I have had this dilemma too and here is what I decided...

It's not exactly what you buy that is important. As long as it has rental potential and is creating a cashflow, you are good to go.

The key is buying it at the right price - finding that property that fits your personality and goals AND finding that motivated buyer that will give it to you for under the fair market price so that you have equity off the bat.

I would try to split your money into 3 sections...

180K each gives you about 3 piles...

pile 1 - cash
pile 2 - stocks and bonds (evenly split)... try to get a 5-10% yield on that $180K or about $15K per year - give or take

pile 3 - RE investment base

now in pile 3, you should buy a property if you can for half of that price and then improve the property and improve the cashflow...

So if you bought a commercial building for 100K and then had 80K to make improvements, add units finish renovations... you have a $180K invested in an improved property. Let's say you can earn a net income on the investment of $12,000 before the renovations and now with new units and better common areas, you can earn $20K per year... now you add $20K+$15 and you have $35K income plus 180K cash to make additional investments. If you work full time, you can save this $35K for 5 years and have another 180K in cash saved up to buy additional properties.

Things not to do;

Don't buy SFH in speculative areas with other homes for sale around it.

Don't mortgage yourself

Don't get greedy - you can live well forever on $500K if you don't get greedy.

Be patient... it took me 5 years to find the right property but once you own it, you own it forever until you decide to sell it.

Factor in other expenses you don't see such as insurance, property taxes, maintenance, and overall condition issues.

Buying properties with repairs allows you to negotiate a better deal up front... if you get it for say $90K and only need to put in $25K, then you have 115K total and 65K extra to put back into your investments...