Question

A buyer submitted an offer with a deposit on a property on June 1. The offer included the condition that it must be accepted within 48 hours. The sellers were out of town, however, and could not be contacted until June 6. At that point, the sellers eagerly signed and returned the purchase agreement; but now the buyer says he does not want the property any longer and is demanding the return of his deposit.
A court would rule that:

a. the deposit should be returned to the buyer

b. the sellers may keep the deposit

c. the sellers' broker is entitled to his full commission

d. the sellers' acceptance acts as a counteroffer

Answer 1

Answer:

A. the deposit should be returned to the buyer

Explanation:

A given offer may include a deadline for acceptance. If the supposed deadline is exceeded, the offer becomes automatically terminated. Therefore, the fact that the seller accepted after the deadline was not valid, and the buyer's deposit should be returned immediately.