Since your parents seem open to your involvement, I would start start small. 

Ourcurrent approach involves identifying possible contact information for thelisted owners and calling multiple numbers, but this process is time-consumingand yields limited results.

(most hard money loans require 10-15% down depending on the split between purchase price and rehab). but that is both (1) risky and (2) expensive, as you're paying interest every month on 100% of the borrowed funds. private money is fine, you're just bearing a lot of risk and also involving the relationship in your very first deal. 

Quote from @Todd Anderson: @Benjamin Ying,First off Congrats at making the decision to get started into REI and getting involved with BP. 

I’d love to connect with investors who are experienced in flipping, renting, or managing properties—especially those in or close to the New Jersey area.If you’re involved in property management, real estate investing, or anything related, I would appreciate any advice or mentorship you can offer.

While I haven't done new construction as an investor, I've been involved with them on the design and construction side. $15-$20,000 seems like a very small profit on a $500,000 house.

I have thought about Fundrise (medium success when I invested there), Crowdstreet (I have not invested there but might consider), farmtoghether (20k invested there already) and groundfloor (bad experience so not looking to invest there).Any advice will be appreciated.There is no greater wealth than peace of mind - Buddha - I have both directly owned real estate and passive investments in my portfolio.And if you're an accredited investor, then you have many options for investing in real-estate passively (and that don't involve all the stress of direct management nor putting money into public markets...which tend to be much more volatile).

Now, if they don't want to do that for whatever reason and don't have anybody to work with who would do that for you, I'd have to agree with you that they'd better invest at home rather than getting involved in something they don't understand.

Build a solid foundation before taking a step up - each and every step of the way.There’s a way to scale recklessly and there is a way to scale safely.When OPM is involved safe is way better than reckless.Despite a life long career in RE, I scaled as followsBought a few duplexes for my own accountBought a fourplex for my own accountBought 12 units as a JV with some friendsSyndicated 43 unitsSyndicated 30 unitsBought another 12 units as a JVSyndicated 281 unitsThis was over a 3 or 4 year period.and so forth - now I am GP in close to 1000 units with $125M AUM.Even with all that, my sweet spot is 30 to 50 unit properties - they work best for my partners and I and more importantly our investors. 

The apt is on the 2nd floor and the furnace is in the attic.I will talk to the heating contractor about setting up a floor temp ( might involve installing a 2nd t-stat as a couple people suggested).