My goal is to get more deeply involved in such a way that I'd ultimately get some cash to use toward down payments in outside-of-SoCal investment homes.

A good place to start is the Ultimate Beginners Guide (https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing).

My ultimate question is, this property was valued in a BPO and corroborated by two other brokers at $80k.

My understanding is that the court will still need to grant the house over to the surviving daughter.

Mike Watkins  is that negative enough for you.. but its the truth as markets firm only the strong survive and BP follwers are anything but the strong the majority are just beginners with 90% failure rate or more.

Thanks goes also to the many podcasts and the Ultimate guide that has been provided!

Hi Ivan, Glad to see you have been using BP to reach your ultimate goal.

Ultimately, if the seller's interest is getting the best price and they have the luxury of time, I think it's pretty difficult to force them to do anything in this case!

Your time here will be well spent.Since your interest lies in house hacking, I added the below links for your review.https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/11/02/hack-housing-get-paid-live-free/ (House hacking)https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/03/13/investing-multifamily-ben-leybovich/ (How to succeed in multifamily investing)https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/12/12/bp-podcast-048-duplex-managing-tenants-darren-sager/ (Duplex investing)Now that you have made the move, below are some links that will help with the navigation of the site. http://www.biggerpockets.com/startherehttp://www.biggerpockets.com/meethttps://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsHow to Use @Mentions on BiggerPocketshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/ruleshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/termshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/inviteshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/perkshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/categorieshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/glossary/https://www.biggerpockets.com/courses/a-beginners-introduction-to-real-estate-investing (video courses)https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing (Ultimate beginner's guide to REI)Before your 1st purchase, please ensure you visit the below link for some tips.https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/12/19/real-estate-investing-success-smart-tips/REI books suggested by BPershttps://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/11/13/7-real-estate-books-beginner-investors/ (7 absolute must read books for beginner REIs)http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/04/14/best-real-estate-books/?

Your time here will be well spent.Below, are some links that relate to buy and hold as your selected REI niche of interest.https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/03/27/financing-options-rental-property-guide/ (financing options for rentals)https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/03/06/bp-podcast-060-serge-shukhat/ (0-68 rentals in 4 years)https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/08/02/passive-real-estate-investing/ (slowly building wealth through passive investing)http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/04/how-to-rent-your-house/ (house rental guide)http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/02/22/buying-rental-property/ (how to buy a rental property)Now that you have made the move, below are some links that will help with the navigation of the site. http://www.biggerpockets.com/startherehttp://www.biggerpockets.com/meethttps://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsHow to Use @Mentions on BiggerPocketshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/ruleshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/termshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/inviteshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/perkshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/categorieshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/glossary/https://www.biggerpockets.com/courses/a-beginners-introduction-to-real-estate-investing (video courses)https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing (Ultimate beginner's guide to REI)Before your 1st purchase, please ensure you visit the below link for some tips.https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/12/19/real-estate-investing-success-smart-tips/REI books suggested by BPershttps://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/11/13/7-real-estate-books-beginner-investors/ (7 absolute must read books for beginner REIs)http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/04/14/best-real-estate-books/?