One of the most important tasks of the real estate agent is to receive and process purchase offers and to advise both parties in compliance with legislation and good brokerage practices.
The seller naturally has the final say in which offer to accept.
One can never be forced to sell an apartment, despite having entered into a brokerage contract. Similarly, the buyer may not demand that the seller sells the apartment, even if the buyer has made a cash offer that meets the asking price.
The commission must, however, be paid if a so-called full price offer has been made and the offer meets the conditions regarding price and other aspects as specified in the brokerage contract. The standard contracts used by agents usually include a clause on this. If the contract does not include such a clause, the commission only needs to be paid if the sale is concluded.
The agent must ensure that the purchase offer, its acceptance or counter-offers are made in writing. This facilitates their use as evidence in case of disputes.
The parties to the offer should ensure that they both receive signed copies of offer documents and acceptance documents. This is particularly important if concluding the sale appears time-consuming.
A down payment may be made in conjunction with the offer, which will be part of the sales price when the sale is concluded. These days, however, it is more common that a contract penalty binding on both parties is agreed upon when the offer is made.
If down payment is used, the agent may not accept other offers until the seller has decided whether or not to accept the offer in question.