What does contingent mean ?

Contingent refers to the situation when the buyer has accepted the sale offered by the property owner, but certain contract provisions have not yet been met. 

If the deal moves in a favourable direction, the state is changed to pending. However, when the property is shown as contingent, the seller accepts the offer, and the parties involved work on settling the differences. 

Contingent means the seller will no longer be showing their home or accepting offers from other buyers, or there must be a deadline by which the contingency must be met in case the seller is still showing or accepting other bids.

Pending is different as it refers to the condition when the deal is no longer active; hence, it will not come in the listing of available properties for sale. In addition, it refers to the situation where the legal work is pending.