Is an email from a buyer’s agent enough to give notice of termination?

For example, a contract is approaching the end of the due diligence date, and an hour before the due diligence period is scheduled to end, the buyer's agent sends an email saying that the buyer is terminating the offer.

Is that enough to be considered effective?

The opinion of the NC Association of Realtors is more complicated than I expected. Their answer is ‘not necessarily’.

I would say that the answer is probably yes, but it would be best practice to do more than that.

Paragraph 20 of 2-T states that actions between parties can be conducted through electronic means, and that any notice required to be given to a party may be given to that party’s agent.

To avoid questions about whether the termination notice was actually authorized by the buyer, it would be best to have the buyer send an email to their agent that can be forwarded to the listing agent clearly stating that the buyer is terminating the contract.

Ideally, termination of an offer by a buyer should be done using a formal contract - Standard Form 350-T, and then sending that to the seller's agent. Signing the 350-T by itself is not enough, it needs to be communicated before it is effective.

Keep in mind - terms for the Standard Offer To Purchase Form 2-T change over time, so the answer in this example could change if the terms of the standard contract are updated. Always check with a licensed real estate agent for current guidance.