@jerry shen bitcoin was recently used to buy a house in Austin, TX.

As others have said, the best thing your son can do is run far from this deal, buckle down, save his pennies (he probably already is doing this), house-hack, and improve a property with sweat, hard work, developing a DIY skillset, and self-managing tenants. 

The buyers had invested a lot into the deal (~$100M) and purchasing the property was critical to complete their development.

Perhaps they can provide weekly updates here on the status of the development.

HI, I own a part share of a nice recently renovated house in North London, with other members of my family owning the rest, left to me in my fathers estate, with probate granted in 1999, as a tenant in common.

Developing? 

Small multi-family is hot right now due to house-hacking (low barrier of entry), and future cash-flow. 

A lot of our housing stock here has finished basements or in-law suites, so with something like that you can generate significant rental income for an inexpensive conversion. 

I used my house hacking here in Los Angeles and utilized the equity to buy out of state.

The house is located in San Antonio.