A house my wife and I are looking at is also of interest to a realtor that has been buying any available properties in a set of two street blocks. He currently owns about half of them, mostly purchased within the last 5 years or so. They're older houses, some he's renting out and some have since been knocked down. The house we're interested in has been vacant for the past 8 years, as it was one of the owner's (now deceased) childhood home and didn't want to part with it, but the surviving wife is now looking to sell. It has not yet gone on the market, but since I know the caretaker, we're being offered to look at it. The realtor had also been in contact over the past few years, offering to buy the property, and the owner is leaning in that direction.
The most likely scenario seems to be the realtor will offer more than what we are willing to pay. For us, this is a small single family home that is rentable as-is, but definitely needs updates (built in the 40's) if it will be rented long term. From the realtor's perspective, it fits in a strategy of owning a continuous set of properties to later build an apartment complex or townhouses. I suppose we will offer a fair price and that will at least set a floor so the owner doesn't take a lowball offer when selling to the realtor.
Does anyone have advice or insight? The owner probably won't get taken advantage of--- I get the impression she's still sharp mentally and will have a competing offer from us. If it seems we're not likely to buy the property, I'd at least like the owner to use whatever leverage she can in this situation. And if sentimental value is a concern, make her aware the house is likely to be bulldozed in the next few years.