There's always trade offs when it comes to investing and one of those tradeoffs (if you want to find positive cash flow) is having to be okay with an older house.

This is both a business move and a workforce development initiative, targeting trades as a critical part of economic growth.

In other words, if there are attorneys who can afford to specialize in just prosecuting dog owners for dog bites - then good luck defending against them.What I learned when I was studying law, was that if there is any history whatsoever that a dog has ever bitten someone or a dog before, then no matter the circumstances, if they bite again - they are automatically guilty.And, even as a dog lover, you and I both know that some breeds are more likely to bite than others.  

Look into getting into a skilled trade as an electrician or a plumber Work more spend less.$10,000 might seem like a lot to you and it is to your circumstances but its doable.Good Luck!

Unfortunately, people in the trades are often good at their trade but poor at managing their business.

In 2021, this property would have sold for $1.2M.While this, still, is hard to cash flow at a 7% 30-year rate, buying a property that used to trade at a 5% cap rate for a 7.5% cap rate is inarguably better value.

Quote from @Paul Gupta: Hi, in California, For jobs requiring a license, there was CSLB (contractor state licensing board) which would give either a General Contractor license, or specialty licenses by trade (~60 specialties such as concrete, welding tile, ) https://www.cslb.ca.gov/about_us/library/licensing_classific...My Q: does Maryland and DC area have similar requirements? 

Note, I speak of this as an immigrant household.To expand on #3; international trade is good.

In the future when I start trading up to larger properties (50 to 100+ properties) I will likely sell off my current portfolio to condense my holdings to fewer parcels so that way my time is better utilized. 

Investing does need to be approached more like a business than just a simple stock trade.