Could have been at the advice of industry groups, could be influenced by revenue constraints and revenue raising as required by congressional bills, etc.

As for the value/price you offer I would think offering close to current NOI and cap rate would be the most ideal for you, but the seller might be influenced by the recent price/door in the area and just "expect" a similar price, although 25% of their units are vacant. 

Your business will profit from the additional influence of other entrepreneurs.

Be very professional in your presentation of the information and avoid trying to influence or oversell items. 

This is obviously heavily influenced by my personal situation however, and everyone is different. .

There is no right answer here, but your decision should be influenced as much by your business plan as it will be by anything else.

Your construction plan will likely be influenced by how many vacancies you have, and if you want to truly use construction financing, it is unlikely that you will be able to complete a project in one year on the south side if you don't have a large amount of vacant units. 

What part of the country are you in as that influences this discussion.

Make sure it’s a demographic you want as tenants, because to some extent the tenants you will be able to  attract will be influenced by the general neighborhood. 

All of these may influence/affect how the property is assessed.