You may be able to pledge a CD as collateral for a portion of the down payment.

After further research and then me to take a drive and see this property in person, it’s a C-D rated property and the seller seemed to think differently.

In C/D areas you must treat your tenants like children...bad children.By the 2 year mark if your property is paid off your cash flow will be reduced to almost zero due to the rent being eaten by paying for the opportunity value of your equity.

Often, these contacts will then introduce you to other contacts who are legit players in RE.

Check out @James Wise   He has some great info on a, b, c, d and f neighborhoods in Cleveland....

If you are just starting out you probably should invest in your own backyard before trying to become a "big time player" investing out of state.

.. so if you're in a C-/D area, you gotta ask yourself-- is this someone who would take care of my place, or would they trash it and become violent? 

what is the nature of them.. if there are that many issues I suspect this is C/D class stuff which can be a challenge from out of area investors.. you sure about this ?

I wonder if putting my money into a CD for a few years would be a good idea while I try and generate more income.

When I was struggling to find the next best move and looking at his last move, he said "beginner players let stronger players lead them around the board because they don't understand the strength of their own position."