Well I would consider first asking the question, where is the current market at that you're residing? Meaning if rent prices are cheaper and the homes are nicer than what you can get compared to mortgaging a property, then you may just want to continue renting.
If you decide to buy then I would certainly mortgage the property to take advantage of the low interest rates. If you plan on staying in the property first try to get a USDA loan and then if unable to do so, go FHA. USDA loans are specific to an area. Just do a web search on USDA's website to see if your area qualifies. All of the major banks Wells Fargo, Chase, etc. offer the product. With FHA shop around for the lowest rate, which probably would be credit unions, and always ask for a Good Faith Estimate along with other home financing questions. It's just a numbers and comparison game.
As far as what do do with the other money you saved there are a few considerations. One, put the money into an S&P 500 index fund with a low expense ratio. Vanguard has one of the lowest expense ratio's in the industry.
Second, if you really are leery of putting the money into the stock market then certainly buy assets. I lean towards real estate. From that point you really need to hone in on your strategy. Commercial or residential? From experience, you certainly can attain $40,000-80,000 properties and cash flow them quite easily and in most cases make money. You do have to deal with C/D type tenants, evictions, missed months rent payments, and possible damage to your property. Or you can acquire a high end property. Obviously, you would be dealing with a different type of tenant, so you decide. Either way I would suggest paying off this property/ies. Just in case you would lose your source of income this would help pay your personal mortgage.
Third, if you're totally against putting the money in the stock market and don't want to be a a landlord, then you could always go old school and put the money into a high yield CD. I wouldn't tie the money up too long at this point since mortgage rates are historically low, so are CD rates. Shop around to get the highest return and then once rates do start to increase, maybe consider investing in a longer term CD.
Congrats on acquiring all that dough. Good luck with all of your decisions you have ahead.