New Rental property question, invest or not or how to move forward?

[RANJAY SINGH]

Found a new small property 3BR/2.5BATH, seller asking for 65K, OK condition, for renting not much repair required except carpet cleaning, may be paint, may settle for 60K, I am yet to offer in writing something today, seller bought for 35k last year as short sale. Wondering  1. How do I find actual market value of the townhome?  2. How do I negotiate further down, since he paid only $35K. 3. Is it a good investment? It will fetch $1100/Month rent. 4. I do not have an agent, working with seller's agent, is it advisable to have a buyer's agent? 5. Anything else I should consider? I am trying to buy few rentals for long term cash flow.  

[Annette Hibbler]

Finding market value:  Look on willow and homes.com for similarly sized properties that have already SOLD in the area.

How much seller bought property for is not your concern.  You should focus on how much this property will cash flow for you.   How much are the monthly running costs of the property, how much for insurance, taxes and PM rates?  Is it in a desirable area?  How easy is it to rent? Those will all be factors in your decision making. 

Take your gross rent, subtract all your recurring expenses then divide by the purchase price and you'll get a net yield.