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Contingent - Pending

Buyer Viewpoint

Contingent vs Pending - What's the Difference

When you're looking for a home in Raleigh for sale, most homes advertised have an "active" status in the Triangle MLS system. This means they are available for you to see and make an offer on.

However, the listing status of the home may or may not be listed on the site where you found the home. Contacting a Raleigh real estate agent is your first step to find out if the home is still actually for sale.

We get a lot of calls where the person asks, "Is this home still available?" That's a great question because many sites on the web may have a delay in changing the state of a home when an offer has been accepted by a Raleigh home seller.

If a home is for sale and the seller has not accepted an offer to buy the home, the MLS status is "active." This means that the sellers are looking for a buyer and a realtor can show you the home.

However, sometimes you ask your Raleigh real estate agent about a home and are told that the home is "Contingent" or "Pending". There is an important difference between these two words for a buyer.

If the seller has accepted an offer from a Raleigh home buyer and is in the process of negotiations or the home is not closed, the MLS status is changed from active to either "contingent" or "pending."

What's the difference?

If the seller wants to continue to have Raleigh real estate agents show the home to potential buyers the MLS status is "Contingent."

If the seller does not want to continue to have Raleigh real estate agents show the home to potential buyers the MLS status is "Pending."

What that means to a Raleigh Home Buyer

In truth these two terms can be confusing for both buyer and seller. If you really want to see the home or you have seen the home and are interested in possibly making an offer to buy the home, the best thing to do is ask your Raleigh Realtor to contact the listing agent and ask the following two questions:

1. "Is the seller still allowing showings?"

2. "Is the seller taking back-up offers?"

The answer to these questions gives you, as a potential buyer, important information.

If the seller is not allowing any showings and not taking back-up offers - all is not lost necessarily.

Ask your Raleigh Realtor to watch the listing. Sometimes even the most seemingly secure offers fall through and do not close. If your Realtor is keeping an eye on it, he or she can see if it comes back on the market and let you know. Or he or she, and this is the sign of a good agent, can periodically call the listing agent and see if any problems have surfaced with the offer or if there is a possibility the home will return to "active" status.

We have run into many situations where a home will unexpectedly return to active status and have been able to give our client the heads-up information.

If the seller is still allowing showing and taking back-up offers your Raleigh Realtor can show you the home and, if you love it, write up a back-up offer for you in case the initial offer falls through.

Bottom line

Have a Raleigh Real Estate agent check the status of homes you are interested in. If the status of a home is "contingent" or "pending" ask your agent to follow through and find out if back-up offers are being taken or if there is a possibility of a return to "active" status for the home.

Other things to consider when looking for a Raleigh home are 7 Things Raleigh Home Buyers Should Know, Learning About Your New Raleigh Neighborhood and Tips on Negotiating With a Raleigh Seller.

If you have questions about seeing a Raleigh home for sale or any Raleigh Homes
Email Us or Call Us Today at 919-280-2726

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