An index doesn't have tenants that are broke because the economy turned down and move out in them middle of the night, it doesn't have pending refi needs, it doesn't have to pay contractors in between etc. 

Yes, she was double dipping but with short sales and as the "seller" is anyways basically the bank, using listing agent didn't feel too harmful for us, in our opinion.This condo did have an offer pending last spring but as the offer was financed, once the HOA went under the lawsuit in May, the bank of that buyer wouldn't finance the mortgage anymore.

Another thing you'd definitely need to watch out for is any past/pending code enforcement actions on the property. 

I asked for some more information regarding the reserve fund but I was informed that I needed a pending offer to obtain that information.

It's tough to remain calm when it appears the pending sale will fall apart, but both parties have options: Buyer can make up the difference in cash.

Lost out on a really good property, just got email telling me the listing is pending....

Pending a job relocation if I decline the move I would love to invest here and grow my portfolio.

One strategy I've found that works sometimes is, even if your initial offer is rejected, keep following the property you like after its status is changed to Pending.

For the escape clauses, you can always write into the contract an inspection period or pending approval of a partner.

Here is how I run my comparables for myself and other investors:- Active / Pending / Sold in last 90 days- +/- 200 sq ft of subject home- +/- 2 years of subject home- Same bedroom as subject home- Same bathroom as subject home- Same neighborhood as subject homeSo when comparing deals for an investor, here is what my email looks like.