Do any of you use this method? 

Jason DiClemente Mike Dymski Okay I just wanted to make sure before I got too involved into anything.

I do have family that lives in New Jersey but if theres ever an issue down the road I don't want to have my family involved or have any risk. 

So when I go to pay for the property, do I need to get a real estate attorney involved or can the title company take care of the transaction?

As a starting point I suggest being within arms reach of your first project if only for the education and experience of being involved all the way through.

Also, if you have family members involved, I would start looking at the larger apartment complexes where everyone would get more bang for their buck.

My sibling owns a separate business that I am not involved in.

I don't really have any experience with real estate investing, though I really want to get involved.  

That involved updating the kitchen with new cabinets, flooring, sink, appliances, made the living room / kitchen an open plan.

Yes, the involvement of your daughter is disturbing and totally not OK, I would tell the Mother (owner) that this behavior is unacceptable and if she is not sympathetic then don't worry about burning that bridge, it wasn't worth crossing.