First rental property-beginner

[Sandy Schleiss]

Is it better to buy a single property in cash (no loan), or pay a down payment on several properties and have several loans?  Thinking about buying a townhome, and eventually single family home and multiunit. 

I have about 230K lying around at the moment that I want to invest and I make an average of 35K a month working a full time job. What are some strategies to accumulate real estate/rental properties to eventually ( 5-10 years) work part time and then quit my job and have passive income?