My main income is from rentals.

My main hesitation is that it is in a lower-income area.

In a highly competitive industry that must work hard to attract and keep talent, employees are in a since "customers" as well as you the employer are paying them to provide a service.

That will enable you to attract top paying workers and keep your property relevant for the long haul. 

It is not taken care of at all, great colonial, and it's in the middle of my towns main street/downtown area surrounded by great houses. 

In search of my first flipping project, I have been beaten to the punch on 3 occasions now mainly because I believe other investors are finding out about these 'deals' prior to it getting to me or my agent through local wholesalers.

Mainly because syndicators who advertise deals are so far above the average investor that they arent going to need your help. 

To give them credit, they would always send one of the maintenance people within 24 hours, but they NEVER fixed the main problems with the HVAC system. 

I managed to save up a little over $30,000 to go toward my next rental, my main question is what would be my best next step to facilitate that goal.

Offer  the property for sale with very attractive financing terms.Create a self mortgage note on the property, sell the building subject to your notes.