Sending a Low-ball offer for a house

[Yan Linwood]

Hello everyone,

Let's cut to the chase. I was looking at a 3/2 single-family house ~1600SFT at a fairly mixed-average neighborhood. The house I am interested in is listed to sell at $182,000 while other houses nearby (comps) are at around $140-$150k range. I was surprised when I saw specifically that the neighbor's house was actually sold at about $95,000. 

The catch is, this $182k home looks like it has been flipped really well. All new appliances, new bathroom, new roof, new A/C unit, etc. I checked out the house this morning and I even saw an added value because the other neighbor had just installed a really big firm fence that looks good and sturdy right next to the backyard. Essentially, one information I know is, the house was sold last year in 2016 for about $100k. My guess is the house was flipped and is now being sold at a crazy high price (relative to the neighborhood). So, I am thinking to send in a low-ball offer of about $145k due to the comps, the house has been on the market for about 80 days, the neighbor's house that's just recently sold for $95k, and considering $45k rehab fee that sounds huge even with all new roof, appliances, etc.

Now, for disclaimer, I am planning to house-hack the house with a couple of friends. So basically I am planning to live in the house and have 2 friends helping with rent. My exit strategy is after living there for possibly up to 5 years, I would like to hold it as a rental property and create cash flow from the property.

Any advice or thoughts?

[Jason Richey]

Isn't the general idea to buy the worst property in the best neighborhood? It sounds like you're looking at the best property in an OK neighborhood, just my 2 cents