Neighbor fixing his house up to sell

[Mitchell Kane]

Hi all,

My neighbor is fixing up his house, and I over heard he was preparing to sell (aka its not yet on the market).  Over the past two weeks he has installed a new roof, new exterior paint, and has been working non stop on the interior, though I don't know what details he's working on.  It was appraised this year at $320k, up from 280 last year,and he bought it in 2005 for around 290 (public parcel records).  Median home sale for this area is around $450, this is 1880 sq ft. I'd be curious to know about the plumbing and electrical situation.  Looking for my first home to buy, this is one of my first attempts at sizing up a possible pre-market opportunity.  Any advice on things about the home to look into, or maybe how/if I should ask the owner questions about the house?