What Under Contract Means When You're the Seller
3 min read · Last updated 2026-10-08
Under contract means you and a buyer have both signed. The sale hasn't closed. The National Association of Realtors says a pending sale usually closes within one or two months of signing. Your listing status tells buyers if your home is still on the market. In the Real Estate Standards Organization's data standard, it's Pending if the home is off the market and Active Under Contract if it stays on. Count on the closing, not the signature. Cash Flow Deals gives you two offers to choose from.
| A listing with a financed buyer | Premium offer | Cash offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you're under contract with | The buyer your listing finds | Us first. Then your buyer signs a new contract directly with you | Cash Flow Deals |
| Listing and showings | Listed, with showings | Your home may be listed during the 15 business days of inspection. A licensed agent brings each buyer. Showings are scheduled ahead and take 10 to 15 minutes | No listing. One walk-through by our team |
| Inspection period | The days your contract sets | 15 business days | 15 business days |
| Closing | The date in your contract | 45 days or less, on a date you help pick | 45 days or less, on a date you help pick |
| If the buyer's financing falls through | Your contract's financing terms decide what happens | You can still take the Cash offer | Not applicable: we're the buyer |
Decide If Your Home Stays on the Market After You Accept
Once you accept an offer, decide whether buyers can still find your home.
The Real Estate Standards Organization's Data Dictionary sets standard terms for exchanging real estate data. It gives an accepted offer two statuses. Active Under Contract means accepted, still on the market. Pending means accepted, off the market.
Labels differ by MLS. The standard lists Contingent and Accepting Backup Offers as other names for Active Under Contract, and it files Under Contract and Offer Accepted under Pending. So a home marked Under Contract can already be off the market.
If you want backup offers, ask your listing agent which status your MLS uses and what buyers will see. Florida's AS IS contract, the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar form, has a check box for a Back-up Contract rider. That's Rider W.
Our view: offers are the market's vote on your price, and a backup offer is one more vote even if you never use it.
Count the Sale as Done Only When It Closes
Decide which of your plans wait for the closing, like a deposit on your next home.
Signing isn't closing. The National Association of Realtors says a sale is listed as pending when the contract's been signed but the deal hasn't closed. The gap varies. NAR says trouble with the buyer's mortgage can drag it out, and so can problems with the home inspection or the appraisal.
In NAR's August 2026 survey of Realtors, contracts typically closed in 30 days. Some ran late. The same Realtors reported delayed closings on 14% of their contracts over the past three months.
Our view: the day that counts is closing day. Not signing day.
Pick the Contract You Want to Be Under
You want a sale that closes on a date you can plan around. So before you sign, read what the contract says happens if the buyer's financing falls through.
Cash Flow Deals makes two offers, and the pick is yours:
1. Cash offer: our as-is number. You're under contract with Cash Flow Deals, and we buy the house and close. No listing. One walk-through by our team. No listing commission to us, either.
2. Premium offer: a higher number, paid by a real FHA or conventional buyer through novation. You're under contract with us first, at a number you agree to, and you let us bring in a buyer in our place. During the 15 business days of inspection, your home may be listed: a licensed agent brings each buyer, and showings are scheduled ahead and take 10 to 15 minutes. That buyer then signs a new contract directly with you. Their lender funds it. Title transfers once. We're paid as a separate line item on the closing statement. If that buyer's financing falls through, you can still take the Cash offer.
3. Inspection period: 15 business days. Same on both.
4. Closing: 45 days or less. You help pick the date.
Our view: that higher number comes from exposure to retail buyers, the people paying with FHA and conventional loans.
Common questions
When does a house officially go under contract?
On Florida's AS IS contract, the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar form, it's the Effective Date: the day the buyer or seller, whichever goes last, signs or initials and delivers the offer or the final counteroffer. The buyer's inspection period is counted from that day. Other states use other forms.
When does my listing show as sold?
When the sale closes. The Real Estate Standards Organization's Data Dictionary defines Closed as a purchase agreement that's been fulfilled. Until then, an accepted offer shows as Active Under Contract or Pending, or under your MLS's own names for them.
How many offers do homes get on average?
2.1 on average. That's what Realtors reported for their most recent sales in the National Association of Realtors' August 2026 survey, down from 2.5 a year earlier.
Am I under contract with you once you make your offers?
No. Our offers don't tie you to us: you're under contract with Cash Flow Deals only after a written contract is signed by both sides, and you can read it with an attorney first.