Time Limit On Contract Offer
What happens when an agents accepts a contract, and earnest money deposit (knowing the listing has expired) and no response from the seller in more than 30 days? ( I'm looking for the legal answer). - Iknow that the seller may not be interested, but isn't there a way to determine when a response is legally due and whether the seller has been communicated the offer???
With regard to your question what do you mean that the agent has "accepted" the contract? Do you mean that he has agreed to present the offer? It is the seller who, if he or she accepts the offer, is the person obligated to perform the contract. I assume you mean that the agent will be presenting the offer. The written offer will have a time for acceptance. Failure by the seller to respond in this time (either by accepting, rejecting, or proposing a counteroffer) will result in the expiration of the offer, i.e. the offer dies by lack of response. The fact that the listing has expired has no effect on the ability of the seller to accept your offer; the expiration of the listing agreement solely affects the ability of the agent to collect his/her commission (although they would likely be entitled to it anyway).
If the seller is no longer represented by this agent, I would contact them directly and find out what happened.
[ Edited by jorge121 on Date 10/28/2003 ]
Thank you for your response. I apologize for the confusion in communicating my concerns. Yes what I meant was the agent accepted a signed contract, offer and earnest money deposit to submitt to the seller. However this has been going on for more than 30 days prior to the contract offer and I have not recieved what I feel to be an honest response to the offer. I, somehow am of the belief that the offer was never really presented to the seller. Other buyers are now involved in the purchase of the property and I feel that I have been wronged in some manner of the sales process.