With $1m cash I would probably use it to start/buy a business to generate cashflow. Of course that might be difficult given the crappy retail conditions right now but it's probably the best option in order to create future growth opportunities.
Buying and renovating is an alright strategy. Only problem with it is you will get into trouble with the banks because you keep churning your loans very rapidly. One day they will refuse to lend to you and it's game over.
What I mean is that people in Credit find it difficult to understand any loan that is 'outside the box'. This means that if something on your payslip, bank statement or other documentation is 'missing' or 'unclear' - they are going to cause you a lot of problems. I've seen it all before
The thing I don't like about this is the loan application process. As many mortgage brokers can attest to - it is very difficult to submit an application to Credit's satisfaction because they're a bunch of morons. Online is just going to exacerbate this problem.
Buying a business might be ok but nowadays they seem to go for ridiculous valuations because there's lot of foreigners buying local businesses for their permanent residency. Definitely not a good move in Victoria. I had a friend who recently sold a small business for about $500k, it loses money...