What is the best way to present an offer?

[Michael Lettieri]

I'm trying to convince my next-door neighbor to sell to me. They are open to selling but have not thrown out an initial asking price. The home is a 3-family and in need of a lot of work. How do I propose the first offer without insulting the owner? Should this be a formal offer on paper from a lawyer or verbal offer only? Should I provide comparables from the multiple listing service and prices for the cost of the required renovations? I'm confident that I would offer the best price/deal to this owner but am worried they won't realize it until it's too late. What I mean by saying "too late", is they will let it sit vacant for several months, pay for renovations, pay for a real estate agent, and then get lower than expected offers. How do I get them to understand that selling to me now "as-is" is in their best interest?