NJ listings, offers and commissions
The New Jersey timelines for MLS entry and offers, the ban on net listings, back-up offers and how commissions must be written.
Sources: N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.2 and 11:5-6.4
Listings and offers in one paragraph
Regular offer vs back-up offer in New Jersey
| Regular offer | Back-up offer | |
|---|---|---|
| When it arrives | No contract yet, or the first contract is still in attorney review | After the first contract survives attorney review, while it is pending |
| What the owner gets | The written offer within 24 hours of the firm receiving it | The offer plus written advice to consult an attorney before acting |
| What the offeror is told | If it is oral, that it need not be presented unless written | In writing that a contract is pending, without its price or terms |
| Paperwork | Clear copies to the party who signed or initialed | Both written notices kept as business records; a copy to the listing broker if you are with another firm |
Listings and offers: 4 rules to memorize
48 hours to the MLS.
New listings go into the multiple listing service within 48 hours of the effective date.
24 hours for offers.
Written offers reach the owner within 24 hours of the firm receiving them.
No net listings.
A broker cannot keep 'everything above' a set price.
Fees are negotiable.
No prescribed or predetermined commission in listings or contracts. The fee is negotiated and stated as fully negotiable.
Listings and offers, explained
Any written offer that comes in during the listing term goes to the owner within 24 hours. If someone makes an oral offer, the licensee tells them it does not have to be presented unless it is in writing.
Back-up offers are offers made while a contract is already pending, after attorney review. When presenting one, the licensee advises the owner in writing to talk to an attorney first, and tells the back-up buyer in writing that the property is under contract, without revealing price or terms.
Commission clauses for 1 to 4 family homes have to tell the seller, in larger print, that they have the right to reach their own agreement on any fee. Net listings are prohibited outright.
Timing decides whether an offer is a back-up offer. An offer that arrives while the first contract is still in attorney review is a regular offer, and it goes to the owner within 24 hours like any other. It becomes a back-up offer only after the first contract survives attorney review, or is fully in effect if review does not apply.
Other 24-hour rules: if an owner accepts orally, get the acceptance in writing within 24 hours. The 2024 law also says firms present written offers and counteroffers promptly and confirm receipt in writing, even while a property is under contract, unless the principal directs otherwise in writing. Any change to a contract is initialed by the party proposing it and, if accepted, by the other party.
Cooperation is the default. If an owner does not want other brokers involved, that direction must be in a signed Waiver of Broker Cooperation attached to the listing. The client gets a fully executed copy of the listing agreement when it is signed, and a listing placed in an MLS has to name that service.
How the exam tries to trip you up
- An offer comes in while the first contract is in attorney review and the question calls it a back-up offer. It is not. Present it within 24 hours as a regular offer.
- The 48 and 24 hour rules get swapped. 48 hours is for submitting a new listing to the MLS. 24 hours is for getting written offers to the owner and for getting an oral acceptance in writing.
- A buyer makes an oral offer and the question asks if you must present it. You are not obligated to, but you must tell the buyer it does not have to be presented unless it is in writing.
- A listing form with a small blank next to a percent sign looks harmless. It suggests a set rate, which counts as a prescribed commission and is not allowed.
Listings and offers practice questions
A listing broker who belongs to a multiple listing service must submit a new listing within:
Listings and offers flashcards
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All 7 terms at a glanceShowHide
- Net listing
- Broker keeps everything above a set price. Prohibited in New Jersey.
- Back-up offer
- An offer received while a contract is pending. Owner must be advised in writing to consult an attorney.
- 48 hours
- Deadline to submit a new listing to the MLS.
- Waiver of Broker Cooperation
- Signed owner direction not to cooperate with other brokers, attached to the listing agreement.
- Oral acceptance
- Must be secured in writing within 24 hours.
- Prescribed commission
- A preset fee or rate in a listing or sale contract. Prohibited, including a small blank beside a percent sign.
- Offer during attorney review
- Not a back-up offer. Present it to the owner within 24 hours like any written offer.
Listings and offers: common questions
Sources and further reading
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