A licensee receives an offer on a property but learns of a higher offer from another buyer before presenting the first offer to the vendor. What should the licensee do according to professional standards?

Option A: Present only the higher offer to maximize the vendor's return

Presenting only the higher offer violates the licensee's duty of transparency and denies the vendor the right to consider all available options. This approach could constitute withholding material information and fails to meet professional conduct standards requiring full disclosure of all offers received.

Option C: Negotiate between the buyers to get the highest possible price

Licensees cannot negotiate between buyers as this creates conflicts of interest and exceeds their authority. The licensee's role is to facilitate communication between parties, not to act as an intermediary negotiator. This approach could compromise their fiduciary duty to the vendor and violate professional conduct standards.

Option D: Present the higher offer first, then mention the lower offer

Presenting the higher offer first disrupts the chronological order and could be seen as showing bias toward one buyer over another. This approach fails to maintain procedural fairness and could compromise the vendor's ability to properly evaluate offers in the context they were received.