{"id":27238,"date":"2021-10-11T12:44:29","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T19:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=27238"},"modified":"2024-05-29T12:49:34","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T19:49:34","slug":"buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding What Does Active Pending Short Sale Mean on a Listing"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re on the hunt for a new home, and in addition to aligning yourself with an experienced agent<\/a>, you\u2019re also probably spending a lot of time perusing various real estate sites and researching available homes in your area. You see a house you love, but the listing shows that it is an \u201cactive pending short sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wait, what? What does that mean? Can you still make an offer on the house, or are you out of luck? And just what is <\/i>a short sale, anyway?<\/p>\n

With help from experienced real estate professionals, we\u2019ve broken down everything you need to know about the short sale process, how to navigate it, and what an active pending short sale means for you as a buyer.<\/p>\n

Is a short sale<\/a> home purchase for you? And can you still make an offer on an active pending short sale? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Source: (Hamish Duncan \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Short sales defined\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Simply put, a short sale is a property that isn\u2019t worth as much as the seller owes on it. When this happens, the homeowner must negotiate the sale with their lender, as they will be \u201cshort\u201d on the full amount owed. The lender has the final say on these types of sales, and all offers must go through them.<\/p>\n

Normally, when someone puts their house up for sale, they have some equity in the property and will walk away with money in their pocket after closing. But sellers who find themselves in a situation where they owe more than the house is worth won\u2019t net any kind of profit from the sale of the house. Instead, they have to get the bank to agree to forgive the difference between what they owe on the house and the agreed-upon sales price.<\/p>\n

What causes a short sale?<\/h2>\n

Short sales<\/a> can happen when people purchase a house at the top of the market, and then home values decrease. The homeowner could also have over-extended themselves with home equity loans<\/a> or lines of credit, or the property might have some kind of financial lien placed against it, all of which can result in the owner being \u201cunderwater\u201d on the home\u2019s value vs. what is owed.<\/p>\n

Chicago<\/a> real estate agent Matt Laricy<\/a>, who has more than 19 years of experience in the industry and sells properties 56% faster than other agents in his area, says that while short sales aren\u2019t necessarily common in today\u2019s market, he has worked with short sale properties many times in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a short sale, the bank is the one accepting the offer,\u201d he says. \u201cThe bank is the one who will ultimately be losing money on the deal, so they have to approve it.\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

How are short sales different from typical home sales?<\/h2>\n

In a standard home sale<\/a>, buyers make an offer on the property, and the sellers can either accept it or make a counter-offer. The seller has enough equity in the home to cover the existing mortgage, and their lender isn\u2019t involved in the sale, aside from providing loan payoff amounts at closing.<\/p>\n

But in a short sale, because the seller won\u2019t be able to fully pay off their existing loan on the house, negotiations are approved by their bank.<\/p>\n

For buyers, short sales<\/a> can potentially mean a good deal on a home purchase, but they can also be tricky to navigate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe price isn\u2019t guaranteed at all,\u201d says Laricy. \u201cSomeone can make an offer for $400,000, and the bank might come back and say the least they will take is $450,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that the short sale process<\/a> can also be quite lengthy, taking upwards of six months, as opposed to a regular home sale, which only takes about 30 days. \u201cThe longest one I\u2019ve ever had took almost 24 months,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Buyers may find that there isn\u2019t a lot of wiggle room on the price of a short sale, as lenders are going to base the price on the home\u2019s current market value<\/a>, and considering they are already going to be accepting less than the house is worth, they are unlikely to consider any low-ball offers<\/a>. It can also be difficult to get any concessions, such as the seller or lender paying closing costs<\/a>. And short sale homes are usually sold as-is<\/a>, so don\u2019t expect a lot of wiggle room with regard to repairs.<\/p>\n

The good news is, because the seller is still living in the house, short sale homes are often in better condition than a foreclosed property<\/a>. While foreclosures tend to move faster than short sales, as the house has already gone through the bank\u2019s foreclosure process, they can also end up in disrepair. Foreclosed homes tend to sit vacant for long periods of time, which can lead to damage from weather or vandalism, as well as having plenty of deferred maintenance.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Source: (Roger Starnes Sr \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Active pending short sales<\/h2>\n

When you see a listing that is showing as an \u201cactive pending short sale,\u201d you\u2019re looking at three separate terms<\/a> that all mean slightly different things.<\/p>\n

\u201cActive\u201d means the house is actively listed on MLS, or is actively for sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cPending\u201d means that someone has already made an offer on the house, similar to the term \u201csale pending\u201d that you might see on other listings. This doesn\u2019t mean, however, that the seller isn\u2019t considering additional offers!<\/p>\n

\u201cShort sale\u201d pertains to the seller owing more on the house than it is worth, which also means the bank is now involved and must sign off on the deal.<\/p>\n

You might also see terms such as \u201cactive short contingent,\u201d which means an offer has been made on the property and is awaiting approval from the bank, as well as \u201cpending short lender approval\u201d or just \u201cshort sale contingent.\u201d These all basically mean the same thing \u2014 that there is an offer on the house and it is pending final approval.<\/p>\n

But even if the property is listed as active pending, you can probably still make an offer<\/a>. This is where your agent can advise you on what course of action is best.<\/p>\n

Why would a seller accept additional offers?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for a seller to consider multiple offers on a short sale.<\/p>\n

They might think they can get more money for the home if they leave their options open, which does happen sometimes. If they are worried the current offer might fall through, having a backup offer is usually welcomed. And because short sales can be more difficult to navigate and are subject to bank approval, pending offers do tend to have a higher chance of falling through, so sellers are likely to be trying to get as many offers as possible.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, however, that the bank typically reviews one offer at a time, although they will usually accept back-up offers. They won\u2019t usually consider other offers until they\u2019ve reviewed the one already submitted, so you\u2019ll probably be waiting for quite some time before you hear back.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Source: (Carlos Gil \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Does it make sense to put in an offer on an active pending short sale?<\/h2>\n

If, despite the potential obstacles, you really want to try to purchase that pending short sale home you love, make sure you talk to your agent first and gain a good understanding of everything that may or may not be involved in the sale.<\/p>\n

Do a walk-through of the property, and review any existing inspections or appraisals available to you. It might also be a good idea to have your agent do a comparative market analysis<\/a> (CMA) on the property so you can see what other, similar homes have recently sold for in that area.<\/p>\n

Ask yourself if your schedule can accommodate the short sale<\/a> timeline. Do you need to move into a new home as soon as possible, or is this particular house worth what could be a long wait for bank approval? You may also have to deal with some fluctuation in the market between the time you submit your offer and the bank responds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe upside is, you might get a better deal,\u201d says Laricy. \u201cBut you might also have interest rates go up, or home values go down while you\u2019re waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you really want to stand out, you could also consider making a higher offer on the property. The lender is primarily concerned about getting back as much of their investment as possible, so this might be a good move, and worth discussing with your agent.<\/p>\n

Above all, patience is key in the short sale process, and even more so with an active pending short sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can take forever,\u201d says Laricy, \u201cand there are a lot of unknowns in regards to the value of the property. Most of the people who go through this either really love the house, or they\u2019re investors who don\u2019t care if their offer is approved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making an offer on an active pending short sale could be a good decision, as long as you weigh the pros and cons and understand the short sale process. With the help of an agent<\/a> who knows all the ins and outs, it might just be worth it to put in an offer and see what happens; you never know until you try!<\/p>\n

Header Image Source: (Andy Dean Photography \/ Shutterstock)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve broken down everything you need to know about the short sale process, how to navigate it, and what an active pending short sale means for you as a buyer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":27242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,638,639],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-house-hunting","category-homes-online"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does Active Pending Short Sale Mean On a Listing For Buyers?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We\u2019ve broken down everything you need to know about the short sale process, how to navigate it, and what an active pending short sale means for you.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Understanding What Does Active Pending Short Sale Mean on a Listing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We\u2019ve broken down everything you need to know about the short sale process, how to navigate it, and what an active pending short sale means for you.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-11T19:44:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-29T19:49:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jody Ellis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@winter_girls_ak\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jody Ellis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Does Active Pending Short Sale Mean On a Listing For Buyers?","description":"We\u2019ve broken down everything you need to know about the short sale process, how to navigate it, and what an active pending short sale means for you.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Understanding What Does Active Pending Short Sale Mean on a Listing","og_description":"We\u2019ve broken down everything you need to know about the short sale process, how to navigate it, and what an active pending short sale means for you.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/","og_site_name":"HomeLight Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","article_published_time":"2021-10-11T19:44:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-29T19:49:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jody Ellis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@winter_girls_ak","twitter_site":"@gohomelight","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jody Ellis","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/"},"author":{"name":"Jody Ellis","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a99e5dec19ca29a458ebdd485bd075"},"headline":"Understanding What Does Active Pending Short Sale Mean on a Listing","datePublished":"2021-10-11T19:44:29+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-29T19:49:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/"},"wordCount":1598,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-2.png","articleSection":["Buyers","House Hunting","Shopping for Homes Online"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/","name":"What Does Active Pending Short Sale Mean On a Listing For Buyers?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-2.png","datePublished":"2021-10-11T19:44:29+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-29T19:49:34+00:00","description":"We\u2019ve broken down everything you need to know about the short sale process, how to navigate it, and what an active pending short sale means for you.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-2.png","width":1500,"height":800,"caption":"Source: (Andy Dean Photography \/ Shutterstock)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-does-active-pending-short-sale-mean-on-a-listing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Understanding What Does Active Pending Short Sale Mean on a Listing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","name":"HomeLight Blog","description":"Real Estate Advice from America's Top Agents","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"HomeLight","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","width":1348,"height":262,"caption":"HomeLight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gohomelight","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/homelight\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCimugR9XF17-OZ7B9fNnxWw","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HomeLight"],"description":"Everything you need to know to sell your house faster and for more money. Articles, guides, and advice from top agents all over the U.S.","email":"support@homelight.com","telephone":"(888) 688-0350","legalName":"HomeLight","foundingDate":"2012-01-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"201","maxValue":"500"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a99e5dec19ca29a458ebdd485bd075","name":"Jody Ellis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/284e38f2b19f640984e12ff050672706c67dc60173c56e7a6f06f42f3200c08d?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/284e38f2b19f640984e12ff050672706c67dc60173c56e7a6f06f42f3200c08d?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Jody Ellis"},"description":"Jody Ellis is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience in the writing industry. Her work includes copywriting and content marketing for real estate professionals, stories covering real estate trends and housing markets, and varied articles on decor and design. In addition to buying and selling several homes herself, she's also owned and managed rental properties, and previously worked in mortgage lending.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/winter_girls_ak"],"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/author\/jody-ellis\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}