The Best Way to Approach an Absentee Owner

[Nature B.]

I want to approach my landlord about purchasing his home prior to my lease ending. I would like to make it my primary home for a while, fix some things up while I’m in the house and then rent it later.(I want to do it this way so I can get a lower down payment for the loan because it would be my primary home and not an investment property). My issue is that the landlord lives out of state and has a property management company. Should I send a letter to the landlord directly or ask the property manager to relay the message to him? I imagine the management company may not want the lease to end early and would not relay the message but I’m also worried that the owner may be put off by me contacting him directly. Any thoughts? BTW, I do not know this owner, I looked up the tax records and found his information.