there is a duplex that I am looking at. it is good but doesn't meet the 1% rule, it is more of a breakeven deal. it got its pros and cons:pros: -walking distance to a good school- currently renting at the max potential and seems to be updated so not much rehab is neededcons:- on a major street- not much improvements are needed so it will be hard to add value and recoup my initial investment plus it is not really a cashflow maker. 

Bought another house In England and improved it while, living in it. 

I know that I will need to improve upon various aspect before getting myself into another deal but I, definitely, do not want a partner.

Some banks factor in the rental income to improve the ratio but that's a lender specific question. 

It would, of course, improve after the renovation is complete and renters are in it.

Long-distance investing seems like it might be the better option in terms of improving the likelihood of finding deals.

The rent covers the mortgage, insurance, and HOA, but after paying for property management fees I am losing ~$200 per month, and have little for CapEx, vacancy, and repairs, although it is newly remodeled.Based on my research I know that it is not smart to rely on property value appreciation to justify the negative cash flow, so I have researched ways to try to improve my cash flow:Increasing rent is not an optionProperty management is necessary as I live out of the countryRefinancing doesn't seem very advantageous, my mortgage is a 30 yr fixed rate at 4.375% and the rates in Denver only look slightly below that for attached homesRecasting the mortgage seems like a decent optionUsing this calculator it looks like I could go from Principal and Interest of $1,541.79 down to $1,317.05, for a monthly reduction of $224.74, achieving a slight cash flow positive, if I invest $40,000.

Having the car loan actually improves your credit score.  

However, any money saved from sweat equity can be used for additional improvements or used to reduce your loan balance. 

Typically, the smallest putty knife sold in a home improvement store is two inches wide.