How should I proceed?

[Geoffrey Lessel]

I got a call from a lady today in response to an ad I had on Craigslist. She moved out of the city a year ago and has a tenant in her house (his lease is up in May). She said the magic words on the phone "I just want out. I don't care if I make any money." =)

According to her, she has $70k left on her mortgage. From the analysis that I've done (which was through RealQuest), I think the house is worth ~$90k. In fact, there's a house just 4 doors down going for $93k. She said that there shouldn't be anything to fix up, but she hasn't been to the city in that year she's been away, so she can't confirm. I did a drive-by today and everything looks really nice. Roof looks perfect and the yard is even nice!

Her mortgage is an ARM and is about to adjust. She is afraid of going into foreclosure. I think that fact rules out a lease-option, correct? I'm not sure rents would cover her newly-rated mortgage.

Is this a good time to option? This would be my first deal, so I'm just looking for advice on how to proceed. What questions should I be asking?