Buying the Home We're Renting from the Owner without Realtor?

[Andrew S.]

Our family has been renting a single-family home (see description/additional background below) for the last 2 years and are considering buying the property from the landlord via private sale. We have an excellent relationship with the landlord - he is a retiring military officer and lived in the home for 10 years prior to us moving in. He planned on being stationed back in the area but those plans changed recently and so he and I have spoken a bit about the sale already. We have not had an appraisal done but will have that completed in the next few weeks. The owner has already told us, however, that he will pass some/all of the realtor savings on to us and based on some rough numbers I threw out because of neighborhood comps, it sounds like he would price it to us below-market by 3-5%. 

I'm relatively new to Bigger Pockets but I am a "value guy" -- LOVE unlocking value where it is going undiscovered. I have owned 1 home in the past (bought at the trough during the Financial Crisis, renovated, lived in it, rented it for a year, and then sold it for quite a bit more than we paid). All that to say, I think that this deal could potentially represent a pretty interesting investment for us but given the high price of homes currently, I'm still somewhat torn. Here are some further details that may help you all weigh in on the pros and cons:

• 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, 2200 sq. ft., split level, finished basement, 1 acre, roughly valued at $500k
• Located in a quiet late 70's neighborhood just outside an expensive urban area. Highly desirable location, school district, is a "coveted location" by locals because most of the land is developed and it sits off an extremely accessible road
• Our current rent: $2,500 + Utilities (the home could almost certainly rent for $3k). The owner pays for a yard service and opening and closing the pool. Home could easily rent for $3,000+.
• It is the next-to-last house on a quiet street, our lot is next to the home of the person who sold the development back in the 70s  and he kept 20 acres to himself -- so our home's backyard and to the side is 20 acres of woods and trails that won't be developed
• In-ground swimming pool with a new pump and pool liner
• New water heater, washer and dryer, and full-home water filtration system (all put in just before we moved in)
• Renovated kitchen
• Extremely unique "sunroom" that the first owner had custom-built with huge nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. It's definitely the "wow" part of the house when people walk in .... but I also worry about the replacement cost of the custom windows that are each about 8' x 2.5'. No leaking yet but have no idea when/if those things will go.

All right, Bigger Pockets folks -- would love your thoughts on this. What sorts of things should I be considering about the home, the potential deal/negotiation, the timing of the market right now? Any considerations I should be giving to purchasing via private sale? What is my next step of action in this aside from the appraisal? Appreciate you all! Sorry for the long post but I trust you all have considerable more knowledge than this newbie!