Kansas City has population growth. ( http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/kansas-city-population/)Kansas City makes up 32% of the KC metropolitan areas population, and the region’s growth rate was at a very healthy 11% from 2000-2010.

And make sure the HOA financials are in good order, healthy budget, reserves, etc. 

Either you park your cash feeling that having paid off properties producing very little CoC is adequate or you invest with the approach that cash must earn it's keep and be used to generate more cash flow and greater appreciation potential in multiple properties.It should never be a question of what should you do, it is a question of what do you want to do.  

This is not a bad thing as long as it is a healthy correction and soft landing.  

I attempted to get a pre-approval but was denied because of my debt to income ratio ($100k student loans) What steps would you recommend me take in order to get an income producing property/investment?

I am a weird dude, clearly you are unafraid to put yourself out there with humor, and that's healthy.

A token that represents an ownership stake and produces financial returns is a security (instrument0.

. $115k is a healthy budget for a duplex.

It is a great rental market where you can fairly easily hit the 1% rule in small MFs, and there's a healthy tourism industry here with everything from the Alamo to Seaworld, etc. that help with short term rentals, though the majority of the STRs in and around town cater more towards people just getting away from Houston or Dallas for a weekend in the Hill County 

knowing your numbers means reporting and running p&l, tracking net worth, and a balance sheet. manual paper trail only gets worse as you scale so efficiency becomes important. whether you pay for someone to do that depends on if you know your numbers cold. you can't possibly know if someone else is doing it right if you don't master it first. only then can you delegate and focus your time on the higher income producing activity.