You can call down the obituaries and work to convince the widow to sell their house under market, with the "value" you add being you'll help her move into an old folks home.

The contractor will open the widows i the winter to let paint fumes out but will turn up the heat all the way.

This opened a widow to change the zoning on this piece of property.Another challange I ran into was the access beside the existing house to what would become the access for two more houses in the rear of the property.

Despite her skill as a spy, Black Widow is troubled by her history.

As for not screwing the basement widows shut...hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I had a similar situation with a friend, she was a widow lady, so I went to her son and clearly laid out what the open market would bring but what she would have to do in repairs to get it to that point. 

At the end of the days, I have leased to single moms, married couples with kids, retired widows, divorcee's with no kids, young couples.  

I  live in Florida, and am widowed.

Then, doing again, and again, and again..The strategy is not much different than say, "marrying a rich widow..." 

I look up the owner to see if it's this guy (it's not - it's a widow) and get in contact with her and she tells me someone is going to buy it for 25K and she's waiting for him to secure financing.