You would be totally liable for your friend's actions or liabilities (if your friend gets sued and the other party can tie in the investment at all, you could be sued even though you had nothing to do with it).An LLC is probably the best best for what you are looking to do. 

Beyond that, and the most impressive part is that you have defined your "why". 

(pictures of current house pre-renovation listed along with a second house-MISTAKE)July 23, tenants move out and return keysAug 31 First set of renovations complete, mostly cosmeticThrough Sep I negotiated with Norada and M.I.P to improve the renovations, I was not satisfied with work nor scope, they agreed to all items and improved the unit through Sep while it was on the market.Sep 12 Appraisal came in for asking price of $95,000, cost $495Sep 18th Third Party Property Inspectors found items, M.I.P fixed all issues, Cost $295Sep 28th, closed on the property, no tenant yetClosing: The closing was smooth, mobile notary came to my houseAll paperwork initially was signed via DocuSign, but ended up signing everything in front of the mobile notary at the end againElectronic copies were available post-closingNo issues with wiring money, etc.Post-Closing: Home is still empty, Reedy and Company Realtors, LLC is now the Property Management companyPictures of final renovations were provided after many inquiriesHouse rent rate was lowered to $965 after sitting vacant all summer at $1065I was not sure why they raised the rent so high during the closing process.

These companies will often have a third party engineer ensure that the plan is good and they'll test before and after to make sure the house was leveled according to the plan. 

I have been consuming all the great info from biggerpockets for 18months now but this is my very first post and I am excited to get insights, suggestions and particularly legal advice for my situation.I recently got laid off from a company that I had been with for 6.5yrs (since right out of college) and then within a month, they offered me another role which is outside US so I am very excited about the change and new experience.

The landlord shall arrange for the removal of garbage and rubbish from the premises unless the parties by written agreement provide otherwise.

Agreed, it just assures them it's not for an owner occupant loan, which they legally can not loan on.

At the end of that 60 day period, am I legally allowed to change the locks on the apartment even if they haven't removed all of their belongings from the unit?

I know its never an easy thing to do, and often is a lose, lose situation for both parties.

Do not rely on it for legal advice.