Why “Pending” Properties Aren’t Always Out of Reach

At Primary Residential Mortgage in Fort Myers, we’re proud to work with you from start to finish when it comes to securing a mortgage and finding the new home of your dreams. We’ll work with you on the important questions to ask yourself, plus help you deal with any roadblocks that may come up during the process.

In some cases when you’ve secured financing (or at least pre-approval) and have begun to search the market for the homes that work for your situation, you might notice some properties listed as “pending.” This generally means that a contract has been executed on the property with an intent to sell, but the sale is still processing legal work and loan closures. Many first-time homebuyers will see “pending” on a listing and assume it’s totally lost as an option – but this actually isn’t always the case. Let’s look at a few reasons why pending sales don’t always mean you should give up if you’re interested in the home.

Financial Issues

In some cases, the person who has attempted to buy the home in question was not aware of how certain outside financial areas might impact their mortgage or home purchase. They may not know, for instance, that applying for a new credit card or taking on major new debt might affect their eligibility for the mortgage, particularly if their credit score was right on the line between qualifying and not qualifying.

If any of these kinds of transactions are made that disqualifies the buyer from the loan, the pending sale can fall through. In most cases like this, the home goes back on the market and would be open to someone like you, even if you saw it as pending originally.

“Subject To” Conditions

In most cases, savvy buyers make sure a property inspection is done before the contract is executed and the home enters pending status. This is when a third party comes to inspect the home and ensure everything is in working order – if anything needs fixing, the borrower can list “subject to” clauses in the contract after agreeing on who is responsible for the fixes with the seller.

If the seller does not complete these items as listed on the contract, the buyer will usually have the right to back out of the contract, and often does so. In this case, the home will once again be returned to the market. If you’re considering a home like this, however, be sure to check with the seller for the exact reason why the previous work was not completed – you don’t want to run into the same thing yourself.

Title Problems

Once the contract is written up and the loan process has begun, the property’s title will be reviewed. It’s not common, but issues like liens, delinquent bills or other issues might be present on the title that delay or even prevent the closing. If the seller does not clear up these issues, or even if there are public errors on title work, it could derail the sale.

For more on reasons why a pending sale might not go through, or to learn about any of our mortgage services or programs, speak to the staff at Primary Residential Mortgage in Fort Myers today.