Possibly buying first property off of family friend

[Daylon Turner]

Hello everyone,

I just joined BP today, although I have watched/read their info before.

I know of a family friend who will be selling their house in about 6 months or so. She said she would let me know before she puts it on market and possibly sell directly. Is this a good option to reduce costs? Do I need to have a real estate agent for a deal like this? 

This would be my first property, it is in a rural area, has a decent amount of land(2.5 acres) and is not in top condition as the woman is a little older and hasn’t done a ton of renovations. I was thinking about looking into the USDA loan as the area qualifies and so do I. Any tips on the benefits and drawbacks of that would be greatly appreciated too.

I am thinking this could be a great opportunity for me to get started so I am trying to find all the information I can before she is ready to sell. I am thinking of possibly living in it shortly, renovating, and then I am not sure if the better move is to sell it after that or try to rent it out. I really appreciate any tips and information you can give. I feel that this could be a great opportunity that I don’t want to pass up on because I don’t know what to do. Thank you everyone. Let me know if you need more info to answer my questions.