Help with an offer/sale price formula (rule of thumb)

[Shirley Dufrenne]

I'm currently looking at a property that (according to the state's property assessment site) is market value is $105,000. I think it's a vacant/abandoned house b/c the 1st flr windows are boarded it up. I've gotten the sellers phone number and current address from yp dot com and am about to ask her if she's interested in selling. She paid $43,900 in 1990 for the house. I think it may need appx @12,000 in repairs. Is there a general formula to figure out what is the most I should ask from my end buyer to pay for this property if I hope to make a profit of appx $3-5k? Or should I be looking for more or other information to factor in to make this potential deal work? I need some insight please. Thanks

[J Scott]

The best comps will come from the MLS, so finding a great real estate agent (or getting your license yourself) will go a long way towards helping you determine an accurate ARV.

Zillow can provide accurate sold data, but is often 1-3 months out of date (it can take 30-90 days for deeds to be recorded and data to be available to Zillow and similar sites/services).