My Newbie Qs

[Jeff Lee]

About Me
Hello, everyone! I'm Jeff, a 29 (soon-to-be thirty) year old looking to explore the world of real estate. Specifically, I'm looking to buy, renovate, and rent out property. I have no experience, but I'm taking advice from my cousin and his father.

The two of them currently operate half-a-dozen or so rent homes. I'll definitely ask them for advice, but I also want to hear what the BP community thinks. After all, it never hurts to take in more opinions.

The Purpose of this Thread
I don't want to create a thread for every question I've got for which I'm sure there will be many. Therefore, I'll rather condense it to a single thread and not spam the forums.

Questions

Situation: I'm looking to purchase a house for $50k. I'm pondering how I should finance the mortgage. A 5/1 ARM looks real enticing with its interest rate under 5%.

#1. Should I go with an 5/1 ARM? I literally began reading about them within 24 hours. Are there better options out there?

#2. I have enough capital to buy the house outright, but I'd rather finance the house with a $50k loan and put down 50% (if possible). This would allow me to have enough money in the bank should I go after another rental property sometime down the road (2-3 years). Opinions?

#3. Can I pay back the (ARM) loan back after 2-4 years before it goes into 'variable interest rate mode' without paying any additional fees? I ask this because the rate seems too good to be true. Is there a catch?

#4. Are there any minimum/maximums with ARMs? I'm using the search at Bankrate and based on where I live (Bossier City, Louisiana), it seems I get no results unless I use 20% down or less. (I'd much rather put 40% or more down. I hate paying interest.)