I wouldn’t give too much clout to the ‘other person’ showing interest. From my experience this is almost always a white lie and in in any case, shouldn’t effect your offer. Also I wouldn’t ask any RE agent for help before the contract is signed since 1) they might like the deal themselves, or 2) try to get the seller to sign up with them. At this point don’t be too concerned about an exact price. Take an educated guess from the comps - repairs with the standard inspection contingency. Let the seller know you might need to adjust if the fix-up estimate is more than you originally thought. Just get it tied up!
2-1, 1-1 duplex, boarded up. Complete with feces still in toilet. The neighbors say no one has lived in it for over 2 years. Slight fire damage on one side. Lady called me from my newspaper ad. She admits this is a thorn in her side but I can’t get her to give me an asking price (“he who speaks last, wins”). I’ve been trying since I returned from the convention. She admits she knows nothing about real estate and would rather me make her an offer and we can go from there. I have no idea what to offer her. I’m new to this market. She says there is one other person showing interest but since she called me first I’ll have first choice. I see tremendous opportunity here. I took a contractor to see the house, he said he could have it in livable condition for about $4,000. I’d like to get at least three other bids. I would also like to try and tie this house up tonight. My intentions are to rehab and flip to another investor. Should I call some RE agents to try and get an idea of what after repair value it has? Should I ask for comps? I want to be fair. I also want to relieve her of her “thorn”. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m going to make some type of offer tonight right or wrong. Brandi, I don’t have time to over analyze. Jim(IL) where you at, where you at. Thanks in advance. God bless you all.