If a seller accepts a buyer's offer but delays in returning the accepted document and the offer expires, what is the outcome?

When a seller accepts a buyer's offer but delays in returning the accepted document resulting in the expiration of the offer, the buyer has no obligations to the seller. In real estate transactions, an offer must be accepted and communicated back to the buyer in order to form a binding contract. If the offer expires because the seller did not act on it in a timely manner, it effectively ceases to exist. The buyer is free to explore other options and is not legally bound to the terms of the expired offer. This reflects the principle that an uncommunicated acceptance does not create a contract, and time frames specified in the offer are critical in the real estate process.