Presenting Offers Promptly — Team Renick Single Agent

Most buyers assume their agent is forwarding everything the listing side sends. Florida law makes that assumption legally enforceable for Single Agents — and creates surprisingly narrow exceptions even for transaction brokers. The duty looks simple on paper. In practice, it is one of the most common sources of duty breaches in Florida real estate, because the temptation to filter, delay, summarize, or strategically pace the flow of communications is real on every active deal. Here is what the duty actually requires and how it shows up when we represent you.

What “Presenting All Offers and Counteroffers Promptly” Means Under Florida Law

Under F.S. 475.278(3)(h), a Single Agent owes the duty to “present all offers and counteroffers in a timely manner, unless a party has previously directed the licensee otherwise in writing.” The Florida Real Estate Commission interprets that to require four things:

• All offers and counter-offers in full, not in summary. The complete written counter, all addenda, every term modification — exactly as the other side delivered it. No agent-curated abstracts.
• Promptly — typically within hours of receipt. “Timely” under FREC interpretation usually means the same business day. Sitting on a counter-offer overnight to “let the seller’s emotions settle” is a duty breach.
• With the agent’s professional recommendation in writing. The duty is not just to deliver the document — it is to deliver it with the analysis you need to respond competently.
• Until you have given written direction to filter. The only exception in the statute: if you have given the agent written instructions to disregard certain types of communications (lowball offers below a stated threshold, for example), those filtered communications don’t need to be presented. Without that written instruction, everything goes through.

Transaction brokers owe the same duty to present offers and counter-offers promptly under Florida law. What differs is the surrounding fiduciary context: a Single Agent presents the counter with the duties of loyalty, full disclosure, and skill, care, and diligence backing it up. A transaction broker delivers the document but is not required to advocate for the better position you could be in.

Why This Duty Matters Most in Hot Markets

In any market with multiple offers, agents are tempted to filter. A listing agent might want to “manage” the buyer agent’s communications to keep the deal focused. A buyer agent might want to “protect” their client from a counter-offer they expect will frustrate them. Both filtering instincts violate the duty if executed without the client’s prior written direction.

“We are out of state and Mike kept us informed. The property was sold within 10 days at a great price. Great experience and would highly recommend Mike.”

– gnotaro48, Zillow Review

I have watched buyers lose deals on Longboat Key, Lakewood Ranch, and Sarasota mainland properties because their agent slow-walked a seller’s counter-offer — sometimes by hours, sometimes by a full day — hoping to let the buyer cool down before delivering it. In each case the seller had a deadline and moved on to another offer when the buyer’s response was late. The buyer’s agent was nominally trying to help. The duty doesn’t care about intent.

How Presenting Offers and Counteroffers Shows Up in Our Process

The duty is fast, complete, and analytical:

1. Counter-offers forwarded within the hour

Whenever a counter, addendum, or seller response arrives in our inbox, we forward it to you in full within the hour during business hours and first-thing-next-morning for after-hours arrivals. The full document goes to you immediately; our written recommendation follows within 2-4 hours.

“We interviewed the top 3 real estate brokers in Sarasota, Mike made promises and guess what? He fulfilled every one of them. He promptly got back to us every time we had a question. He sold out house quickly and was an excellent negotiator. Don’t use anyone else! He works hard!”

– zuser20150207113234076, Zillow Review

2. Full text, never summaries

We do not paraphrase counter-offers. We do not say “they came back $20K higher with a slight inspection adjustment.” We forward the PDF or document with the original markup and let you read it. Our recommendation follows as a separate document.

3. Recommendation in writing, always

Every counter-offer we forward to you comes with our written recommendation on how to respond — accept, counter at X, accept-with-conditions, or walk. The recommendation includes our reasoning, the relevant comps, and the trade-offs. You always know what we think; you always make the decision.

4. Deadline tracker for every response

Florida FAR/BAR counter-offers come with explicit response deadlines. We log every deadline into our tracking system with a 24-hour internal buffer. You will never miss a response deadline because we lost track of it.

5. Documented filtering only with your written instructions

If you tell us you don’t want to see lowball counter-offers below a stated threshold, or you want to skip certain communications during a vacation window, we get that direction in writing and acknowledge it back. Without written instructions, everything reaches you.

What This Duty Does Not Cover

Florida law has specific limits to this duty:

• Pre-contract verbal indications from the listing side that “the seller would probably take $X” without a written counter-offer are NOT formal counter-offers under the duty. We will share these with you, but they are not the same legal weight as a written counter.
• Communications from the listing side that are not offers, counter-offers, or formal contract documents (general updates, scheduling, casual conversation summaries) are not required to be presented under this specific duty — though the broader duty of full disclosure usually requires us to share anything material anyway.
• Client-directed filtering as noted above, where you’ve given written instructions to filter certain types of communications.

Inside the duty boundaries, everything that qualifies as an offer or counter-offer reaches you in full, on time, with our recommendation.

How to Verify Your Agent Is Meeting the Duty

Two ways:

1. Ask for the listing agent’s contact information (or the seller’s attorney’s contact, if represented) at the start of the deal. You should know who is on the other side. If material communications are reaching them but not you, you can compare timelines.
2. Ask your agent for their typical turnaround time on counter-offer forwarding. A competent agent should commit to “within the hour” during business hours. An agent who says “within a day” is operating at the edge of the duty floor.

If you ever suspect a counter-offer was delivered late or filtered without your written instruction, document everything and consider a complaint with the Florida DBPR.

The Bottom Line

Presenting all offers and counteroffers promptly is the duty that keeps you in the loop in real time, with full information, on the contract’s timeline. Florida law makes the duty mandatory for Single Agents and transaction brokers alike, with narrow written-direction exceptions. The duty is simple on paper and surprisingly easy to violate in practice. We chose Single Agent status because the surrounding duties — loyalty, full disclosure, skill, care, and diligence — give context to the documents we present and ensure you always know what we recommend. You can see how this connects to our other Single Agent duties on our Buyer Experience page.

Questions Clients Actually Ask

How quickly does my Florida real estate agent have to present a counter-offer to me?

Under F.S. 475.278(3)(h), the duty is “promptly,” which FREC interprets as same business day during normal hours. Sitting on a counter-offer overnight without a clear reason is a duty breach. Our practice is within the hour during business hours and first-thing-next-morning for after-hours arrivals.

Can my agent decide which counter-offers to show me?

Only if you have given written instructions in advance to filter certain types of communications. Without written direction, every counter-offer must be presented to you in full. Verbal “I’ll filter the lowballs for you” arrangements do not satisfy the statute.

What if my agent summarizes counter-offers instead of forwarding the full text?

That is a duty breach. The statute requires presentation of the counter-offer itself, not the agent’s summary of it. If your agent is paraphrasing counter-offers rather than forwarding the originals, ask for the originals and document the request. Continued summarization without source documents may warrant a Florida DBPR complaint.

Does this duty apply to verbal offers and informal communications?

The duty applies to formal written offers and counter-offers. Verbal indications from the listing side (“the seller would probably take $X”) are not formal counter-offers and don’t trigger the same legal weight. However, the broader duty of full disclosure usually requires us to share verbal indications anyway, since they are material to your decision.