Strategy Advice Needed - What would you do in my position?

[Oleg Reut]

Hi All! Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I've recently sold my home-improvement business in SoCal, and plan on moving my family to the Tampa/St. Pete area in the next 2 years to be closer to the in-laws. I've always been interested in investing into multifamily RE, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I also own a rental condo in Los Angeles, which I plan on listing and selling in the next 60 days. When it's all said and done, I will have $500K in cash + another $400K in 1031 Exchange ($900K total) I would like to use to get into the mutlifamily rental business, and I could use some guidance on the strategy here. What would you do, if you were in my position? 

I'm only looking into long-term MF rentals at this point with focus on Florida markets. I'd like to explore options that would provide a "healthy" cash flow, but also ability to invest in other properties in the near future. Does it make sense to go after multiple properties with a mortgage? Or pay cash? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!