Looking for a home on Zillow can be a fun way to pass the time and envision the future — until it’s time to actually start the buying process, at which point it becomes a stressful race to snap up your dream home before someone else buys it. If you’ve seen a top contender marked as “under contract” on Zillow, should you cross it off your list? Not necessarily. You can often still make an offer, but there’s a slimmer chance of it being accepted.

On Zillow, listings start out with an “active” status when they hit the market, which is pretty self-explanatory. They stay that way until a buyer has made an offer and the seller has accepted it, at which point the status changes to “under contract.” In real estate, under contract means that the buyer and seller have agreed on the price, but price isn’t the only thing under consideration when buying a house. Other conditions or contingencies must also be met, such as financing approval and passing a home inspection.

Once a house is under contract, both parties are locked in and committed to the deal — unless those contingencies aren’t met, in which case the buyer or seller can walk away without consequences. In most cases, everything goes smoothly and the sale closes. But that doesn’t always happen, which is why sellers often still accept backup offers from other buyers during this phase. So if a near-perfect home on Zillow is under contract, all hope is not lost.

It’s up to the seller whether they choose to consider other offers while the house is under contract, but many do. A “contingent” status is essentially the same thing as “under contract”; it means an offer has been accepted, but certain contingencies must be met. If the house is listed as “active under contract,” that’s a stronger green light to keep it in consideration. It means the house is definitely still active on the market, and you can make an offer if you’re interested.

It’s important to keep in mind that the first offer that the seller accepted is still binding. They can’t move forward with another buyer unless the first one falls through. Until then, your offer is only considered a backup. To make a backup offer stand out so it rises to the top of the pile if the first offer falls through, consider offering above the asking price. Your chances of success are much smaller than with active listings, but it can still be worth a shot.

On the other hand, there are benefits to waiting it out. Only about one-fifth of houses under contract don’t close, depending on the market. Zillow may not show you these listings unless you check the box to display them. Also, if the first offer doesn’t work out, it’s helpful to find out why before you make your own offer; there may be something about the house that is driving buyers away. Houses can stay in the under contract phase for anywhere from a few days to several weeks.

So, when is it too late to make an offer? The “pending” status on Zillow means that the sale is closer to completion, and the seller generally can’t accept any more offers at that point. The house is technically off the market, and only finalizations remain. There’s still a small chance of the sale falling through and the house going back up for sale, but don’t count on it. This phase usually lasts a couple days at most.

There is one exception: If the house is listed as “pending more than four months,” the sale is taking longer than usual, usually due to some sort of problem. New offers may still be accepted. But again, you may want to check the reason for the hold-up and whether it’s on the seller or buyer’s side before you consider making an offer. Of course, if a house is listed as sold on Zillow, it’s a no-go. Luckily, these homes don’t show up in search on Zillow and don’t have a price listed, so it’s easy to identify them as unavailable before getting your hopes up.