For Sale or Not For Sale?

Today's buyers often ask me about a property they like only to find out it is already in contract and no longer available to put an offer in on. How does this happen? Several factors contribute to this confusion. Some real estate search sites are definitely better than others. Sites are only as good as the data pull they have in place. If an mls (multiple listing service) has categories such as Active/Pending, Active/Pending Loan, Active/Pending House, the search web site may list them as "Active", but in reality they are "Pending". Pending means they have an accepted offer on the property. Other sites are retrieving older data from public records and may not have the latest update, which would describe the listing as "Pending". Another common situation is buyers seeing a For Sale sign on a property and assuming it is available. This is another example of information not being updated. In the old days, agents were more consistent in posting "Pending" or "Sale Pending" riders on the sign to let you know it's in contract. Agents typically leave their signs on the property until the sale closes. Add to that the properties that are in "short sale", which is a pre-foreclosure situation that can take months to close even though the buyer and seller are in contract.  In this situation, the buyer and seller are waiting for the third party lender (short sale bank) to approve the sale. What's the solution to these situations? One is to have a good agent that will look up properties for you upon your request. Another is to use a more up to date web search tool that differentiates between "Active" and "Active/Pending" categories.