Seeking Advice: I'm renting a house I want to buy

[Tom Horan]

Hi All - I'm not new to BP, but I am finally jumping into the discussion threads looking for some advice on making an offer on a property. Trying to get a deal under my belt. Thanks in advance for any helpful feedback.

I'm renting a house in Colorado (just outside Denver) that is owned free-and-clear. 1950's home, very cookie-cutter in this neighborhood with comps between 300-310k.

To get that ARV of 300-310k, it'd need about 25-30k in work.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to approach the owner with an offer. I'm paying 1400/month - and would love for those payments to go towards principal or interest if I could negotiate a seller-finance deal, or a rent-to-own situation. 

I'm not really in a time-crunch because this property isn't on the market - and I'm sure the owner is feeling pretty good about pulling in 700+ a month in cashflow. If you have advice on how to make this deal intriguing to the owner, as well as profitable as an investment - I'm all ears.

I appreciate the help!