A seller receives an offer for their property. The seller makes a counteroffer, changing the possession date and increasing the deposit amount. The buyer receives the counteroffer and signs it, but only after making a small handwritten change to the counteroffer that reduces the move-in allowance by $200. The buyer's agent sends this back to the seller's agent. What is the legal implication of the buyer's action?

Question: A seller receives an offer for their property. The seller makes a counteroffer, changing the possession date and increasing the deposit amount. The buyer receives the counteroffer and signs it, but only after making a small handwritten change to the counteroffer that reduces the move-in allowance by $200. The buyer's agent sends this back to the seller's agent. What is the legal implication of the buyer's action?

Answer options:

• The buyer has accepted the seller's counteroffer with a minor amendment. ✅ The buyer has made a new counteroffer to the seller.
• The contract is now firm, with the seller bound by the buyer's handwritten change.
• The seller must accept the buyer's handwritten change or the deal is off.

Correct answer: The buyer has made a new counteroffer to the seller.

Explanation: Any change, however minor, to a counteroffer by the offeree constitutes a rejection of the original counteroffer and the creation of a new counteroffer. The original offeror (now the offeree) is then free to accept, reject, or make another counteroffer.