I work part-time for a real estate company (Nomadic Real Estate) as a leasing agent and I just passed my VA salesperson exam so I hope to sell real estate in Virginia within the next couple of weeks.Within the next 4 years, I would like to generate enough passive income so that I can save for my future family.The ultimate goal is to generate enough money to be able to start and sustain a social entrepreneurship business to help schools in West Africa.On Bigger Pockets, it would be great if I could network with like-minded individuals.Francis

My plan is to continue to save for a down payment and in approx. ten months purchase my first home.

or if I should just focus more on saving to buy another house that I can flip?

I live in a very competitive and overpriced market and have spent the last few years focusing on my career as a Structural Engineer educating myself and saving my money for the future. 

If your personal HVAC goes out, you may choose to do without until money is saved.

At such prices, it is possible to find investments with with month rent at 1% of the property price (that's 12% gross yield).Investing for rental income is easier than for gain, as one just needs to find a property with an affordable rent, in an area with a healthy job market to be able rent it, there is no need to find a property below market price as in the capital gain business model.At $900-$1400 per month, most tenants rent by choice as they could save to buy a better house.

The good news is that the 400$ you spent for the inspection just saved you at least 10k.Good luck!

Rather than use that toward a down payment, I plan to use some cash I have saved to purchase a similarly valued unit (around $100k) in cash, that way I will only have one payment, as opposed to two.

Save up the 3% or whatever you need as a downpayment (or ask for a gift from family members that want to see you get ahead), and make an offer that has the seller cover your closing costs.  

We split it by number of bedrooms rather than square footage.The only push back we've gotten is on heating bills in units with poor heat distribution/insulation.Remind tenants that they are splitting all the base charges which is an overall savings for them compared to separate utilities.