Converting semi-motivated sellers

[Eric H.]

Hey BP Fam,

I have a semi-motivated seller. He plans to relocate soon and wants to liquidate some assets. Also, one long time tenant passed away and he doesn’t feel like the hassle of trying to find another qualified tenant. I want to get some advice from you guys before I spend any more time on this lead. It’s a duplex, 3/1 each unit. One unit rehabbed in 2000 and is occupied, other unit needs 3k rehab and is unoccupied. Seller wants $200k. My offer was $90k. Comps for as is homes are selling for $110k. I informed the seller of my findings. His argument is that those comps are for houses that are in extremely worse condition than his. I haven’t seen the property. I want to provide the seller info regarding comps for his house but I can not find any ‘accurate’ comps for repaired homes. How important is the year built for comparing homes? (1980 vs 1940) Without me actually seeing the property, is there any way to further qualify this lead? I don’t want to waste my time visiting the property if we are extremely far off in terms of price. My exit strategy is wholesaling.

All advice is welcome and greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

E. Harris