Compare the complete written offers while tracking the statutory process fields that can change transaction exposure: presentation status, agency and dual-representation consent, deposit handling, seller-disclosure timing, and any condominium resale-package cancellation window. DC law requires the seller's agent to timely present all written offers and counteroffers, including while the property is under contract, although the agent is not required to seek additional offers unless the brokerage agreement or sales contract says otherwise. These are process and exposure fields; the statutes do not say the highest price is the best offer or choose a winner.
Which specific offer a DC seller should accept.
Requires the actual written offers, seller priorities, property facts, financing proof, and professional review.
The continuing written-offer presentation duty
D.C. Code section 42-1703 requires a seller's agent to timely present all written offers and counteroffers, including when the property is already subject to a contract of sale. That continuing presentation duty concerns offers actually received.
The statute separately says the seller's agent is not obligated to seek additional offers after the property is under contract unless the brokerage relationship or contract of sale provides otherwise. The actual agreements therefore control whether that proviso changes the path. Receipt, presentation, and acceptance timestamps are transaction facts and should be preserved in the seller's file.
Presentation does not answer the seller's economic decision. A complete review must use the written packages and seller priorities while keeping public process rules separate from private terms.
Agency and deposit-handling fields
D.C. Code section 47-2853.196 requires written brokerage-relationship disclosure at the earliest practical time and no later than the specified assistance described in the law. Dual representation requires written consent. A change in the brokerage relationship also must be disclosed. The actual relationship status, consents, and forms are transaction facts.
Money entrusted to a licensee has a separate evidence path. 17 DCMR 2702 requires entrusted funds to be deposited within seven calendar days unless contrary written instructions apply. The rule requires a separate account at a District financial institution and prohibits commingling.
The rule also addresses when an escrow holder or trustee may receive a share of entrusted funds. It includes interest mechanics beginning on day 91 and a service-fee cap of $15. Those predicates and the actual account terms must be checked; the rule is not a prediction of what is owed in a particular transaction.
| Field | What to record | Source boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation | Receipt, presentation, and acceptance timestamps | Use the continuing-presentation duty and under-contract proviso |
| Agency | Relationship disclosure, consent, and any change | Actual status and documents are transaction facts |
| Deposit | Holder, written instructions, deposit date, and account type | Apply the rule only to entrusted funds and preserve written exceptions |
| Seller disclosure | Delivery date and any loan-application event | Actual delivery, waiver, and application timing control |
| Condominium package | Property type, delivery trigger, and cancellation deadline | Use only for a covered condominium resale |
Disclosure and condominium timing exposures
D.C. Code section 42-1302 requires the seller disclosure statement before or at the purchase agreement. Late delivery can create a five-calendar-day termination period, subject to the statute's warning about the effect of a loan application. The actual delivery time, form, waiver, and loan-application event must come from the transaction record.
Condominium resales may add another timing field. For a covered resale, D.C. Code section 42-1904.11 requires a resale package or certificate and provides a three-business-day cancellation period after the statutory trigger. The same section requires return of the deposit after a timely statutory cancellation.
These condominium rules apply only when the property and transaction fall within the covered resale provisions. The exact delivery trigger, receipt time, and cancellation timing require verification. They should not be generalized to every DC home sale.
Build a consistent comparison record
For every written offer, record the same process fields: receipt and presentation timing, agency documentation, deposit instructions, seller-disclosure delivery, and any applicable condominium package. Then identify which private terms and seller priorities still require review.
This creates a traceable worksheet without claiming that one statutory field outranks another offer. Liz Lavette Shorb's Washington, DC comparable-evidence offer framework explains the same distinction for buyer pricing evidence. The DC estate-sales guide supplies separate process context, while the Kalorama buyer guide and Georgetown neighborhood guide remain property-selection context rather than offer-ranking evidence.
What public law cannot decide
The statutes and rule do not say that the highest price is the best offer. They do not identify which offer a DC seller should accept. That requires the actual written offers, seller priorities, property facts, financing proof, and professional review.
No opened admissible source provides DC rates for multiple offers, waived contingencies, appraisal gaps, escalation clauses, or concessions. This article does not invent those metrics, disclose private offer terms, identify a party, or recommend accepting, rejecting, waiving, or terminating a specific offer.
The framework is a process and exposure screen. It is not legal or tax advice and does not claim client experience.
Frequently asked questions
Must a DC seller's agent present offers after the home is under contract?
The code requires timely presentation of received written offers and counteroffers even while the property is under contract. It separately says the agent need not seek additional offers unless the brokerage relationship or sale contract provides otherwise.
How soon must entrusted funds be deposited?
The cited DC rule states seven calendar days absent contrary written instructions. Applicability, the actual instructions, and the account record must be checked.
Does this framework identify the winning offer?
No. It identifies process and timing exposures. The actual written offers, seller priorities, property facts, financing evidence, and professional review control the decision.
Source record
- D.C. Code section 42-1703, seller-agent presentation and accounting duties.
- D.C. Code section 47-2853.196, brokerage relationships and dual representation.
- 17 DCMR 2702, handling entrusted funds.
- D.C. Code section 42-1302, seller disclosure statement.
- D.C. Code section 42-1904.11, covered condominium resales.
To organize a private DC offer comparison around the actual written packages and deadlines, contact Liz Lavette Shorb.