Opportunity to buy the only neighboring unit

[Isaac Passmore]

Hi all,

So my wife and I own a condo that is apart of a 20-plex and the way the building is structured we only have 1 neighboring unit that shares our stairwell. We are on the ground floor and everything about this rental property is operating smoothly. I found out earlier this week that the neighboring unit we are sharing the stairwell with is up for sale. We like the condo building and wouldn't mind having a second unit. Since you rarely get to pick your neighbors in real estate this seems like an opportunity to reduce the chances of having a bad stairwell neighbor in the future that could upset our existing tenants. 

How much value would you all put on locking down that unit for more long term control? The current asking price does not make sense as a rental. However, the seller is an investor, albeit, this is their only rental and they have a paid off primary residential. I get the impression that they did not like being a landlord. The previous tenants had a kid and I'm hoping to view the property in the next couple of days. It is not priced to sell so I'm hoping the owner may be open to creative financing options such as subject to. I'm not going to get a bad deal, but I'm wondering if anyone would pay a bit of premium for this situation. Does this even have value or is it all in my head? How awful can a neighbor really be in a condo community?