What to do with $1,000,000.00?

[Kevin S.]

I wonder what do someone approaching retirement do with $1,000,000.00?  Buy a single property with cash and have about $65,000/yr in cash flow or use it for DP on a $4,000,000.00 property?  Would the cash flow be the same?  Or leave it in SP 500 ETF?  The question is probably over simplified but a good starting point for feedback.  Thanks.

[Dan M.]

Ask 10 people and youll get at least 3 different answers. It all depends on what the individual would do with their risk tolerance. Each property is also different. You could buy a 1 million apartment building outright and make 65,000 or 30,000 depending how it performs and what market its in. You could put it down on a 4 million dollar property and make 120,000 or zero or negative. Every deal is different. 

Personally if I had 1 million just laying around Id probably put some of it into real estate, pay down some existing debts, some of it in treasury bills, and some of it in an index fund.