First Rental/ Fix and flip opportunity

[Teren Cooley]

Hi everyone,

I've been investing in land for about two years now, so I filter my mailing lists to only include raw land/lots.  Every so often I'll get a call from someone looking to sell their house, but I've passed on all of those so far.  However, yesterday I came across what looks to be an excellent opportunity, and since I've been thinking about branching out to different types of investments, I want to figure out how to capitalize on this one.

The property is a 1300 sq/ft house on a half acre in a populated subdivision.  Most of the houses are single level, 2-3 bedrooms on similar size lots.  The owner still lives there but is looking for a new place.  I'm still waiting on pictures, but he claims it's in decent shape, just needs a few things (paint, new shower, etc.)  The reason I'm so interested is that he's only asking what I estimate to be 35-40% of market value.  There is some money owed in taxes, but not a ton, and the house is paid off.  I know there's a lot of due dilligence that needs to be done, which I'm digging into today, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Next, assuming everything checks out and I decide to buy the property, I want to figure out the best way to put it to use, whether selling it as-is, fix and flip, taking a longer rental approach, or any other potential options.  I know a lot of this decision is based on personal variables, but I'm wondering whether there are any tell-tale signs that a specific property is better suited for one particular investment strategy.  Thanks as always and have a great day!