Newbie with cash and SFH, not sure how to invest for maximum passive income

[Dina Harleth]

Hi everyone,

I have a single family home gifted to me from one of my parents as well as enough cash to buy a similar home. My current income is low -- too low to qualify for a mortgage of any kind - due to health issues I've been dealing with for the last few years.

I'd like to generate as much passive income as I can from my assets and am wondering what would be the best way to go about doing it. I need a place to live for myself that doesn't need to be as large as where I live now, and I'd like to move anyway. I was also thinking of buying a multi-unit somewhere in the state (I live in CA) that I could use for rental income but also as a fallback for a place to live myself should the need ever arise (though I prefer to stay in a house as long as I can afford it).

I'm wondering if it's ever wise to buy investment properties in cash and whether I should maybe just invest in dividend stocks until I can generate enough income to get a mortgage.

As I'm sure is obvious from the above, I'm a complete newbie though I have taken a couple of real estate courses at my local community college. :P

Thanks a ton for any advice.

-Dina