I dont get it. Why not just use them regardless? I have always used them with all of my providers, I always use them and note it....have never heard a word about them. If I am a lender, I would place more value on those as an active as it means it is an active drawing interest...I do not understand why folks would not use them.

Sorry Pine, I meant Backup (B), Pending Sale (PS), Active (A)I know some MLS use diferents terms, here in SE FL is how we clasify properties base on their statuts.

My $0.02........

I will use contract pending comps as long as they are not dated. My MLS gives a scheduled closing date, and if that comparable has failed to close within a reasonable time frame after that date, then I won't use it. That's just me.....

In some neighborhoods, I feel almost forced to use contract pending properties as listing comparables. In the inner city area of town that I work, there are a lot of overpriced homes for sale. How can I value the subject at $20,000 (for example), and use listing comps above $60,000? That would be insane!

So in that area of town, contract pending properties are usually the only ones that are reasonably priced. Your BPO has to make sense, and quite often that means using contract pending listing comparables.

Pending, Back -up , Contingents are the "BEST" active comps to use. I actually look for those first and avoid "Active" when possible

Reason being is that is where buyers were willing to make offers. Often times you can see Active comps sitting around at higher prices and then pendings et al going into escrow/contract at lower prices.

Not sure what the discussion is all about????

LOL -

Anyway that made me wonder - what does your MLS system have in them for back up sales, offers, or what ever is back up?

In response to the OP's question, yes by all means use pending sales. Though, comment if pending for more than 75-90 days, especially for short sales. In my area, oftentimes SS don't close but still show as pending.

Sorry if this was addressed in previous posts, as I didn't read all of them.

A backup offer is when the property is under contract and the seller still taking offers as Back-up just in case the contract fell apart, I always advise my sellers to do so, if I see the deal is shaking, or in a short sale .

So your MLS lists back up offers too?

I don't use them and I never recall seeing them listed in any MLS - but it is interesting.

NC says to be careful with them and advises an attorney draft a backup offer - but I know agents that have prepared them.

I concur strongly with Vermont's statements. Pendings are the best type of comparison of what the market is currently fetching. Sure, they could be pending for a while and thus not accurately reflect the market, but more often than not it's a good measurement.

We use an especial addendum for Back up offers and it is approved by our board, it reads as follow "This Back up contract is subject to the termination of a prior executed contract between Seller and a third party for the sale of the property. If the prior executed contract is terminated and seller delivers written notice of the termination to Buyer before 5:PM on XX-XX-XXXX This contingency will be removed and this back up contract will move into first position. If Buyer does no receive notice of the prior contract's termination by the above deadline, Buyer may cancel this Back-up contract at any time and Buyer's deposit will be refund"...This has helped a lot on short sales, as all of us know, many times the first Buyer is no always the one that closes the deal.

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Yes our MLS list back up offers...

I think the confusion may be in terminology. I know some MLS's have categories for pending (pending, pending-continue to show, etc.) When the listing sheet pops up on your computer, it might list status differently, like PEND, PNBK, CONT (Contingent), or something like that. A property accepting back up offers is just another kind of pending.

And to keep this going, would anyone care to comment on whether or not they would show a property that was pending but accepting back-ups. Clearly, if it was a unique property that closely fit your buyer's crtieria, you probably would show it. But how about if there were 10 or 15 actives that could work?

I always assumed they were looking for listing comps to show the current competition.

Of course what someone is asking has nothing to do with what it is worth but it does give an indication of how badly sellers are buried in a declining market.

A pending is really just another sales comp and a much more accurate indication of value.

Because I hate the exclamation marks (from PT forms) when I use contingent- SS- listings and the resulting "explain in 300 words why you are using a listing that is not a fair arms length..blah blah"

I like pending because they indicate what someone really is willing to pay, but contingent only if there are no other comps...