As a newcomer with no experience or money, this is quite intimidating but I am committed to learning.

Force them to make an immediate commitment and if they decide to leave and have them sign formal notification.

You basically have to have your attorney hunt them down and get them in person to commit to a closing date.

I would recommend my main PM because he checks a few key boxes: 1) no time commitment (i.e. he doesn't try to lock you in for a year), 2) uses PM software so you have some visibility into what's going on, and 3) has had strong and frequent communication.

Since this requires more money, I have about 10 people committed to put up 100k (1 mil total), to invest in 1 large or several small projects (goal is mostly to build a collection of rental properties).  

Here PM companies are expected to provide routine checks of properties, both the commitment and cost are baked into the service offering - so ultimately the client pays (PM fees are typically 7-10%).It still falls short of what we do in-house for our own properties (one of the reasons we are growing our own capability).  

No dependents.No student loans.Ive lived in a townhouse before but never an apartment and I can't commit to spending that much money on rent considering all the privacy and storage inconveniences.

It's easy to understand the math when comparing APR's and return rates, I suppose it all comes down to commitment to a strategy and risk tolerance.

So you will have to commit to living there for at least a year.

Going the route of buying this house you are committed to paying the mortgage every month while living there.