Contingent vs Pending.

In plain English

Contingent and pending are two listing statuses that show where a home sale stands after an offer is accepted. Contingent means the seller accepted an offer, but the deal still depends on conditions being met, called contingencies, such as the buyer's inspection, appraisal, or mortgage approval. Pending means those conditions have been satisfied and the sale is moving toward closing. Both mean the home is spoken for, but a contingent deal is more likely to fall through and reopen than a pending one.

01Why it matters

If you are still house hunting, knowing the difference tells you whether it is worth asking to be a backup offer (contingent deals sometimes collapse) or whether the home is all but sold (pending).

02The math, step by step

A home goes contingent on Monday because the buyer's offer depends on a clean home inspection and final loan approval. The inspection turns up nothing major and the lender clears the loan, so by the next week the status flips to pending. If the inspection had revealed a cracked foundation the buyer would not accept, the contingent deal could have fallen apart and the home would return to active.

03What this is NOT

04Receipts

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