I've done several like that myself in DFW.If your goal is to retire yourself in 18 months, I don't think either choice really makes a big difference.  

But at the end of the day, you only have two choices....do it yourself or have someone else do it for you. 

We know it wasn't a good investment when we moved out, but we had no choice at the time!

To me, it seems then, that the safest way to go about it would be to get the mortgage but then keep enough cash on hand to pay down the rest of it, at least initially until I get a feel for what the actual cash flow will be.

One my choices was a house which is on municipal sewers but has a private well for water.

Your choice on that.

You should realize the equity and appreciation then 1031 into ( insert your choice here).  

Unless the metering is separate and the city is groovy billing unit-by-unit you might not have a choice.  4.

Kids, jobs, careers, health, hobbies etc. 4) Lifestyle choice - I know 95% of my friends who have invested a huge part of their wealth in large plush opulent homes that has left limited bandwidth to invest elsewhere as they prefer to invest in the primary home either via improvements or paying additional mortgage!

Let your goals and objectives lead you to your market of choice.