1. Objective
This SOP defines how a Virtual Assistant (VA) submits a buyer's offer to the listing agent, tracks delivery confirmation, manages the response, and handles counter-offers — from the moment the agent approves the offer package through acceptance, rejection, or final counter resolution.
Offer submission is a professional transaction between two agents' teams. The VA represents the agent's professionalism on every interaction with the listing agent side. Every communication must be timely, complete, and professional — no informalities, no editorializing, no commentary on the seller's decisions.
Where this SOP starts: The offer package is complete and the agent has explicitly approved it for submission (from Offer Preparation Checklist).
Where this SOP ends: The offer is either accepted (triggering Transaction Coordination Master), rejected (with the buyer notified and CRM updated), or a final counter is executed and the resulting contract is filed.Success looks like: The listing agent receives the offer package promptly, confirms receipt, and the agent is notified at every stage — with no delays, no miscommunications, and a complete offer log from submission to resolution.
2. Your Role & Boundaries
2a. What you handle independently
- Confirming the listing agent's preferred delivery method before sending
- Submitting the offer package via the confirmed method with the correct cover message
- Requesting and tracking delivery confirmation
- Following up if acknowledgment is not received within 2 business hours
- Notifying the agent when submission is confirmed received
- Logging every communication related to the offer (sent, confirmed, response received)
- Receiving and logging counter-offer documents
- Preparing counter-response forms at the agent's direction
- Maintaining version control on all offer and counter documents
2b. What requires agent approval before acting
- Any response to the listing agent beyond standard submission and confirmation messages
- Any action on a counter-offer — the agent directs every counter decision
- Any communication with the buyer about offer status beyond factual updates confirmed by the agent
- Withdrawing or modifying the offer
- Proceeding to contract execution after acceptance — agent confirms before the VA begins TC workflow
2c. What you never do
- You never negotiate on the agent's behalf under any circumstances.
- You never provide pricing, legal, or strategic opinions to any party.
- You never sign or initial any document on behalf of the agent, client, or any party.
- You never communicate directly with the other party's client.
- You never submit an offer without the agent's explicit approval — even if the deadline is approaching.
- You never respond to a counter-offer on the agent's behalf — forward it to the agent immediately and wait for instruction.
- You never express opinions about the listing agent's behavior, the seller's decisions, or the likelihood of acceptance to any party.
- You never tell the buyer the offer was accepted before the agent has confirmed an executed contract is in hand.
When in doubt: Deliver factual information promptly, avoid interpretation, and route anything requiring a decision to the agent. Urgency is not an excuse for acting outside your role.
3. Schedule & Trigger
Trigger: Agent has explicitly approved the offer package from Offer Preparation Checklist for submission.
Time-sensitive: Confirm the offer submission deadline with the agent before beginning. If there is a deadline (set by the listing or by a multiple-offer situation), track it and confirm submission will occur with enough time to verify delivery before the deadline expires. Never submit at the last possible minute when a deadline is involved.
High-volume note: If the agent is submitting offers on multiple properties simultaneously, confirm prioritization and submission order. Work through them in sequence without allowing one offer's response tracking to crowd out another.
Sequence context: This SOP runs immediately after Offer Preparation Checklist. For multiple offer situations, refer to Multiple Offer Situation Protocol. Upon acceptance, this SOP hands off to Contract Intake & Transaction File Setup.
4. Submission Protocol
Step 1: Confirm delivery method
Before sending, confirm how the listing agent wants to receive the offer. Most markets have a standard method — email is common, some agents use their transaction management platform (Dotloop, zipLogix) or a shared folder. In multiple offer situations, the listing agent often specifies the delivery method in the listing's agent remarks.
If the listing remarks do not specify, email to the listing agent is the default. Do not call the listing agent without the agent's instruction.
Step 2: Send the submission
Send via the confirmed method with this cover email:
Subject: Offer — [Property Address] — [Buyer Last Name] — [Purchase Price]
Hi [Listing Agent First Name],
Please find attached an offer for [Property Address] on behalf of [Buyer Last Name], represented by [Agent Name] at [Brokerage Name].
Attached documents:
- Residential Purchase Agreement
- Pre-approval letter — [Lender Name], amount $[amount]
- [Any additional documents]
Key terms:
- Purchase price: $[amount]
- Earnest money: $[amount]
- Closing date: [date]
- Contingencies: Inspection [X days] / Appraisal [X days] / Loan [X days]
[Agent Name] is available to discuss at [agent phone]. If you need anything further, please contact me at [VA phone/email].
Thank you,
[VA Name]
[VA phone/email]
on behalf of [Agent Name], [Brokerage Name]
Keep the subject line consistent with this format — it makes the offer identifiable in the listing agent's inbox.
Step 3: Request delivery confirmation
If submitting by email, request a reply confirmation. Add a note at the bottom of the email:
Please reply to confirm receipt of this offer.
If submitting via a platform that generates automatic delivery receipts, save the receipt confirmation.
Step 4: Log the submission
In the buyer file → 05 - Offers, create a submission log entry:
- Date and time submitted
- Method of delivery
- Listing agent name and contact
- Offer version submitted (Offer_v1)
- Any submission deadline
5. After Submission — Status Tracking
Follow-up if no confirmation is received:
If no acknowledgment is received within 2 hours during business hours, send a brief follow-up:
Hi [Listing Agent First Name] — following up to confirm you received the offer for [Property Address] sent at [time] today. Please let me know if anything didn't come through.
[VA Name]
[VA phone/email]
If still no confirmation after the follow-up: notify the agent immediately. The agent may want to call the listing agent directly or try an alternate delivery method.
Notify the agent when confirmed received:
As soon as delivery is confirmed, send the agent a brief update:
Hi [Agent Name] — offer for [Address] confirmed received by [Listing Agent Name] at [time].
[VA Name]
6. Response Management
When the listing agent responds, the VA's role is to receive, document, and immediately escalate to the agent.
Acceptance:
Notify the agent immediately:
Hi [Agent Name] — the offer for [Address] has been accepted. [Listing Agent Name] sent the executed contract at [time]. I've saved it to the buyer file. Please confirm and I'll initiate [Transaction Coordination Master](#SOP-RE-TC-01).
[VA Name]
Do not notify the buyer until the agent confirms the executed contract is valid and instructs the VA to communicate. An "accepted" verbal from the listing agent is not a contract.
Rejection:
Notify the agent:
Hi [Agent Name] — the offer for [Address] was declined by [Listing Agent Name] at [time]. No reason was provided [or: reason given was "[brief factual statement]"].
Ready to continue the search. Should I update the CRM and keep the buyer's saved search active?
[VA Name]
After agent confirms, notify the buyer via the agent-approved channel and update the CRM (property status: offer rejected, date, notes).
Counter-offer:
Notify the agent immediately and attach the counter document:
Hi [Agent Name] — counter-offer received for [Address] from [Listing Agent Name] at [time]. Counter document saved to buyer file (Counter_v1).
Awaiting your instruction on how to respond.
[VA Name]
Do not contact the listing agent, do not respond to the counter, and do not discuss the counter with the buyer until the agent instructs.
7. Counter-Offer Handling
When the agent instructs a counter-response:
1. Prepare the counter-response form at the agent's specification — same rigor as the original offer (Section 6 of Offer Preparation Checklist)
2. Label as Counter_v2, Counter_v3, etc.
3. Send to agent for review and approval before sending to the listing agent
4. Submit only after agent approves
Version control rule: Every version of every offer and counter is saved and labeled. Never overwrite a prior version. The full sequence should be reconstructable from the files.
If negotiations extend beyond 3 rounds of counters: Flag to the agent that the version count is getting complex — confirm they want to continue or whether they'd prefer to move on. This is their call, not the VA's.
8. Communication Standards During Negotiation
All communication with the listing agent's side reflects on the buyer's agent. The VA maintains professional, neutral, factual communication throughout:
- Never editorialize about the seller's decisions ("I understand" is fine, "That seems unreasonable" is never appropriate)
- Never share the buyer's emotional reaction to a counter or a rejection
- Never speculate about whether the listing agent will accept a specific offer
- Never indicate to the listing agent how motivated the buyer is, or whether this is the buyer's "best offer"
Unusual communication from the listing agent side:
If the listing agent is aggressive, makes threats, misrepresents terms, or communicates in a way that seems unusual or inappropriate — stop, document the communication exactly, and escalate to the agent immediately. Do not respond to unusual communication without agent guidance.
9. Checklist
Submission
- ☐ Agent's explicit approval received — offer package is final
- ☐ Listing agent's preferred delivery method confirmed
- ☐ Submission deadline confirmed and tracked
- ☐ Offer sent with standard cover message
- ☐ Delivery confirmation requested
- ☐ Submission logged (time, method, agent, version)
Post-Submission Tracking
- ☐ Delivery confirmation received — agent notified
- ☐ Follow-up sent if no confirmation within 2 hours (if needed)
Response Handling
- ☐ Response received and immediately escalated to agent
- ☐ If accepted: executed contract saved, agent notified, TC-01 staged pending agent confirmation
- ☐ If rejected: agent notified, buyer notified per agent instruction, CRM updated
- ☐ If counter: counter saved (Counter_v1), agent notified, awaiting instruction
Counter-Offer (if applicable)
- ☐ Counter-response prepared per agent instruction and approved
- ☐ Version control maintained — all prior versions saved
- ☐ Each counter round logged with date and version
10. Tools & Access
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Listing agent contact | [From MLS listing — confirm email and phone before submitting] |
| Email / submission platform | [Confirm preferred method — email default unless specified otherwise in listing remarks] |
| Buyer file | [Google Drive → buyer file → 05 - Offers — all offer and counter documents stored here] |
| Agent's preferred notification channel | [For offer status updates — confirm at onboarding] |
| E-signature platform | [DocuSign / Dotloop — for receiving and routing executed contract on acceptance] |