Beginner investor starting out in Baltimore

[Sam G.]

Hi BP,

I have been reading the forums, listening to podcasts, and taking a few online real estate classes for a while now and feel like I have a decent handle on the basics. My goal for 2017 is to get my feet wet in real estate investing and I think I might have a potential property near where I live in Baltimore.

It's a duplex in a great area (Fells Point) that can use a reasonable amount of TLC. It's currently listed for $275,000 and one unit is being rented for $1200/mo. Based a price per square foot of recent comps in the same neighborhood, the ARV should be somewhere around $350,000 with a rental potential of $1400-$1500/mo. The realtor who I've been working with confirmed these numbers. I have not yet talked to a contractor about reno costs, but I think that $40,000 is a reasonable estimate.

The financing is what I'm getting hung up on. I realistically don't have access to the ~$95,000 for a 20% down payment plus renovation costs. At the same time though, if I go the 203K route, I will end up with a negative cash flow from renting only the one unit. 203K still makes more financial sense than renting, which I am currently doing, but I would really like to be cashflow positive on my first deal. 

Any suggestions or routes that I haven't considered? Or should I just keep saving and wait until I can take on a bigger down payment?

Thanks in advance!