Thank you I have presented a 40-60 offer to him now to see if we can get the house at the bottom dollar we would like I for but I am putting a lot of trust in him on the price and feel that we may be offering so low that I seller will not bite 

If you are going to add value to the house you might be able to get an equity line against the property to use to fix up the property or negotiate some repair money from the seller that you get at closing.

So while prices look flat/down a little, other metrics show a market skewed towards sellers.

I have personally sold many properties where sellers needed to off-load a bad deal after buying unrepresented from a turnkey company.

The sellers have not been responsive when asked to provide that information, which is why I was wondering if it's a typical practice prior to submitting an offer. 

I have already shopped insurance, and the sellers are providing $5k towards prepaids/closing costs. 

We held the property for about two months, and found a seller. 

That’s why sellers use it.

As of today, May 19, 2024, he is advertising a single family house for sale in Rosedale (Queens), NY for $250k, while stating that it will be a short sale once a prospective buyer makes and offer that's accepted by the seller after providing proof of funds. 

Approached the seller asking they pay all closing costs, received enough credits to buy down the interest rate back into the 5-range (current rates were in the 7-range).