Difficult seller in St. Louis Multi family deal

[Andrew Pappas]

I’m looking at a 16 unit deal in the Bridgeton MO, area. The numbers are good, the seller will finance with agreeable terms, and I walked each unit and entire property with my property manager and contractor. Everything seems to be in working order, but I would like to get an inspection on the plumbing and mechanicals of the property. The seller refuses to allow an inspection because he insists it’s a waste of time and money and the home inspector is not qualified to determine the serviceability or life of the mechanicals. Furthermore, he refuses to to do business with me if I use my property manager. The properties are in good condition, aside from cosmetic work and cleaning in the units. He rents under market rent and provides low quality housing to cash paying tenants. There is plenty of forced appreciation and cash flow here, but he wants to me to continue to run his “business model,” which I refuse to do. I provide clean, quality units updated to the market standard, and I claim income and expenses on my taxes. Any recommendation on how I can make this deal work with a difficult seller?