Would you risk this?

[Constancia R.]

One of my cousins just informed me that their house is in foreclosure. Even though I've been touching base with her every couple months, she JUST NOW told me that their time is up in 5 days, so if we do anything, it has to be fast.

My husband and I are investors in Indiana. We do have interest in the Dallas area but hadn't felt quite ready for the dollar amounts in the DFW area. However, this has me practically salivating so I want to know your opinions. My cousin owes $210K on her house in Desoto and says that a the realtor she talked to said that it should go for about $260, as is. Fixed up, it would fetch more (it's a high-end house and when I looked at comps, it seemed like over 300K). There are about 3 rooms that need cosmetic work (painting, small patch of drywall in one room). She is just hoping not to have to walk away and lose all her equity, so an offer of $230 would fly, she said.

Here's the rub: We just paid cash for a duplex that I haven't gotten financed yet, so most of our cash is tied up. We don't have 40 grand for a conventional downpayment, so would have to get a hard money loan or something akin to that in order to make the deal possible. Our credit is solid, so getting loans are no problem.

What kinds of options are possible . . . or would you even try this? Please throw any and every thought my way, whether it's to help me purchase it or to help her get out of her mess!  Thank you!

[Scott Passman]

@Constancia R. If you purchased the house is there an expectation that your cousin might stay as a tenant?  That would be one of my concerns because that could be a sticky situation.  Otherwise, would your strategy be to fix and flip the property or rent it out?  Do the numbers work to rent?  Or if you are flipping, are you in a position to oversee a out of state renovations?  The numbers certainly are intriguing but it's hard to provide much feedback without more info.