Offer price for an off-market house hack deal

[Benjamin Sulka]

Hey BP,

Seeking some help on negotiating/offering a price to an off-market seller.

I cold-called an off-market opportunity today and the seller expressed interest in selling if the price was right. This would be a house hack.

The property was purchased in April of last year for $155,000. The seller said they re-did flooring, repainted the interior and added some other fixtures in the past year since they've owned it. I have no experience estimating rehab costs and I know costs have drastically changed since books like J Scott's were released. 

The property is a 3/2 duplex. One unit is a 1/1 rented for $900 and the other is a 2/1 that could rent for $1,200-1,300. We could offer $210,000 to make it a 1% deal, but I understand that the seller paid for the rehab, would have to pay capital gains tax, and closing costs.

Based on the info provided (potential rent roll, the fact that it would be a house hack, and the appreciation potential), what do you think a reasonable offer price is to get them to sell a property they recently bought and put money into?  The property is in a city/town that is appreciating quickly, is in an excellent school district, and is going through continuous development.

How would you go about price anchoring and negotiating the deal? The seller was adamant about me throwing out a price first.

Grateful for any advice. This would be my first real estate transaction. 

-Ben, aspiring multifamily househacker