Using Unsecured Personal Loan to Purchase Duplex - Cleveland, OH

[Daniel Volk]

I'm trying to acquire my first rental property in Cleveland, Ohio (44104) but am having trouble finding a lender to fund an investment property under $50,000 and I don't have enough to pay outright. It is a duplex in a poor neighborhood with no appreciation. I played around with using an 84 month unsecured loan for around 12% to purchase the property but the small positive cashflow this way is not good enough to keep over the 7 years - I've used a high vacancy, repair, and capex to set aside additional funds though. If I use the unsecured loan to purchase the property and get tenants in, could I find a lender to offer a better rate as a secured loan on the property later? Running the numbers with a lower interest rate and/or longer loan term does provide good enough cashflow to make it a worthwhile investment. 

Thoughts?

Update: the seller just responded and would accept $23,000 cash offer which helps, but still slim margins of cashflow.