A property is listed for $275,000. The buyers offer $265,000, and insist that the gourmet six-burner stove remain with the property. When the signed offer is presented to the sellers, the sellers accept the price, but want to take the stove with them. They cross out the item about the stove, sign the form, and return it to the buyers. Under these circumstances:

• A. The original offer is terminated, and the sellers have made a counteroffer
• B. The buyers have accepted the sellers' counteroffer
• C. The contract is voidable by the buyers
• D. The stove remains with the property by agreement

Answer: (A)

Changing any term of an offer and returning the signed document creates a counteroffer rather than an acceptance. Here, the sellers agreed to the price but crossed out the stove term and signed the form, signaling that they reject the original terms and propose new ones. That action terminates the buyers’ original offer and presents a new offer from the sellers. The contract can only be formed if the buyers accept this counteroffer.

The other possibilities don’t fit because there’s no automatic acceptance of the altered terms, and the agreement isn’t voidable merely due to modifying a term. The stove staying with the property only becomes binding if the buyers explicitly accept the counteroffer’s terms.