Does owning an apartment complex sound fun?

It was not really much fun. 

As a newbie investor, my advice is don't invest for appreciation invest for cashflow and reap your rewards now, if you invest for appreciation you may never reap those rewards and that is no fun.

BUT she paid on time & drove everyone crazy, until our "swarthy refugee couple" (her words), moved in & she was convinced that they were going to kill her, so she gave notice after such a fun filled 2 years. 

Above all just be friendly, have fun at these events and focus on listening to what others who are doing to gain the insights you are  looking for.Best of luck,John

I think they get so many requests that they have fun making it more difficult. 

@Kaitlyn Bjerk I think you might be biting off more than you can chew with a full gut job as a new investor, This can be pretty risky and it's quite easy to underestimate your rehab costs.

My parents are currently renting (paying $4500/ mo) and want to use the house hacking method to get into a property that could be an investment long term, but also doubles as a fun place they can work on fixing up.

*grins  Okay, I'm busting your chops a bit for fun, but let's step back and take the broad view for a minute.Every housing market is "challenging" for someone. 

The more I have to deal with such headaches, the less time I have to focus on more fun stuff, like optimizing costs and revenue :)  Hope that answers the question and feel free to let me know if it does not.