Should I buy the 3 family next door?

[Roland Barbeito]

Hi all,

Here's the situation. I own a 6 family apartment building which is situated between a 2 family to the right of the house and a 3 family home to the left. The lots are small. I have just 75' of frontage. The problem I have is the driveway to access the parking area in the rear of the house is very narrow ~10feet wide.  It's a pain to plow and difficult for tenants to enter and exit. There is a 4' tall chain link fence  on the property line which separates my driveway with his. My neighbor (owner) wants to sell his owner occupied 3 family house and move into his own house. He is motivated to sell since he is getting married. He is asking 150k. The last time the house sold was back in 2010 for ~144k. 

3 family house in question has its issues(older home, older heating systems probably)  but I would like to own it as it would: 1. eliminate my driveway/snowplowing issues 2. add to rental portfolio 3 increase monthly income 4. Both properties are right next door to each other - easier to manage.

Has anyone had a situation like this? If so, what are some tactics I can use to convince the seller to lower his asking price and win him over? The house needs work and at 150k, the house is not worth buying.  I would like to be down around $100k to $120k.

Thanks in advance!

[AK Fowler]

@Roland Barbeito I would definitely be aggressive and purchase the property as long as the numbers make sense. It could solve your driveway problem but if the numbers don't work, you could put yourself in a negative or very little cash flow situation. Then there's really no benefit. If he's truly motivated and it needs work, I would see what the repair/replacement cost would be, work my cash flow numbers and then offer a fair price.