If they have served their time, their debt to society has been paid and you have no right to hold it against them - is the argument that is winning large settlements. 

I plan on bidding high with intent on winning with few contingencies.

You always want to be asking her the things that would make it a win-win for her and I think, as others have said, finding something she could 1031 into would be the cherry on top.

Hello BP!
The Portfolio: Five multi-families (All 3 units, excellent
tenants, excellent locations, well-kept). Purchase price: $1.3M. Value today:
$2.5M
The Background: My landlord (let's call her Sara) owns 5
pr...

Steady gains will win!!

I have never been quite drunk enough to make a winning post there-nor here for that matter!

I think your best bet is to find an investor willing to put up funds for the down payment but you will most likely have to give up equity to do the deal. 

The HELOC replaces the mortgage in that case, giving you access to as much as 95% of the appraised value of the home.If you do it that way, you can plow all your money into the HELOC, hacking away at your mortgage while you're looking for a new job and a new home, and once you find both, you can pull the stored equity from the home and use it to purchase a new primary.Once the HELOC is in place, you can forever use it as a revolving line of credit to invest in new rentals.If you refinance, even at a better rate, the bank wins.

I think the anticipation for a fun summer is the bet they are making.

And unfortunately they win the argument :)