contracts |
| Published area weight | 19% of the national portion |
| Exam portion | National salesperson portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes the weight for the complete content area, not a fixed question count for this lesson. Learn the rule well enough to apply it when PSI changes names, numbers, or parties in a new scenario.
The lesson
Definite offer
An offer must show present intent and reasonably definite material terms. An invitation to negotiate or advertisement is not automatically an offer.
Mirror-image acceptance
Acceptance must agree to the offered terms. Changing price, closing, included property, contingencies, or other material terms creates a counteroffer.
Communication and delivery
Contract language and applicable law determine when acceptance becomes effective. Signing alone may be insufficient if notice or delivery is required.
Electronic contracting
Electronic records and signatures can form contracts when legal and platform requirements are met. The parties should retain the complete record and audit trail.
Multiple offers and counteroffers
Present offers promptly under the brokerage's duties and follow the seller's lawful instructions. The seller chooses whether to accept, reject, or counter. Highest price is not automatically best when financing, deadlines, contingencies, and likely performance differ. Countering several buyers without a controlled acceptance procedure can create conflicting obligations.
Electronic record safeguards
Confirm authorized signers, the complete document version, electronic-consent requirements, delivery rules, and the audit trail. A valid electronic signature does not cure changed terms, missing authority, or missed delivery. Preserve the final agreement and attachments rather than relying on a notification alone.
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. Seller changes Buyer's $420,000 offer to $430,000 and signs. Buyer never accepts the change.
Reason it through. The price change is material, so Seller made a counteroffer and rejected Buyer's original offer.
Answer. No purchase contract formed on these facts.
Common exam traps
- Treating a counteroffer as acceptance
- Assuming silence accepts
- Ignoring delivery terms
- Reviving a rejected offer without new assent
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These questions were written for instruction and mapped to the current outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A seller changes only the closing date on a buyer's written offer, signs it, and sends it back. What is the legal effect of the seller's response?
- A. Acceptance, since the price is unchanged
- B. A counteroffer that rejects the original offer
- C. Acceptance, subject to the buyer's approval
- D. A binding amendment to the buyer's offer
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. A counteroffer that rejects the original offer
Acceptance must mirror the offer, and the closing date is a material term, so the seller's change is a counteroffer that rejects the original. Treating it as acceptance because the price held is the classic trap: any material change counts, not just price.
- A. Incorrect. Price is not the only material term; the closing date matters too.
- B. Correct. Changing a material term proposes a counteroffer rather than accepting the original offer.
- C. Incorrect. A response awaiting the buyer's assent to changed terms is a counteroffer.
- D. Incorrect. An amendment changes an existing contract; this offer was not yet accepted.
Question 2A buyer's offer expires Friday at 5 p.m.; there is no paid option or other binding agreement to keep it open. The seller receives the buyer's written withdrawal on Wednesday before accepting, then signs acceptance on Thursday. Is there a contract?
- A. No, because the buyer revoked before acceptance
- B. Yes, because the offer ran until Friday
- C. Yes, if the acceptance reaches the buyer by Friday
- D. No, because no earnest money was deposited
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. No, because the buyer revoked before acceptance
An offeror can generally revoke any time before acceptance, even if the offer names a later deadline, unless an option or other binding promise keeps it open. The Friday deadline is the plausible reason to say yes, but a stated deadline alone does not make an offer irrevocable.
- A. Correct. The seller received the revocation before accepting, and no binding option kept the offer open.
- B. Incorrect. The stated Friday deadline alone does not make the offer irrevocable.
- C. Incorrect. Delivery by Friday cannot revive an offer already revoked on Wednesday.
- D. Incorrect. Earnest money is not the deciding fact; the timely revocation is.
Question 3An offer makes acceptance effective only when notice is delivered to the buyer. The seller signs unchanged at 4 p.m. The seller receives the buyer's withdrawal at 4:30 p.m., before the signed acceptance reaches the buyer at 5 p.m. What is the result?
- A. A contract formed at 4 p.m. when the seller signed
- B. A contract formed at 5 p.m. on delivery
- C. No contract, because the signing was not witnessed
- D. No contract, because the buyer revoked before delivery
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. No contract, because the buyer revoked before delivery
When the offer requires delivery, acceptance is not effective until delivery occurs, and this offer was revoked before that. Assuming the contract formed at the moment of signing is the trap Georgia forms are written to avoid.
- A. Incorrect. The offer expressly makes delivery, not signing, the point of effective acceptance.
- B. Incorrect. The seller received the withdrawal before the required delivery, so the original offer was no longer available.
- C. Incorrect. The stated defect is timely revocation, not a missing witness.
- D. Correct. Acceptance could not become effective at 5 p.m. after revocation reached the seller at 4:30 p.m.
Question 4A seller receives three offers. One has the highest price but a long financing contingency; another is lower with verified cash and a short closing. Who should choose which offer to accept?
- A. The listing agent must select the highest price
- B. The seller, after the agent explains the lawful terms and risks
- C. The lender must rank all three
- D. The first buyer to request a counteroffer
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. The seller, after the agent explains the lawful terms and risks
The seller makes the choice. The agent presents offers and explains their terms without substituting the agent's preferred result.
- A. Incorrect. Price is only one term; the agent cannot take the seller's decision.
- B. Correct. The seller can weigh price, financing, deadlines, contingencies, and likely completion.
- C. Incorrect. A buyer's lender does not choose the seller's contract.
- D. Incorrect. Requesting a counteroffer does not give a buyer control over the seller's response.
Question 5A seller electronically signs a document changing a buyer's offered closing date. The platform shows 'completed.' What does that status establish?
- A. A binding purchase contract despite the changed date
- B. Completion of that signing step, not acceptance of the original terms
- C. Proof the buyer agreed to the changed date
- D. A waiver of all delivery requirements
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. Completion of that signing step, not acceptance of the original terms
Electronic execution can be valid, but changing a material term still proposes a counteroffer. A platform status does not supply the buyer's assent.
- A. Incorrect. A changed material term is not acceptance merely because the seller signed.
- B. Correct. The record can show execution while contract formation still requires assent and any specified delivery.
- C. Incorrect. The seller's signature does not prove the buyer accepted the new date.
- D. Incorrect. An electronic status does not override the offer's communication and delivery rules.
Ready to move on?
You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.
- Explain Offer, Acceptance, Counteroffers, and Electronic Contracting in one clear answer without notes.
- Separate Definite offer from Mirror-image acceptance using a fresh example.
- Apply the decision rule to a new fact pattern and name the fact that controls the result.
- State the Georgia-specific point or explain why the national rule applies unchanged.
- Answer every practice question and explain the rule each rejected option misapplies.
- Revisit this topic later in mixed practice without category labels.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Contract Performance, Breach, and Remedies. Once a contract has formed, the next lesson covers what happens when someone fails to perform: material breach, liquidated damages versus penalties, rescission, and why a buyer can seek specific performance for unique land.
Return to the Contracts hub to see every official branch and the complete lesson sequence for this content area.