If you have your eye on a property that’s not for sale yet, you can call “dibs” by using a right of first refusal (ROFR). This is a clause in a contract (like a lease) that gives you the option to make an offer and accept the terms of a sale on a home before anyone else can on the public market. However, the seller has to agree.

There are a few situations when a ROFR clause is commonly used. The first is between landlords and tenants. If a tenant is interested in buying the property they’re currently renting, they can be the first to know when it goes up for sale and have the first chance at buying it.