How to Negotiate With Seller After Inspection

[Mike Huang]

Hey BP,

I've recently put a triplex until contract and had the inspection done a week ago. Afterwards, we discovered that along with other minor maintenance issues, the roof needs to be replaced. The seller on the property seems to be unwilling to lower the price any further or do any fixing himself. 

This is a fairly good deal given that the ROI is fairly high, good cash flow and the tenants have been there for a long time. Paying rent doesn't seem to be an issue though the listing agent is taking awhile to get me all the documents I've requested so I can confirm the leases/rent roll/expenses. The only con to this house is how old it is but in that market, all the properties are of similar age.

I have yet to get the property appraised by the bank. According to the previous property manager and my agent taking a quick look at the comps in the area, I could be buying this property with a fair amount of built-in equity.

 So far, my options seem to be these:

1. Take the deal anyway and find a way to come up with the money to fix the roof out of pocket. Currently I don't have enough to do that after making this purchase.

2. Walk away.

3. Perhaps there is a strategy where if the house appraises for more than I expected, could I work the equity into my loan to give me the funds to replace the roof?

If anyone has any tips, strategies or recommendations, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.