Would you recommend renting a pre-forclosure home?

[Marquita Smith]

Greetings all. I have been searching and researching to invest and/or find a home for my family (hubby and the dog). We just received pre-approval for my husband for a good starter amount ($90k) and here in Florida, we can work with that. 

Well I received my first call back on a letter I sent out on a vacant. Did my due diligence and got a call back!! The owner was very nice and forth coming about her situation. She's in Ch13 with will complete in Feb 2015. She told me a bit about the house, 4/2, fenced yard, beautiful area, new kitchen, need to redo bathrooms. Market value est $120,950. I've tried to get more information on the status to submit an offer for short-sale but the attorney's office she referred me too slipped with the info that the sale is on hold. 

We would like to rent it. An associate with the RE company I WAS working with (don't like underhanded and crooked dealing), suggested that we persuade the owner to rent to us then our chances of purchasing would be greater. Would anyone recommend this? Do I need to go through any legal avenues or would making an agreement with her suffice? 

Thank you for any suggestions or information.