Already “contingent” - can you still make an offer?

You saw it - you raced to your REALTOR and darn:  the house is already under contract.

“CONTINGENT” !! - don’t cry - there is still a chance !  Here are some tips to become the potential buyer afterall.

Contingent  - what does it mean ?  

Real estate sales go through various steps before closing. An “active” listing means the home  is currently on the market for sale and the seller is looking for offers.

But what if the status changes to “contingent?” It means, a seller has accepted an offer on the house, and the sale is going through once a specific contingencies, like inspection, financing,survey etc, as spelled out in the contract, are met.

A contract on a home can be terminated for a few reasons,  like job loss or other circumstances reasons like change of plans, financing has fallen through etc. And that brings the house back on the market.

Financing falls through?

Many buyer need a mortgage to purchase a home. Financing is not  approved by a lender until a buyer has provided all requested documents etc. Failure of the buyer to comply with the requests of the lender can put a home also back up on the market.

Appraisal comes out lower than contract price !

Appraisals are usually required by the mortgage lender. An appraiser establishes the home value by calculating and considering many factors ranging from location to condition, upgrades, neighborhood, etc. If the appraisal comes out lower than the contract price, the seller might decide not to sell and/or the buyer is not willing to pay over appraised value, and so the house goes back on the market. 

The all important home inspection.

Home inspections are important for the home buying process and every buyer should schedule one. There usually are some smaller items to fix but those do no stop the sale of the home, but in case of larger issues such as foundation issues, the necessity of roof replacement etc, and the seller not wanting to do those repairs - those issues can also put the house back on the market. However, whatever was found in the home inspection, now has to be disclosed by the seller.

The buyer has a home to sell before he/she can buy ? 

Contingent home selling offers mean the buyer has to sell a home before being able to buy a home. There are now financing programs such as RIBBON which help with this situation. But it is certainly possible that if the buyer does not sell his house by a certain date, that he cannot buy another one and the contract falls thru and the house is back on the market..

The all important and pesky “Title” search

Whenever buying real estate, a title search is one of the items the closing attorney or title company handle. The title needs to be clear meaning the house must be owned by the seller

and no other parties are entitled to the land or the property, no other parties have placed a lien on the property, etc. It happens that sometimes significant problems are revealed during

title search which means closing is delayed until the “title is cleared” or the buyer resigns from the contract.

Is it worth the effort to buy a contingent home?

It depends and if the house is really the one desired to purchase, it makes sense to attempt to buy it even when it is marked contingent. A first step though should be a call to the listing agent to find out how far the current contract is along and if seller excepts a back-up offer.

Well, what do you think ? Want to give it a try and findva home you like even though it is under contract ? Or shall we go for one which is just waiting for your offer and you are the first one to get accepted ! 

Here is my contact info: Anytime, all the time -  please reach out to me.