@Jordan Lefkowitz  I would probably recommend a both states approach long term from you.

They are personal friends of the apartment's owner so I even thought about helping them approach him to see if he'd be willing to sell and do seller financing. 

Talking to someone about comping the checks is also a good approach.

Additionally, if your partners decide they don’t want to invest anymore, you'll have to restructure the way you approach your next investments These are just some of the many ways you can increase the size of your real estate portfolio.

One solution to that is to make your EMD so small that it won't hurt, but that communicates to the seller that you're not a serious buyer.My approach would be to have all the offers written in advance, leaving the expiration time and date to be filled in when you submit them to the seller. 

I have a million questions on things like tax implications of out-of-state investments, whether or not to use an LLC, and more.I'm interested to hear how others approached this, and what order you decided to build your team (as well as when you purchased your first property in relation to this).

Anybody have success and/or tips on this approach?

I’m trying to determine the best method for getting my first rental property far as best approach.

Just some guidance on how to approach my dad and what kind of questions my mom needs answered before making this decision would be greatly appreciated.

PLEASE reach out if either of those investing approaches are in your field of expertise & let me know any way I can make mentorship a great deal for you and I both.