Negative Cash Flow on 7 Unit Property

[David Sugiyama]

Looking at my first property larger than 4 units, but finding it very difficult to cashflow with a commercial mortgage set-up.  Especially the smaller 5-10 unit properties.  I am currently looking at a 7 unit property (1- 3bd/2bth home, 3- 2bd/1bth, 3- 1bd/1bth).  The lender I usually work with said it would be a 5 yr loan amortized on 15 yr schedule and then renewed at Prime+1.25% after 5 years, and so on.  This results in a -$350 cash flow.  I think I could make it cash flow neutral in about 2-3 years.  Or immediately if I tried managing it myself.  I've been purely in the mindset of cash flow positive only properties, but seeing a principal payment of over $1,000 on the first month makes me wonder if this is a decent option.  Financially I'm in a position where having to pay a few hundred dollars each month would not be a problem, but I can't warp my head around whether it's a good financial decision.  Would love feedback.