Negotiating w/ seller, now vs spring and lease backs

[Adam L.]

So I'm working on an off-market deal for my primary residence and would love some advice.

I've connected w/ a guy getting a divorce that is planning to sell his home in a great area. He's shown us the house a few times and now we're just trying to settle on a price with the guy (he's a part time realtor). I've got a month-to-month rental I'm living in and can be quite flexible on timing. The guy is trying to decide between selling to me now or waiting until the spring and taking it to market. He would want to stay in the house until March. He keeps talking about the 'future value' of the house if he waited until the spring.

What are your thoughts on how to negotiate this situation? The seller has said several times that if he 'waives the future value of the house' and does the transaction now, he would want 6 months of free lease back rather than holding until march then selling. Is this really a thing? I'm trying to buy the house now at today's market price, not the price 6 months from now. How would you respond?