I own rental properties & want to increase cash flow - Does my plan makes sense?

[Tom Stern]

I own four rental properties in FL, managed remotely by a management company. All of them were bought in cash. Total worth is around $850k - $900k. My original goal was to generate enough cash flow so I can buy a house in the (very) expensive CA region I live in (currently renting) without paying too much 'out of pocket'. Unfortunately things have changed in the last 10 years since I've started investing and it seems that reaching a point where I generate sufficient cash flow is too far in the future. So, I've decided to leverage my equity and current cash flow from rentals and 'up my game'. My current thought was to do an exchange with one of my properties for a duplex that costs about $450k, that will call for a loan for $200k and the property would generate around $5k monthly in rent. Even after the loan payment this should leave me with $3.2k which is more than the $1.8k I get on my current property. If this method can be scaled up I could potentially do this with my other properties as well and increase my cash flow about 60% - 70% (assuming the same math works).

I'm looking to hear advice from others that have more experience than me. I'm about 10 years into real-estate investing, but I kept it very simple so far and it worked out fine. However, I do understand that in order to generate more revenue I might need to do something a bit more involved.

Thanks!