Is there a deal here? (if not, please educate me; I'm new)

[Shawn Young]

I am new (new to this sight and new to investing; haven't done a deal yet) so please educate me if this is a poorly posed question.

Seller seems motivated (attempted to contact me at *least* once a day for a week now-I was ignoring because the $500k asking price was too high for my model). She has two homes and needs to sell one before a balloon payment comes due.

The home is in a resort area that is commuting distance from Albuquerque NM.

I don't have any idea how to do comp: The home is a work of art, it was an architects master's thesis project in the 70s (even has Van Gogh's, "Starry Night" painted on a wall). I am traveling so have not seen in the house, but the pictures look good. Zillow's z-estimate is $457k.

Sellers owe $464k, so according to zillow they are slightly under water.

Is this a lease option only deal? It seems high for my area to me, but is there a bigger market for high end buyers that might consider this?

Is there some other creative method that I am not aware of?

What other questions should I be asking?

Thanks,

Shawn