Is Austin/Cedar Park still worth it? SFH's with thin cash flow...

[Gary Parente]

Hi BP family - I am new here, but have been reading and learning for quite some time. I have 3 SFH's in the CP/RR area, they are cash flowing about $200/each on around $1700 rents. I live close by and the quality of tenants is high so the situation is comfortable for me, but I have $480K in debt and the returns just aren't real attractive. I can cash-out refi one of them to get about $45K for another investment, but that brings my cash flow down to under $100 for that property.

I know the thinking is that my tenants are paying the mortgage for me, I am pocketing a little each month, cash flows will increase in time with amortization and rising rents, and the properties are appreciating in the strong Austin market, but I am just wondering if putting down $50K on a property and getting 5% CoC every year makes the most sense. Especially once a big repair hits like HVAC or something else.

Long-term goal: I want to have $120K in rental profits every year as soon as I possibly can so I can possibly walk away from my day job. 

Thoughts?