I bought my first home and had to break my apartment lease; can the apartment company charge me for all of the remaining rental payments?

Unfortunately, you can be held liable for up to the full remaining term or balance of your lease, unless they have agreed to accept (either by terms of the lease or by some other writing) the $1,000 plus $500 as payment in full. If they have agreed to accept that as full payment for breaking the lease, they cannot come after you for more. However, if that's not in fact mutually agreed to be payment in full, then they could look to recover the balance owed under the lease.  (Thpugh even in that case, you might be able to argue that by charging you a fee for breaking the lease and for reletting the premises, they have agreed to take that amount in full satisfaction...alot depends on exactly what the lease says, what's been said in any other correspondence about the breach, etc.)

If they come after you for more, the fact that you have tied up your money in the house is not, to put it bluntly, their concern. If they sue and win, they can expect to be paid; and if you can't or won't pay, they can try to garnish your wages or put on lien on your property. Certainly if they do come after you, should try to negotiate with them a payment amount and schedule you can live with, and if it's reasonable, there's a good chance they'll accept--but they are not obligated to work with you on it.

Absent any agreement to the contrary you are liable for the remaining term on the lease.   A lease is a contract and your are bound by its terms.  The fact that you purchased a property is of no concern to your landlord.

However, that having been said, your landlord is under a duty to "mitigate damages".  This means that by law they must use reasonable efforts to re-let the premises. If they do so, at such time as a new tenant is found and their lease payments begin, you are relieved of any further liability.

In the meantime you can try to arrange for mutually acceptable payments.  You could also help yourself here and ask family/friends if they or someone they know might be looking for a rental.