Real Estate Blog

AWC stands for "Accepted (a contract) With Contingencies." The sale is contingent upon something else happening. If that "something else" doesn't happen, then the contract is dead. With a short sale, the seller can accept an offer, but the bank then reviews it and must approve the price. That is the contingency, bank approval. That's most of the AWC's these days. In a short sale, the owner still owns the home but it's heading into foreclosure. They are selling it for less than what they owe the bank and asking the bank to waive the balance due on the loan - selling it short of the amount owed. That's why the bank has to approve of the sale. On the buyer’s side the sale is not much harder, but it can take along time to get the bank to review the offer, sometimes even a few months. Not great, but most of the homes for sale right now are short sales. Once the seller has accepted an offer and the offer has been submitted to the bank for review, any other offers made will be in “backup position.” If the first offer falls through for some reason, then the next offer is submitted to the bank.

AWC-C - Contingent upon the sale of the buyer’s property. In this market, if you have to sell your home in order to purchase another, then you will likely not be able to buy a lender owned or a short sale. Banks will only accept offers from buyers who are ready to move forward. However, because a short sale can take so long, it is sometimes a good idea to start looking before you sell your home so that you have time to navigate a short sale. In this case, we put out a regular offer, and hope your home sells with the correct timing. It's a bit complicated, so let me know if you would like to discuss the timing of selling and buying a home in more detail.

AWC-O The home is under contract. The buyer may not purchase the home, but he/she has the “Option” to purchase it. Usually, this is someone who is renting a home with the option to purchase. While they have the option active, the owner cannot sell the home to another. Usually, the buyer has a written timeframe in which they have the option to purchase the property. Once that time expires, then the seller is free to offer the property to others.

AWC-I - Awaiting bank approval of the purchase price. This means the offer has been accepted by the seller and is now awaiting the bank’s review. Meantime, it is not a finalized contract, so the seller can continue to market the home and accept backup offers. This is by far the most common AWC right now. Buying a short sale home is not necessarily harder, but it does take some patience. If you have a short timeframe in which to purchase a home, you may not be able to consider the short sales.