Or just any suggestions for the best bang for your buck areas that offer at least a little cash flow and appreciation ?

I am researching my first deal in town (a foreclosure), and hoping to slowly but surely acquire properties for cash flow and retirement security. 

It also offers a chance to shift into something more passive, reducing the hands-on management that seems to be more of a hassle now that you’ve moved.That said, the rental income potential from your properties is worth noting, but there’s a limit to how much you can boost your cash flow, especially after already making significant upgrades.

Look for properties with high cash flow potential, good condition, and room for improvement, such as value-add opportunities.

Cash Flow Potential: Rental income from real estate held in an SDIRA flows directly back into the account, allowing you to reinvest and compound your wealth tax-advantaged.

So far this journey has cost me over $22,000,   still without a cash flowing multifamily property...to say the least I'm extremely disappointed and frustrated.  

With the equity you’d free up, paying off $50k in personal debt and boosting your credit score while freeing up $3k/month sounds like it could significantly lower your stress and open doors for future projects.That said, selling means you’d lose a cash-flowing asset, even if it’s not huge.

You are hopefully getting good cash flow, appreciation, mortgage paydown and tax benefits.   

However, it is important to note that if a leverage you're looking for doesn't qualify with DSCR, it means that your cash on cash return is negative (because it means your NOI or Rent is lower than rent -in most cases).So if you want to maximize leverage and are less cash flow sensitive (okay being negative), then conventional makes sense.

We also have many unique buyer incentives where an investor can get up to a 10% price reduction to come into immediate equity, or get that 10% as a cash back at closing to reduce your down payment and increase your ROI, or buy rates down into the low 4s on 30yr loans to maximize cash flow.