Researching My First Possible Deal

Real estate newbie here so be gental.

Ok, I found this house in my neighborhood that was built in 1992 and is up for sale. I believe the man of the house that lived there passed away.

So I said to myself, this cold be a possible deal. I started doing some research using the new TotalView tool. It came back with an "Our Estimate:" price of $121,000 for this 11628 lot size, 2275 sqft, 3 bed and 2.5 bath Houston Texas home.

First question. Is the "Our Estimate:" value the value that the tool thinks I could resale this property for or is it the value that the tool thinks I should offer to buy it for?

Next question. I called the realtor from the number on the sign that is in the yard and asked how much they were asking for the house. Her response was $178,000. I did not ask any more questions after that and told her I would need to check some things with my investors and that I thought that was really high for that area. So, with an asking price so high compared to the estimate I got from the TotalView tool, I was thinking that whoever has legal ownership of the house at this point is probably having to make mortgage payments on it. If that is the case would this still be a possible deal or under those circumstances should I just move on and look for the next deal?

Thanks in advance.

Gerald

Ok, so I am leaning towards doing an assignment on this on. I really wanted to buy, fix up and rent it out since the house is literally four houses down the street from my house. Since I am just starting out, I don't have the capital for that.

If I am doing an assignment, there won't be any closing costs for me correct? If that is the case, do I still need to factor that into my offer? Correct if you're doing an assignment you wouldn't have any closing costs. Your end buyer would pay the closing costs. You would still calculate it into your offer.

For my RE and FSBO listings (comps?) in my area, I will probably need to go through a real estate agent, correct? I was hoping to avoid dealing with a real estate agent at first since I have heard mixed results with real estate agents. I guess I would just need to find the right one. No you wouldn't have to go through an agent (if you want to utilize ones help that would be on you). You can obtain sales from comparable properties by visiting your County Assessor's website and look at what others sold for.

Hypothetical time. Let me lay this out and please tell me if I am looking at this correct.

Asking: $178,000
Comps: $160,000 (FMV?)
Repairs: $15,000
Assignment Fee: $5,000
Closing Costs: $2,000 (Do I need to factor this in on assignments?)
ARV and Misc.: $138,000 (= 160,000 - 15,000 - 5,000 - 2,000)

So I would want to offer a price of $138,000 and probably lower on this house in anticipation of a negotiating exchange? Yes

Thanks again in advance.