We signed the amended offer and that was itToday I get an email from my realtor stating that the seller's agent called her yesterday afternoon and said there was another offer coming in and that they were going to wait for that.  

not sure in Canada as @Doug Pretorius mentions, but in all MLS systems in the U.S., you MUST offer a compensation for the buyer (tenant) agent...that is the nature of the MLS.

Sean Wait thanks for the welcome!

@Roger Poulin  You mentioned that doing this would potentially not trigger a due-on-sale clause, and I will seek legal advice from this, but I was under the impression that if I take equitable interest in a property then it could likely trigger it.  

In 99.9% of the cases the party making the offer will be asked to provide the documentary proof mentioned previously, and of course rejected should the seller not believe he will be able to complete the transaction.  

You can roll those funds over into a solo 401k, as mentioned by a poster above.

@Christie Duffy  Very much depends on the end product quality level.... as @Jim Adrian mentioned, $125 per SF has been a base number we've used for new construction though my experience is in the burbs, not urban Hoboken.

I feel the best to do that is by going the TK route which I know many are against but living in a HCOL area, its tough to just on the sideline and wait.

There are  many people there bidding on one thing but out of courtesy to the auctioneer and seller who's forum you are using, wait until they are done.

You mention the owner has paid $70k on the mortgage but that isn't a number that matters (since who knows what interest rate he's on or if he's made any extra payments), what matters is what the outstanding balance is on the mortgage and can you offer them a purchase price that is A) Fair to the owner, B) Helps them sell with some amount of equity and C) Gives you room that it financially makes sense.The numbers change based on if you want to flip it or rent it, making the question "does it make sense" different based on the direction you choose.In short, I have no idea how much I would offer...