The general duty to present all offers, written notices and other written communications to and from the parties in a timely manner without regard to whether the property is subject to a contract for sale or the buyer is already a party to a contract to purchase is an artifact of the sales industry. The presentation duty is really just an application of the duty of honesty that says an agent cannot hide documents or communications from the parties to a transaction even if the agent would rather the parties didn’t know about the document or communication.

The presentation of offers duty is largely an artifact of the sales industry origin of the industry. In those days, listing agents tried to get their unrepresented buyer’s offer in front of the seller before a subagent of the seller in another company could get their unrepresented buyer’s offer in front of the seller. The advent of buyer agency has greatly reduced, but not eliminated, the need for this specific duty. About the only place presentation becomes an issue any more is in multiple offer situations.
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