Help on negotiating a deal

[Evan Hoch]

Hey everyone, I’m new to bigger pockets and also new to investing. Without getting too much into my background and dreams in the rental property world, I have a situation in which I would like some advice.

I am 21 and live with my parents, am lucky enough to own my own successful restaurant in town, and absolutely love where I live. My neighbor, who I have a decent relationship with, came into my restaurant a few months back and we had a conversation about how he wants to retire because he is in his 60s, and would like to sell his property and business.
He owns a chainsaw shop and runs it out of the building next to his house. The entire property is pretty rundown and needs a lot of work, but his business does over a million in sales. I had thoughts of buying the business, but right now I would rather just buy the property for a forever home, fix it up nice, and lease the building to a buyer of the chainsaw shop business.
The problem I am having is, after talking to him, he would like to sell the business and property together. He is open to ideas, but that’s obviously the ideal game plan for him. He wants $950k for the bundle (200 for the property and 750 for the business).

What could I bring to the table to convince him to sell me the property and buildings separate from the business? How would it benefit him in any way? I have serious ties with the road I live on and my family all lives within a half mile of each other, so it would be a perfect location for a home for my future family. Not to mention it could possibly be some serious rental cash flow with the business to pay for my mortgage!

I would also like to mention, none of what he has is on the market right now.

I would appreciate any help. Thank you!