I am not sure where you are at from a knowledge standpoint, so I'll assume the bare bones for the sake of completeness.

However this amount of money would barely allow me to finance a property with 3.5% down with an FHA loan around my area.

Sell the barely cash flowing but quickly appreciating house.

We hoped to have our second or third property by the end of 2020 but, being new at this, we don't have systems in place or enough reserves so we're barely scraping through to afford this.

While a savings account is rarely the most appealing option, it could be beneficial to keep some funds there for quick/easy access, minimal tax impact (since you'll barely make anything) and allow you to hedge in case the market tanks. 

At that time, the property barely broke even.

An exception to this general rule exists for certain taxpayers who materially participate in real property rentals and have incomes below $250,000.

Repairs & maintenance: 10% (averaging calculators reference)Vacancy: 10% (calculator reference)Capex: 10% (calculator reference)Management fees: 12% (calculator reference)So far with this assumptions:When taking Trulia’s rental references (longer term rentals): I barely cover the 1% ruleWhen taking AirBnB rental references (short term rentals): I cover the 1% rule but hardly the 2% ruleAnd looking at the reports, I believe this is to a good point do to the expenses assumptions… never hit the 50% rule. 

@Andrew CurroIf you have made up your mind to invest in nys, capital region is decent because you can still, barely, find reasonably priced property that you can brrr and repeat.

I have a house under contract to be a rental but my 2% rule calculation barely breaks 1%.