What does contingent mean ?

Contingent refers to the situation when the sale offered by the property owner has been accepted by the buyer but there are certain provisions in the contracts which have yet not been met. If the deal moves in a favourable direction, the state is changed to the pending. When the property is shown as contingent the seller accepts the offer and the parties involved work on settling the differences. Contingent meaning 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Pending is different as it refers to the condition when the deal is no longer active and hence, it will not come in the listing of available properties for sale. It refers to the situation where the legal work is pending.