HECM, Short Sale, Heir Purchase

[Brandy Stewart]

My husband and I are new to real estate investing and we still have a lot to learn. I am trying to decide if we should give this up, and wanted to get y'all's advice/feedback. His grandmother passed away a couple months ago and she had a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) through Novad Management Consulting on her home. She lived in a 2,500sqft house across from a lake. My husband's aunt received paperwork saying that an heir could purchase the home at 95% of the current appraised value. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but our county appraises the house for $82,720, but the paperwork says she had a loan balance of $144,948.36. I sent a letter of intent to purchase the property and a Copy of her Will, and struggled to get someone on the phone to check on the status after nearly a month. (His aunt had already sent them her death certificate.) 

I finally received an email that said this: "We are in receipt of the letter of intent for an heir purchase. I will be the point of contact during the process. Upon review, the Last Will & Testament that was submitted is insufficient – as it is not notarized. Therefore, at this time, you will need to petition the courts to be named as the legal representative of the estate. You will need to seek the counsel of an attorney in your area for further assistance." 

I've read that you do not have to have a Will notarized in Texas, I have gone done a rabbit hole trying to figure it out. What am I missing?