Your parents do have the option of selling the property under your direction and purchasing different investment property using the 1031 exchange again.  

The key was SEO, simple processes, very targeted and directed keyword marketing, automated payment and enforcement.

No matter what creative idea I try to give them, they wont listen.

Its mostly self directed but the course structure is broken down very well and easy to follow along.  

You can also contribute to an IRA in addition to your 403b and those funds can be self-directed immediately.

I've been putting up bandit signs all over Orange County, searching through Craigslist and sending out direct mail, but my phone hasn't started ringing yet with motivated leads. 

Hopefully you guys can guide me in the right direction!

@James KojoThis is good question, I also had this exact same question in mind recently.It looks like a lot of good commercial MF deals come directly from brokers before it hits the market i.e. loopnet.I read several people saying that deals go to loopnet to die...

Are there other creative things we should do to make this work?  

Being that this is your first property, I would recommend being less than a day away so you can see the property whenever you need to, and if there are any problems you can go directly to the management company and discuss without hesitation or much planning.