Amateur SFR investor seeking advice

[Spencer Jacobs]

Hello! So here's the deal: I am an engineer with a respectable income. I am 27 years old, and I bought my first SFR in 2009. I now rent it out for basically a break even. I am now sitting on ~$50K cash so I can comfortably buy another SFR. However, before I take the next plunge, I wanted to get some advice from people more knowledgeable than I.

Does my current buy-and-hold strategy of safe SFR's w/few repair sound okay? Or should I consider another style of investing? Each time I buy a residence am I going to have to bite the bullet and put down 5-10%, or is there another option that I am just not seeing? Anything I can do to turn my purchases into positive cash flow investments faster, i.e. should I try to get into a MFR or is that too early for me? I live in OC, California where properties tend to be a little pricier. Thank you in advance for your advice!

Spencer