Long-term Rent-back a bad idea?

[Christopher D.]

Greetings BiggerPockets,

I'm trying to negotiate the purchase of a home from a home owner that is about to be foreclosed on (auction date Dec. 9th).  

He has a ton of equity in the home (owes $275K, home is worth $500K+), but he is not interested in selling, and was somewhat confrontational (verbally) when I knocked on his door.  Said pre-foreclosure listing was a "typo" (it is not).  I am astounded he hasn't cashed out - the market is hot (S. California) and he could have made a ton of money.  Instead, his credit is about to be crushed.

I am writing him a letter now to follow up, and am considering offering to rent it back to him long-term (6-9 months) if he sells to me.  Terms would be that he pre-pays his rent for the whole term of the lease, using the money he makes from selling.  

Questions for you all:

1. Is this a terrible idea???  Everything I've read online points to "yes," but I don't think there's any other way to convince this guy to sell.

2. Am I too late? Is this even possible to buy this property so close to the foreclosure date? I've never bought a pre-foreclosure before, just bank-owned REO.

Thanks - very interested to hear your opinions on this!