1 Primary and 1 Rental, Low Cash, Next Move?

[Da Shiek Woodard]

Hi all,

Since the last time I was here, I purchased a primary home in Northern Virginia.  I backed into a rental property a few years ago by taking a job in Washington DC, so I relocated without selling my California home.  Now it cash flows $700 per month, which I'm grateful for and inspired by.

Now to the question: After purchasing my primary I don't have a lot of cash. A few hours away from me in various states (PA, MD, VA) there are duplexes for $50K or even lower sometimes on Zillow. I'm more interested in cash flow than equity because I want to build up my cash reserves, but I'm sure there are other ways besides searching Zillow. Have any of you succeeded with alternative strategies like auctions or driving for dollars, or creative partnership deals I'm not thinking about? I'm handy so I can offer sweat equity in a partnership, and I will have some cash to bring to the table as well (right now about $10K to $20K). Any advice or success stories you can share is appreciated, I need to expand my knowledge and imagination on what's possible.