When an employer transferred me to a different facility 30 miles away once, I was able to transfer to another apartment with the same landlord to be closer to my new job (the cleaning deposit transferred smoothly and the 30-day notice to vacate was waived).

The timing has to be right for BOTH you and the market you are looking to be involved in and the numbers on a specific deal have to ultimately make financial sense.  

The situation you have described above does not involve either securities or people with no prior relationship.

I wouldn't get involved.

if your a beginner highly unlikely your going to get Zero money down deals.. there will be some closing cost some cost involved.. you should work on some kish up front then go shopping.. nothing spells failure quicker than under funded.

I don't want to be milked for my money by some stranger, I want a clean deal across the table.

Have you thought about partnering up in joint ventures or getting involved in syndication?

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

When I bought the property it needed a lot of clean-up outside to make it presentable. 

Obviously there would be risk involved, as a lot of things can happen in 2 years.