Is there any way to make the numbers work?

[Adrienne Bryson]

Here's what I'm dealing with:

Homeowner bought a house with his first wife.  They got divorced and she lived in the house, then passed away.  Now owner has a new wife and new house, so is stuck with this extra empty house he still has to pay for.  He owes about $80k on the mortgage.  Comps around $90k-$110k, and could rent for $900-$975 easily.  He's in the process of fixing it up so it's not livable and still needs probably $10k-$15k worth of work.

The numbers simply don't work for flip, rental, or wholesale.  I considered sub2 or lease option but as far as I know those work mainly for move-in ready houses.

Am I missing something?  Any input/advice/ideas?