our portfolio lender suggested a 3/1 ARM...thoughts?

[Stacey Olson]

My husband just got off the phone with our portfolio lender. He (the husband) texts me this: "they want us to do a 3/1 ARM w/ 20% down. And they will let us use rental income." The good thing about this is that we don't have 2 years landlording experience under our belts yet and we're looking at multifamily units (with renters already in leases), so this expands our borrowing potential. Actually, I'm not even sure there's a huge down side except that 20% can turn out to be a heck of a lot of money when you're just starting out.

I'm not terribly worried about the ARM as I'm sure we'd just refi at the point it kicks in. This is, however, my first time working with a portfolio lender, so I have no idea if what they're offering is a good deal.

Thoughts please! :-)

Stacey, Tacoma, WA