An Opportunity Just Fell into My Lap! What Now?

[Alethia Hines]

A friend called to ask my advice today. His wife's father recently passed away and left 2 residential properties in NJ. Both properties are free and clear. One of the properties is tenant occupied. The other was the deceased person's home and now vacant. I pulled the reports on both properties with the total market values and ARV. My friend says they just want the properties sold as soon as possible to quell any family disputes. He knows that I'm learning about RE investing and called me first, of which I'm grateful. I have not done ANY deals as yet. So hopefully this will be my first. I know the first thing I should do is find out who actually has LEGAL RIGHT to sell the properties and talk to them first. I don't want to get involved in a family fiasco! I know the second thing is to get a contract signed. The third thing is to do due diligence by making sure that no one else can lay claim to the property ie; a WILL with beneficiaries. Is there anything else I should be checking for? Should I pass on this complex deal and just let someone else more knowledegable handle it or just JV with another seasoned investor and spit the assignment fee?