Driving for dollars - Best strategy to make an offer?

[Marc M.]

Hello BP,

I found a property I'm interested in: unoccupied house on almost half an acre. It's probably a tear down, and I'm primarily interested in the land. I did some digging, and found that the property is owned by a 90-year old widow. I tracked down some of her adult children who happen to live nearby, and eventually reached one of them who is 'handling' the property. I'm meeting him at the house tomorrow, and will do a walkthrough. He said he is planning to sell in the next few months....he thought about tearing it down first. He told me he had a couple other people interested in the house. (I'm not surprised because it's one of those houses that looks like no one lives there and could be picked up for a song).

Here's the problem: I know I'm the first person who is actually doing a walkthrough. What is the best approach to make an offer? I don't want to give him an offer and then let him use it to negotiate a higher number with the other interested parties....but I also don't want to make a live offer with a short expiration date and put too much pressure on the deal. I thought about saying: "If you have other people interested, decide on a date that you will accept offers and I'll submit mine then." But why ask for competition? I'd rather be the only guy in the room!

I plan to ask the seller a lot of questions to find out more details about his family's situation....but fundamentally, what rule of thumb do other investors use when negotiating an off-market deal? I'd love to hear your tips and suggestions.

Best,

Marc