They paid their portion of the rent.I have found a lot of investors bring their personal or political feelings into the investing conversation. 

Your goal is to plant the idea in their mind and create a situation where selling to you feels like the easiest and most logical solution for them.If you haven’t already, the first step is to get pre-approved for a mortgage so you know what you could afford if you were to purchase the property conventionally.

I am about to graduate college in May 2025, and will be making about $120k (pre tax) in my full time job postgrad (Washington DC area).

The human race has historically been poor at predicting future, so it's wise to prepare for multiple scenarios.Mortgage rates in 2025 may decrease slightly if inflation stabilizes and the Federal Reserve eases rates, though they are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic lows.

Hi @Justin Snead, I would say just make sure wherever you take the pre-licensing class is IDFPR approved. 

Quote from @Miguel Garcia: If I look into investing out of state should I look to get pre approved by a lender in that area or would a lender in my area be fine?

If the loan is being paid the seller/previous owner has no reason to want off of the loan.

They will have some questions and ultimately you can get pre qualified. 

CA pre corona had a >$9B budget surplus. 

Basically a pre-nup agreement.