You should always keep control of the escrow you are using. 

As an owner-occupied property you'll qualify for low-down payment loans. 690 isn't great, but it's probably good enough to what you're looking for, if your DTI isn't out of control right now. 

Go to REI events, meet more people, bird dog for some investors, but do not sink yours and someone else's (please not a parent) into a flip with no experience.

There are pros & cons: little to no effort on my part, little to no control on my part, the location is mostly irrelevant (I have investments in 9 states), you need to be sophisticated (knowledgeable), you have to get access to folks that are creating deal (folks that you develop a trust relationship with!).

You can raise rent once every 12 months, but there are limitations, especially if the building is rent controlled.

@Nick Rutkowski Ok, I hear you, but I'm nowhere near the point of having the money to invest in something like that, and I want to get out of my parent's house.

It’ll be my first time talking to him, but my parents know him.

If you're self managing it'll make things easier to control.

Home owner was never married, no children and parents are deceased.

Oh, keep listening to yourself and not your parents, friends, or anyone who tells you “you can’t do it!”