Free & Clear Properties or Leverage with Cash Flow?

[Samantha M.]

What would you suggest? If you had 150,000 free to invest in rental/buy and hold properties. You could purchase perhaps 1 or 2 houses free and clear with money.

or

You could take that same amount and leverage them with a loan over 5 properties and cash flow a bit. What would you suggest?

I am facing a situation similar to this, the only issue I have with leverage is the possibility of becoming overleveraged from too many loans.