But if I had connections both with the property owners and the respective foreclosing attorneys and thus also had access to each individual property's assigned asset manager, could deals be made through that avenue?

I am concerned about your expectations with respect to your time frame.  

With all due and absolute respect - you've never invested in RE (outside of your own home), you have no team/contacts, and I would question your ability to discern between a syndication offering up a home-run opportunity versus one that's been underwritten with sky-high and unachievable expectations - many of the latter are marketed in such a way that your sold on glitz-and-glam as opposed to project fundamentals. 

You both own properties through your respective SMLLCs?

There's no law that says you have to allow someone to crap all over a shared toilet.It's a shared space and he has to respect his fellow renters.

Set a recurring payment base on the amortization schedule on my business banking account to wire/ACH/transfer the money over to the respective lender(s). 3.

Make sure they treat tenants and owner with respect.

With respect to the Unit, to be honest, I saw the inside when I bought the property 4 years back (lol).

When you take the right steps and care for your apartment complex, you build positive equity and increase your wealth more than you once thought possible.The apartment industry is a great place for anyone who wants to build a strong portfolio and earn a respectable amount of wealth.

I want to be respectful of peoples time but im not sure I have a clear enough understanding of my options to justify sitting down with someone.