Advice as a back up offer for a rental in Los Angeles

[Bryan Pham]

 Hello BP,

I need some advice, I am trying to make an offer for a 4BR, 2BA 1834sq (730K ARV) home in a suburbs of Los Angeles. It's a for sale by owner with no agents involved, the owners told me that the their previous offer was from another investor for a shade under 700K which my guess could be about 680-690K but the offer might not fall through. They are looking for someone to step in and become the back up offer. I am wondering what the next logical steps should be? I am thinking about getting a hard money loan to close out the deal much quicker but it doesn't seem too wise if the owners are willing to take a mortgage offer. Has anyone been in this situation before that can offer some advice?