Whether you are searching for a Minnesota home on Realtor.com, Zillow.com or a real estate company website like exitrealtyhomefront.com, you have probably run into the term “Contingent”. A home listed as “Contingent” means the home has an accepted offer on it subject to certain conditions being met. A Minnesota home can be listed as “Contingent” for many different reasons. Some of the most common contingencies you will see in Minnesota are:

Contingent - Sale of Another Property

This contingency means the buyer has a home that needs to be sold before moving forward with the purchase of this home. This means if you are a buyer that is NOT contingent on the sale of your current home you could maybe write an offer and bump the other buyer with the contingency. 

Contingent - Inspection

This contingency means the seller has accepted an offer in which the buyers have requested time to perform inspections on the home. These inspections could be full property inspections, mechanical inspections, lead-based paint inspections, radon inspections, etc. The inspection period usually ranges between 3 and 15 days depending on what inspections are being performed. During the inspection contingency time period, you might still be able to view the home, but you would only be able to put in a backup offer. If for some reason the buyer decides not to purchase the home during the inspection period, or if the seller and buyer aren’t able to come to an agreement on requested repairs, then your backup offer would be looked at.

Contingent - Subject to Statutory Rescission

This contingency most often involves a condominium, cooperative, townhouse or single-family home within a homeowners’ association (HOA). This contingency gives the buyer the right to review information regarding the association the home they are purchasing is in. The buyer has 10 days to review all HOA related documents once furnished by the seller.

Some documents the seller is required to provide the potential buyer copies of include:

• Declaration
• Articles of Incorporation
• Bylaws
• Association Rules and Regulations
• Amendments or Additional Declarations
• Organizational Documents and Operating Documents including association budgets and financials
• Resale Disclosure Certificate

Contingent - Third Party Approval

You will see this contingency when a home is part of a short sale. A short sale means the seller is attempting to sell the home for less than is owed on it. In this situation, the seller must get the approval from the home loan lender (third party) in order to sell the home. Homes contingent on third party approval have offers accepted by the seller and buyer, but are waiting for the home loan lender (third party) approval.

Are you searching the internet for a Minnesota home to purchase? Check out www.exitrealtyhomefront.com and click on “Search Now” to begin your home search.