If you have significant debt, then putting cash into savings (beyond a little emergency money) might not be the best way to increase your net worth. You are paying interest on your debt, I would suppose. So getting rid of that debt should come before stashing money into a savings account.

To find your net worth, simply subtract how much you have in savings from how much you owe. Right now your net worth is below zero. Do look at the interest rates you are paying on your debts. Credit cards often charge 24%. If you have any debt like that, you want to get out from under it, before you can seriously consider buying a home.

Ask yourself, also, what you think buying a townhouse will do for you. Consider the annual property tax. What community fees might there be? Then, of course, there is on-going maintenance expenditures. Thinking you can depend on your brother's friends to work cheaply for you sounds a bit naive to me.

Of course, dreams die hard. Look at all of your options, though, while you're dreaming. Go to your local housing authority and get on the waiting list for subsidized housing, if you are eligible. You don't have to ever use that option, but you might be glad of it one day. In my city, there are small townhouses that low income people with a HUD subsidy can rent.