What does under contract mean?
The under contract is a contract between a buyer and seller of a property which says that a buyer entered in a contract to buy the house, however, the sale is not finalized yet. The contract will include all parties involved and the terms of the contract such as contingencies, according to Redfin.
The under contract status is an early stage in the sale of the property, and therefore, there is no guarantee that the sale will come to a settlement.
How long does this period last?
A sale of a property does not happen overnight. This is because the buyer and seller must make sure that all contingencies are satisfied. That is the buyer must secure the financing options such as cash or mortgage. More importantly, the buyer will have the inspection and appraisal completed before the sale is finalized.
All these activities take a lot of time to complete. This is why there is a designated time from when the offer was accepted to the closing date.
As noted by Realtor, it takes between 30 to 45 days from the acceptance of an offer to the closing date. If the house does not pass contingencies, the sale will not happen.
Can you submit an offer on a house that is under contract?
The under contract status does not mean that the house will be sold. Even if the offer was accepted, there is no guarantee that the sale will be finalized due to contingencies.
For this reason, you can still submit an offer on a house under contract. However, keep in mind that the original buyer will have priority in buying the house. In other words, you will be able to buy the house if the sale falls through or if the contract allows it. This is because the seller will bring the house back on the market right after a failed sale.
As noted by total mortgage, many real estate agents continue to take back-up offers and show the property since there is no guarantee that the sale will become successful. For this reason, there are still chances that another buyer can win the property.
