What Does It Mean If A Listing Is Contingent Or Pending?
As you embark on your search for your dream house, you may come across a few listings you’d like to tour that are marked as contingent or pending. What do these terms mean? What if you find the perfect house that’s contingent or pending? Can you still submit an offer?
In this blog post, I want to address the most common questions about what contingent and pending mean for you.
What Does Contingent Mean In Real Estate?
Having a contingent listing means that the seller has accepted an offer, but is keeping the listing active until certain contingencies are met. Common contingencies include a home inspection, an appraisal, or certain repairs.
Under the contingent umbrella, five sub-categories explain whether or not you can still see the property, make an offer, and when certain deadlines need to be met.
Contingent – Continue To Show (CCS)
This means that the seller and agent have accepted an offer with multiple contingencies and decided to continue showing the property and accepting offers from other buyers in case the contingencies aren’t met.
Contingent – No Show
This means that the seller is no longer showing the property or accepting offers usually because they are confident the contingencies will be met.
Contingent – Kick-Out Clause
When a contingent listing has a kick-out clause, the seller has set a deadline for the buyer to fulfill the contingencies.
Short Sale Contingent
A short sale means that the seller has agreed to accept an offer that is less than what they still owe on the mortgage. This is common for bank or lender-owned properties.
Contingent Probate
A property holds this status when it is sold in an estate sale due to the owner’s death.
Can I Make an Offer On A Contingent Listing?
As long as a listing is contingent (unless marked no show), then you can usually make an offer. However, the initial offer will take precedence over any backup offers as long as the contingencies are met. If you find your ideal home and the status is contingent, you should still submit an offer. If the original offer falls through, you will be first in line to have your offer considered.
What Does Pending Mean In Real Estate?
If a property is listed as pending, that means it’s further along in the selling process than if it’s listed as contingent. Pending status indicates that all of the contingencies were met and the sale is in progress.
There are also multiple categories of pending statuses.
Pending – Taking Backups
This means that even though the sale is in progress, the seller is still showing the property and taking backup offers in case it falls through.
Pending Short Sale
A pending short sale is just like a contingent short sale, but further along in the process. The seller is usually not accepting offers at this stage.
Pending – More Than 4 Months
This one is pretty self-explanatory… If a listing has been pending for more than four months, it automatically receives this status.
Can I Make an Offer On A Pending Listing?
Pending listings are closer to closing than contingent listings, and since all of the contingencies must be met to move to pending status, there is very little likelihood that the sale will fall through. That being said, there is no law preventing you from making an offer on a pending listing. Whether or not the seller is open to additional offers is up to the seller and the listing agent.
What Does This Mean For You?
If you find the perfect home for the perfect price in the perfect location, don’t let a contingent or pending status stop you from inquiring about whether or not you can make an offer. Your real estate agent will give you the best advice for the specific situation and help you design an offer that could be accepted if the original offer falls through.
To learn more about home buying tips and homes for sale in San Francisco, don’t forget to check out some of my other blog posts!
