Do I Have to Present Every Inquiry to the Seller in Florida?

In Florida, an offer is a bona fide proposal to purchase with enough detail that the seller could reasonably consider and accept it.

At a minimum, an offer includes:

• Buyer name or entity
• Property address or clear reference
• Purchase price
• Terms (cash, financing, contingencies)
• Intent to purchase

Most legitimate offers are submitted in writing using a contract.

If those elements are missing, it is not an offer. It is an inquiry.

What You Might Be Receiving

Most of these messages fall into one of these categories:

• Wholesalers fishing for assignable contracts
• Appointment setters trying to book calls
• “Investor reps” with no disclosed buyer
• General curiosity with no intent

Your Obligation to the Seller

You must:

• Present all legitimate offers
• Communicate relevant, actionable information
• Protect the seller’s time and position

You are not required to:

• Present vague inquiries
• Relay spam or solicitation messages
• Engage with undisclosed intermediaries

Filtering out non-offers is part of your fiduciary duty, not a violation of it.

How to Screen These Inquiries Properly

Instead of ignoring everything, use a qualification-first approach.

Before engaging further, require clarity.

Ask These Questions

If someone reaches out without an offer, reply with:

• Is Julie planning to purchase the property herself, or is this an assignment or wholesale transaction?
• Is the buyer a principal or acting on behalf of another party?
• Will this be a cash purchase or financed? If financed, what type of financing?
• Can you provide proof of funds or a pre-approval letter?
• What purchase price and terms are being considered?
• Are you prepared to submit a written offer?

These questions do two things:

• Legitimate buyers respond
• Wholesaler spam disappears

Use this as your default reply:

“Thanks for reaching out. We present all written offers with full terms to the seller. If your client is interested, please confirm the following:

Is your client the direct buyer or is this an assignment?
Will the purchase be cash or financed?
Can you provide proof of funds or a pre-approval letter?
What price and terms are being considered?

Once we have that, feel free to submit a complete written offer for presentation.”

This keeps you compliant and in control of the process.

Letting these conversations drag out creates problems:

• Wasted time on non-buyers
• Increased risk of dealing with undisclosed principals
• Contract complications with assignment clauses
• Confusion for your seller

Your job is not to entertain interest. Your job is to surface real offers.

You can proactively filter this at the listing level:

“Seller will only consider direct buyer offers. Assignment contracts and undisclosed principals will not be considered. Submit written offers with proof of funds or pre-approval.”

This alone will eliminate a large percentage of inbound junk.

Not every message deserves the seller’s attention.

An offer has substance.
An inquiry does not.

Your role is to know the difference, filter aggressively, and present only what actually moves the deal forward.