How much should I offer?

[Ken Otsuka]

I am looking at a property on MLS that was built in the 50s and has never been updated. It is 1600sf with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and needs complete renovation including new roof. Some walls would have to come down to change the layout as well. It is in a nice part of town, close to major highway and shopping. It is on a pretty big lot (.63 acres) for the area. I know the area well and I believe there is a good potential. Zillow Zestimates it to be at $330k. The seller is asking for $250k. The agent has three offers on it now and she told me they were all lowballing. I used a Project Repair Estimation sheet that is used in my area (Boston suburbs) and it came out a little under $100k with 10% buffer. I envision the property to be able to sell at around $360k looking at the comps. I need to put in an offer asap. I was thinking of offering $165k which I believe will put the profit at around $35k to $40k with 6 months of holding cost, agent/broker fee, tax, and insurance. I am a newbie so I am looking to learn a lot from this deal if I get it. However, I do not want to lose any money on it. Should I offer more to better compete with the other investors? Any advice or wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

[Russell Brazil]

What does your agent say? Im finding it hard to believe putting in an offer on a property that has 3 other offers, at 66% of the asking price is going to be worth the time of doing so. Id make that a verbal offer instead of putting it on paper.