Mine runs 28 months and I keep thinking about what happens if someone shows up with cash in month 14 and the seller decides to entertain it.
A right of first refusal (ROFR) and a lease option are actually two different tools, and knowing the distinction matters here.
A lease option gives you the right to buy at a set price before the lease ends. If it is drafted properly, the seller cannot sell to anyone else during that term without breaching the contract. The option is the protection. The seller entertaining a cash offer in month 14 is not a gray area, it is a contract violation, and you would have grounds to enforce your option or seek damages.
A ROFR is a separate mechanism that says: if an offer comes in, you get to match it. That is weaker than an option because it presumes the seller can shop the property, and you are reacting to someone else's offer rather than holding a pre-agreed right.
So the question worth asking is whether your option agreement is recorded. Recording means filing it with the county recorder's office so it appears in the public title record. A recorded option puts any buyer on legal notice that your interest exists. A cash buyer's title search will surface it, and a title company will not insure a clean sale over your recorded interest. That is your real protection for a 28-month term.
I cannot give legal advice, but this is exactly the kind of question to put to a real estate attorney before month 14 arrives, because the answer depends on your specific contract language and your state's rules on enforceability.
The strategy guide's section on legal precision is worth rereading with this in mind, specifically the note about keeping the option as a separate contract and documenting terms carefully.
Is your option currently recorded, or is it just a signed agreement sitting in a file?
