When a home is listed as “Active – First Right,” it means the seller has made a prior arrangement with a buyer who will be given the opportunity to match any subsequent offers. This is also known as a Right of Refusal.

This is sometimes done when buyers must first sell their current home before they can commit to buying the seller’s home. For example, Bob wants to buy Sally’s home, but needs to sell his own home first. Bob makes an offer on the home which includes a contingency that allows him to back out of the deal if he cannot sell his home. Meanwhile, Sally is able to solicit offers from other buyers. If another buyer, Pete, makes an offer on Sally’s home, she must give Bob the chance to buy the home under the same terms offered by Pete (i.e. a right of first refusal). If Bob can’t or won’t match the offer, Pete can buy the home from Sally.