Meeting With Seller - Possible First Deal

[Eben Rohling]

I came across a duplex for sale in my area today that is not on the MLS. I decided to call the seller and it turns out that he also has a 4-plex and 16 unit building that he is planning on selling. After hearing the numbers, I am most interested in the 4-plex (this would be my first investment property). He gave me the previous years numbers: Gross Rent $39,000, Expenses $11,641. His asking price is $275,000. I don't have $70,000 for a DP and even if I did, the COC return would not be great with such a high initial investment.

In order to make this work, I will need to ask him to seller finance for a few years with perhaps $10,000 down. With that stipulation, I feel like it is overreaching to also offer a lower purchase. Using the asking price and $10k down with conservative expenses, I ran a BP Buy and Hold calculator report and showed $220 cash flow per month assuming 4% on the financing.

These are very nice large units with minimal to no deferred maintenance.

My questions for all of you:

1) Would I be asking too much or come off as desperate if I ask him to carry the loan and offer a lower price?

2) Any tips for meeting with a seller? (I am meeting him at his camp site with his family, will be very informal and hopefully help build trust)

3) Are there any questions I should ask that I may be missing, or things to look out for?

Thank you in advanced!