The purchase and sale agreement in Ohio gives a buyer the intention to acquire commercial real estate from a real estate owner. The agreement stipulates that the price of buyers is willing to pay at the same time as the contingencies of its offer. Sellers have limited time to decide whether the proposal should be accepted or rejected. If the seller is not satisfied with the initial terms, he may attempt to negotiate a new agreement by making a counter-offer to the buyer. The transaction is not completed until each party has agreed to the terms of the agreement. First, the seller must know which potential buyers the broker will ask for a commission for (knowing that this may allow the seller to withdraw these buyers from a later offer from another broker and avoid a double commission). The seller can do this by limiting the applicability of this provision to buyers whose names appear on a written list of interest that the broker has served on the seller within a specified period, perhaps in the order of ten days, after the expiry of the offer. However, the seller should go further and limit the names that may be on the list of interested parties. For example, if the broker sent an email explosion to thousands of potential buyers, the seller would not want to get a list of interested people with thousands of names. The seller should require that the individual have submitted a letter of intent or contract as a condition for being on the list of interested parties, or that the broker personally brought the person or the person`s representative to the property, or had spoken personally with the person concerned or the person`s representative. The seller should also require that the list of interested parties be submitted in a timely manner and that the time frame is essential for the presentation of the list. (The seller should require that time be essentially of all provisions of the list.) Of course, the seller should ensure that the «tail» ends within a specified time after the list expires (three to six months seems to be appropriate).

Brokers are often concerned that an unscrupulous seller might try to avoid a commission until the list expires before entering into a contract with a potential buyer introduced into the property for the duration of the listing. For this reason, most listing agreements provide that the seller is required to pay his commission to the broker if, at the expiry of the list, the seller enters into a contract with a buyer who was introduced into the property while the offer was in effect. While such a provision is reasonable in the concept, the seller must be sure that it is appropriate when applied. This is the first in a series of commercial and residential brokerage contracts. Many listing agreements require the seller to provide written information about the property and some provide that the seller gives directions or insurance or guarantees regarding the condition of the property.