Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 17 posts · 2 votes
My neighbor has decided to sell us his house. We are not using a realtor for this purchase. We are in the Denver area, comps in this neighborhood are about 370-380 up to 420 for a fully updated house. His house has not been updated in the 25 years he has been in it. I have a few questions. Could we write an offer for 2% less than whatever it appraises for? He would be saving money by not paying out a realtor and we would get a below market price on the house. My second question is, would it be better financially to move into his home and remodel it and make it our primary home while renting out our current home. Or get his house updated and rented out?
@Heather Dane You can write an offer for whatever you want. If you're not using an agent, I'd recommend talking with the (1) listing agent to share your plans and start the discussion and/or (2) talk with a lawyer to help you out.
Remember, when you talk with the listing agent, he or she has a fiduciary duty to the seller with their best interests in mind, NOT yours. I've seen many newer investors make this mistake. Many listing agents prefer to work with people who have an agent because it makes the transaction less likely to have issues. The agent and the title company usually end up doing a lot more work with unrepresented buyers. FYI so you know where the other side is coming from.
As far as remodeling to rent or sell, it depends on a lot of factors, which you didn't share. You're not going to get a solid answer here on the boards. The biggest factors are the numbers, your goals, and the numbers of your current primary.