If he/she thinks they can help, I would be happy to reach out myself.The basis of my questions is rooted in which approach would ultimately be more cost effective.

I would also always encourage having ethics when approaching a deal.

Is an FHA my best way to approach this deal?

@Jonathan Klemm I will be honest, I know little about the finance approach. 

@Michael Glaspie has a book called 'The Elite Investor - A military approach to real estate problem solving' He is also a co-host of a podcast called 'Military Cashflow'There is also 'Active Duty Passive Income' which is a platform to check out as well.

So my approach has been that I want to end up with one of the nicest houses in the neighborhood, which has allowed me to attract great tenants who take good care of the properties and are easy to do business with. 

I have taken kind of a hybrid approach to their investments between the stock and RE markets.

Some of the best deal makers I know simply use a "how can I help you" approach. 

At the end of the day everything happens for a reason and I have a much different understanding/approach of having a home vacant for any period of time!

My mother and I have discussed approaching them to see if they are willing to sell now.