She has accepted my offer verbally but becasue the agent did not get her to sign within 24 hrs (due to her having to rush to hospital as her brother was taken into emergency which i understand) now the agent has told me he is legally obliged to submit the late offer of another party which then the owner can decide to sell to me or them. Is this legal? i have a copy of my contract signed but only by myself not by the owner. Can my agent legally make an offer on behalf of someone else at this late stage?
Thank you for your advice as i cant get ahold of my solicitor till monday
Legally, this is actually quite complicated.

You don’t need to submit another offer because you have submitted a valid offer which has not been communicated to the vendor effectively (in writing)

The reason why the agent wants another offer may be because legally, in Queensland at least, he must submit the offer within a set period of time (24 hours) and he has failed to do that for whatever reason. THAT IS HIS NEGLIGENCE AND BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY AS THE SELLERS AGENT (WHY NOT FAX OFFER?)OR AT LEAST GET ORAL ACCEPTANCE.

You have placed a deposit. Don’t accept this deposit back. Tell the agent that he must present the offer or you shall report him to the Real estate institute for his negligence.

You may have to make a fresh offer on fresh paperwork at the last minute, but that is mere paperwork, formality for law. Make sure there is an oral acceptance or rejection before then.

Bottom line: you have made a valid offer and they have your money. They have a duty to present

(If this gets more serious, you do need a lawyer)
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