Need advice on a probate purchase

[Matt Ridenour]

Hi all.  I always get such great advice here, so I'm back looking for strategy suggestions.

Briefly:

Neighbor's house.  She passed away in March (not covid, just old age.) 

She has a niece in Germany that is going to be the recipient of the money from the sale of the estate. 

The house is derelict, with roofs that need to be completely redone, hvac concerns, some foundation issues, etc.  I am fully capable of doing the entire rehab on my own, but I would probably hire the roof and hvac done.  

Now the issue.  The probate attorney thinks the property is worth 325k.  He's probably not wrong, because the 15 acre parcel has 3 splits on it in addition to the current house.  The house itself is straight out of the 50s, but in a cool way and I'd probably just restore it.  I would develop and build new on the 3 parcels.  A one acre parcel within 300 feet of that property sold for 55k. 

I know someone is going to come along and come close to that price tag, though I sure would like to pick it up for less.  

I'm looking for lease option, seller carry type deal structures that you think might work.  I have read a bit about lease options, but it's not my specialty.  

I offered 150k as is, but that was flatly denied.  With that I would have found a hard money loan to finish the work and then brrrrrd it out as a rental or lease option this summer.  Add in the uncertainty of the market this spring, depending on covid and I'm drawn to the forums for creativity.  With a purchase price of 325k, I could lose my shirt if the market tanks.

Thanks all for any thoughts you can provide!

Matt