Question about pricing history on Duplex

[Dave Garlick]

All,

I've been looking for my first rental property and I came across a small duplex in the Midwest that is easily within commuting distance to a big city. They are asking about $53,000 and by all accounts it looks in decent shape for that amount. Newer roof and newer air conditioning. The neighborhood is low income but not a rough neighborhood and has decent schools. It rents now for a total of $1,000/mo.

In looking at the history of this property, it looks like the the seller purchased it back in 2011 for $69,500. It was then listed for $71,500 in the middle of 2015. Since then, the price has dropped every couple of months until it is now $53,000. I can't imagine what they were thinking buying it for that much in 2011. It doesn't come close to a profitable deal at that price.

My questions is, do I need to be concerned that the seller has not been able to sell it. It does cash flow adequately at $53,000 but if something happens and I have to sell it, I'm concerned I may not be able to. I was thinking of offering $45,000 cash and maybe doing delayed financing. Has anyone looked at property that has not been able to sell? What are your thoughts?

Dave Garlick