A well written management contract should clearly spell out what is expected of both the PMC and the owner, to PROTECT both and avoid misunderstandings.

What's my best strategy here to protect myself and to assist with this connection?

If I was the buyer's broker, I would have checked myself to protect my client.If they had, then they would have found out it was not a three family.

Of course, if you are doing a lot of buying and selling, it is always good to know who the players are because there are some that do top quality work and others that do not.

The big one to read up on is the NYS Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. 

Bobhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/70/topics/371926-notes-funds-for-individual-investors-what-are-the-best-players

Being flexible in a way that still protects your investment can help build a better relationship.However, if they’re not responsive or don’t show good faith, you might need to take a more formal step, like issuing a notice to pay or quit.

So you could form a partnership but it would not be allowed to purchase the property, so you will not be fully protected legallyThanks for clarifying that they're not a first time buyer program, I am not sure why I had that confused.

A well written management contract should clearly spell out what is expected of both the PMC and the owner, to PROTECT both and avoid misunderstandings.

If you choose to play with fire, that is your perogative.For your reference, here is a good primer.Here is the key paragraph:Rental discrimination is when a landlord or property manager treats an applicant differently based on the applicant’s inclusion in a protected class.