What you should know about accepting a Contract Offer?

By The Law Office of Yoel Molina.
 
What can be accepted by actions?
Sometimes, acceptance can be shown without words; it can also be expressed via deeds. For instance, if a customer places an order for products at a specific price, and the seller responds by shipping the ordered goods, the seller's actions indicate acceptance of the offer. Also, being silent might not be considered notification of a fact. For instance, a bank may record a lien against the property as a requirement of a loan. Courts often won't consider the borrower to have consented to the lien if the borrower doesn't notice the lien but doesn't express or indicate acceptance of the claim in any other way. A legal claim may not necessarily be waived (abandoned) by one's silence. For instance, if a seller sends a buyer an overdue notification regarding a sale invoice, the buyer's silence does not mean that the buyer agrees with the invoice or that the buyer owes the money. Before a contract can be legally binding, one party usually needs to disclose or otherwise make material information to the other party. Without a meeting of the minds, a contract cannot be made. One person cannot coerce another into breaking the law by withholding facts or remaining silent.
 
It cannot be accepted if:
In general, if there is a dispute between the parties as to whether an offer was accepted, acceptance did not take place. Examples of this include when an answer to an offer does not express a desire to be bound when a response comes with conditions, and more.
The offer is founded on erroneous data. Additionally, to form a contract, the other party must accept under those circumstances if the person making the offer specifies how they must accept it. If the offer is accepted without meeting the required conditions, no contract will be formed.
 
The Dilemma of Counteroffers and Conditional Acceptance:
In most cases, a party's response to an offer that includes additional terms or restrictions is regarded as a counteroffer rather than an acceptance. A counteroffer that significantly alters the proposed contract's terms is not considered to be an acceptance. A counteroffer is regarded in law as both a rejection of the first offer and a suggestion of a new offer.
 
What about options and open offers?
An option agreement can be made by parties who want more time to think about an offer, such as when buying a home. In an option contract, one party makes a payment in exchange for the only authority to accept an offer for a predetermined time. This offers the potential buyer the chance to think about the deal without worrying that someone else will acquire it or that the terms will alter in the interim.
 
If you have any questions about this article or similar matters please contact our office, Law Office of Yoel Molina, P.A., at fd@molawoffice.com or at 305-548-5020, option 1