Does anyone else find that it's incredible a £300k house generates £1800/month rental income?! a £300k house here would get about £800/month. Brighton yuppies eh?!
£1800 pcm is top end rent on £300K in Brighton, but note this area is packed with Students so student lets drive up rental yields.
To the original poster - I purchased my first buy to let property over 20 years ago, and from there added a 'few'. My advice is as follows:
1 - Golden Rule. Never over leverage yourself, it is too risky. By this I mean you need to ensure sufficient net income from rents to cover your outgoings at interest rates well above today's level.
2 - Take out a mortgage on your inherited property. Depending on your salaried income you should get around 70% mortgage (LTV) at an interest rate of around 3-4% (note rates will go up). There are plenty of specialist brokers who can advise on BTL mortgages. This should give you about £210K cash and a net income around £700-£800 after allowing for interest and expenses.
3 - With your £210K cash buy 2 other properties in the area with around 50% LTV mortgages. EG buy 2 flats at £200K each, use about £180K of your cash as deposits (always keep some in reserve). Choose the flats based on their rental potential and yield. With a £110K mortgage on each these should give a reasonable cash flow.
With the above approach you could own £700K of property, have a net income of at least £1K pcm. and have around £30K cash left in the bank. This gives plenty of cushion to cover unforeseen issues in the future and some protection against rising interest rates.
NOTE - the above is only an illustration, you need to choose properties carefully and also understand that being a landlord also involves effort in managing properties. You also need to flex-test the incomes and outgoings to make sure you are covered for future expected interest rates, tenancy voids, etc.
There is also another property investment option for you, that is development, e.g. buy somewhere and develop it to increase capital value. However unless you have some experience in property development this route has more risks.