Advice on a potential first deal

[Daniel Thom]

Hi, all! I am new to BP and am looking for advice on a deal I am considering. Any thoughts are welcome.

Deal details:

There's an abandoned house behind my apartment complex that's been pretty much vacant for over four years (there were squatters camping in the backyard for a while, too). I looked up the property, and it's zoned for high-density residential, and it's three blocks away from a regional university (I live in a small college town).

Today, I ran into the current owner. Her dad lived on and off in there and passed away this summer. The house is a wreck and probably needs to be demolished, but I gave her my info, and she said she'd like to get rid of it (she's out of state and motivated to get it off her hands). She doesn't have a $$ she's looking for yet, but she'll let me know.

I'd like to demo the house and build a 4-unit and live in one of the units, but I'm concerned it may be too ambitious for a first deal. I have about $20k to invest, so I'd probably need to go in with a partner.

Should I try to move forward or find something more manageable for my first deal? Any advice is appreciated!