Hello all,
Although I am relatively new to this forum, I just feel I have to respond to a multitude of these posts as a lot of the information posted here is incorrect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MechellsPlace
"Conditional Continue to Show" means that a listing is under contract with other contingencies or conditions. i.e., financing, cost of repairs, etc. The listing is available for showings and backup offers can be taken.
"Contingent Continue to Show" status is when a listing is under contract subject to the sale of the buyer’s property. Again, the listing is available for showings and backup offers can be taken.
|
Mechell's information is absolutely correct.
The MLS made status changes a little while back in order to more clearly define for
Agents what the actual status of the property is and to provide better communication for Buyers and Sellers. Anything other than Active, (also Withdrawn, Expired and Temp off Market which are not listed on public websites) means that there is a negotiated contract in place on the property. Conditional Continue to Show, means there are conditions that need to be met in the contract before it can close. The conditions can be pretty much anything, but most commonly are: loan approval, short sale bank approval, inspections, even spouse viewing the property...but know that pretty much anything a Buyer wants to write can go here,
however the Seller has to AGREE to it.
In days gone by, everything just went Pending or Contingent. This disadvantaged most Sellers as a process, because the majority of agents would not show a Pending property. But when a deal fell apart due to one of those agreed to conditions, the Seller had lost a lot of market time sitting and waiting to close. Conditional status gives much better exposure to Sellers and gives Buyers more options of homes that may potentially meet their needs or desires.
Contingent has been clarified and is just what it says: Contingent on another property sale or closing. A Contingent contract on a sale will still allow showings, since the norm is to write a "48-hr kickout clause" to allow other non-contingent offers to be negotiated. If a second offer comes in and is negotiated to an agreement, then the first Buyer has the option to go forward with the transaction without his other property selling or withdraw his offer. This process protects the Seller more, with a bird in the hand so to speak. (Personally, I call these "wish" contracts, especially in this market..."I wish my other house would sell so I can buy this one!") Contingent can also be on the closing of another property which has already gone under contract and is proceeding toward closing. Obviously for all parties, this is much more desirable, because it is nearer to becoming a reality, but if, for some reason, the first deal falls apart, it also protects that Buyer from being stuck with 2 homes and he can walk away without penalty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeyKid
I've come to just think of "conditional" as "there's more to this story then in this listing".
The worst part is that there is so much garbage in, you get the garbage out when searching listings. There's no real oversight over MLS data - I see so many mistakes and left out information it's very annoying when looking at a regional MLS. The data elements are all there - there's pretty much a field for everything... So why so many agents decide they don't need to fill out all the info (or worse not proof read their work) is well beyond me. One of my biggest pet peeves is not listing the schools.
Anyway... to the OP - it could mean lots of things.
|
Agreed Mikey, the MLS information is only as good and accurate as the agent providing it and/or entering it. Even though many of the fields are "mandatory," the fact that they are multiple choice....makes them wildly inaccurate many times. I personally am not as put off by the lack of school info, as I am by properties listed in the wrong MLS areas and sub-areas. I don't depend on MLS for school assignments, but rather the individual school websites or by calling the school directly. The main reason, especially in CharMeck, for Agents not listing schools is that the assignments change and the agents don't want to be responsible for saying a property is in a certain school zone when in fact it may not be any longer. It's all about litigation honestly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coastalgirl
It used to mean short sale or foreclosure, but I think the NC MLS recently changed it to mean "under contract". Everywhere else it means strings attached (as in short sale, loan approval, etc).
I agree w/you Mikey, the MLS is annoying. They probably do that so we will be forced to hire a "knowledgeable" Realtor.
|
Coastalgirl, I'm sorry. It sounds like you've had at least one less than stellar experience with a Realtor. A good agent can make a transaction a dream or a nightmare for the client as well as the other agent involved. It is very unfortunate for all agents, that no one has been able to establish and provide value to you.
Just for clarification purposes, the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) was established as a tool and has always been By and For the Use of Cooperating Brokers. It is the Real Estate Community's Agreement for advertising their client's properties to other Member Agents. It's not public property. The onset of the internet has helped change some of that, and some of the information is now available for public consumption via various websites. Agents pay quite a bit of money to be MLS and Realtor members and to have access to that information and to provide a service to the public. That public service is why we, as agents, are state trained, licensed and regulated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lumbollo
Unless you like a lot of drama don't bother putting an offer on a house that has "conditional" on the listing. It either means someone else gets a say in accepting the offer or the seller has an offer they don't like and is fishing for other suckers to come along and up the ante.
These things used to be unheard of, but in these days of real estate become worth less as each day goes by, it's reared it's ugly head as part of the game.
|
Lumbollo, your post is also disheartening as it tells me that yet another agent has not done a very good job of helping you understand how Real Estate Agents work together with Buyers and Sellers. "Fishing for suckers to up the ante" is illegal...it is called shopping a contract and if you are aware of someone doing that, you should contact the North Carolina Real Estate Commission and file a complaint. That behavior gives us a bad name and a bad rap and violaters should be prosecuted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pink caddy
"Conditional" can also mean a move by a real estate trader that might want to warehouse the house for a couple of weeks while he decides if the price he is offering was done in a drug induced state or is his accepted offer a "good deal". He just builds some "conditions" into the offer that will let him walk away without any loss of EMD if he so chooses.
|
Pink...your post is also discouraging for me as an agent. If you're referring to Alternative 2, an Option to Purchase contract, then it is totally within the right of the Buyer to walk away for any reason, but he forfeits his option money. Probably within the next year, all real estate transactions will be Option Contracts, more like commercial transactions and inspections and other "Conditional" provisions--with the exception of financing--those conditions are all going away. This is going to mean more out of pocket exploratory costs by the Buyer up front.
Quote:
Originally Posted by erinlou
I am going to Charlotte in September to look at homes and the Realtor I'm using sent me a mail to let me know what the different terms meant. "Conditional usually means they have an acceptable offer but buyer must sell their home first so they will still accept an offer from someone who can close sooner."
|
Erin, you are describing Contingent, as I have explained above. It is unfortunate that these terms are so similar and are very often confused...not only by the public...but by other Agents as well!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith Roe
In SC we use pending.
|
Keith, we still use Pending as well....but not until after all Conditions have been met and all Contingencies satisfied and the deal is just waiting to close.
It is very disappointing to me as an agent of 15 years to read that there are so many bad feelings out in the Charlotte community toward Realtors. I love my job and my clients and with over 500 transactions, I am certain that the majority of them love me. I like to think that I have made a difference in their lives, their happiness and their purchase choices here and have provided knowledge, guidance and value in my service. I am very sorry that many of you have not had those same opportunities with a good agent.
Kathy
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
