Bob,

I would talk to my financial advisor/CPA/etc.  As real estate agents and brokers we are not experts of how one should invest their money.  Not all real estate produce cash flow, some produce negative cash flow.  There are so many factors to consider that are in the realm of CPA's and pertain to your individual tax situation.  A

I think I agree with Dan Pittsenbarger to buy multiple houses with loans and keep a reserve for unexpected vacancies or maintenance.   If the rental is equal or greater than your monthly using OPM, you aren't spending a dime out of pocket in the long run AND you're building equity in multiple properties rather than having all your eggs in one basket (or house).   Finally, I agree with the bulk of the answers; don't do anything until you consult with a CPA or Financial Planner.   Good Luck, Mr. Landlord !

You may want to look into purchasing some seasoned notes, if you can get them at a good enough discount and if the property passes the sniff test. No management, no upkeep, no maintenance, you collect interest on your income stream and if they default you foreclose and get the property (but buy right and this shouldn't happen). Of course, I am simplifying this. And, you must consult with a financial expert before doing anything.

It depends on your situation and your personal financial goals. I would work with a financial planner, or at least a CPA, for some advice on what makes sense financially, short and long term

Whatever you buy, pay cash and own it. Also, not all in one place either and for my money, I would pick better neighborhoods which cost more but hold

I would suggest you buy six houses that can rent for $3000. Put $130000 down on each saving some funds for closing costs, vacancy and repairs. Paint the interiors all the same color and make all flooring as you upgrade the same. There is trend with porcelain tile that looks like wood floors = indestructable. Find great contractors and an excellent managment company (this is very difficult). Check out tenants carefully.  If you manage yourself - can you do plumbing repairs Sunday night at 1 in the morning?

It depends on how you feel about leverage and risk. As long as you can sleep at nights with your choice, then go for either. Paper generated ROI always looks better with leverage when you use OPM, but I always throw in risk assessment.

Always use someone else's money, especially when it's cheap, like now.

Robert 'VEGAS BOB' Swetz Leverging your funds always works. Your ROI will tell you what to do.

Invest in an apartment community rather than individual homes.

Robert 'VEGAS BOB' Swetz I'd perhaps borrow money - and buy multiple properties.... (What was that book?Rich Dad Poor Dad...)

My money would be on putting 40-50% down on multiple homes.  It'll keep the payments low, allowing you to make a larger profit and it'll get you more homes.  Out here, you'd likely get 2 homes if you paid cash.  You may be able to get 4-6 if you got lucky with financing.

I would purchase them for cash.  Then use them as collateral or use the equity to puchase other homes I find that will make good investments.

If I had a million to spend, I would leverage it to buy 6 million worth of timberland.

I would go with Gabe Sanders answer

Depending on your needs overall

Money is cheap, why pay cash? I would get mortgages and use the money to invest in something else like stocks or mutual funds.

Leverage yourself. Buy as many as you can with the $1M instead of paying cash for (let's say) 3.

IMOP - as long as you put a large enough downpayment so the properties easily cover the debt service (ie income is 1.5+X the debt service) and assuming there are no expensive differed maintenance issues - one can realize a much better return on their cash if one buys as many properties as possible meeting the above criteria (getting loans) until about $950Kis is spent - save some of the cash in reserves for unexpected expenses/vacancies.

Depends on the resources you have to work with, experience and model.

Producing income was the prime focus three years ago and still is but if you don't have the property management skills or resources, you can quickly become disillusioned with being a land lord.

Of course you already know paying cash creates a great deal more latitude with future decisions.

I would suggest, that with 1 million dollars, you should be the bank and look upstream, 12 months upstream at non-performing notes.

I crunch the numbers, figure the ROI and see if projected ROI is significantly greater that the projected net ROI if paying on a loan. Choose the one that gives the larger return assuming you can diversify your portfolio sufficiently. 

Leverage is the best answer. If you could borrow $3 million and have someone else pay it back, would you do it? 

A good question for your cpa or financial advisor.

Alexandra Ron and Alexandra Seigel answered it well.  

You will have to do the math based on payments and rents and how long to payoff.

Buy it, fix it and sell it. Cash is king and less cost, if can, do it

Good morning Vegas Bob. It depends, if the investments properties are for short term, I'd pay cash, if they were for long term, I would get mortgages on the properties and leverage as much as I could.

Robert 'VEGAS BOB' Swetz It depends on the buyer and the area.

Good question!

Buy properties cash here in Cape Coral, FL and rent them out with a property managment. You will quickly see a return.

Stop by to read your replies.  Very interesting different views. 

It would not be possible to answer this question without conducting a detailed review of the properties you intend to purchase, cash flow and income tax analysis, whether you can obtain financing in your particular situation and more.

It depends on your situation but I would probably pay cash 

income property like apts in LV with a loan.

1 Mil buys a condo in my area these days.   

In general, assuming this is extra money and I'm totally covered/don't need it, I then think it depends on my interest level of managing properties.

And, in general, I prefer to leverage OPM when possible, assuming I'm looking at long term horizon and won't have issues/risks over next 10-20 yrs at a minimum.

And, LOL, 1 million dollars doesn't buy that much real estate here.  I suppose you get 2 below avg homes for that.

I'm actually not so sure I would invest it in real estate at all, though.  

Purchase 6+ with loans as long as you can bring enough to cover loans and make some income.