Purchase Strategy Wanted (Friend Seller)

[Jonathan Farin]

Hello BiggerPockets family! Im in the process in buying a primary residence and my next door neighbor at a house I rent at is willing to sell me his home. As you all know the current housing market is expensive and I want to save as much money as possible for rehab cost. Without getting into to much detail the home is in a desirable neighborhood and with a little TLC the return on investment would be positive. For the long run ideally would hold this home and turn this into a rental property.

Ive known the seller for years, consider him a family friend, and the house is in good condition. Besides buying the home from him directly and saving on the 6% real estate agent cost, are there any other ways to save money on this purchase? As there are plenty of different strategies out there to purchasing a home, I was looking to see if anyone out there has a cost effective purchase strategy considering my relationship with the seller. Thank you for reading and the advice in advance! =)