Hey BPers, Im a new investor with only one rental property under my belt. Im looking at expanding my portfolio with three more properties. Im in contract for two duplexes and one single family. The two duplexes are side by side and the single family home is just a couple miles down the street. My purchase price initially was 68k with 20% down at 4.9%. All five units are fully rented and bringing in 2,300/mo. I recently had the appraisal done and it came back at 53k. The seller agreed to sell it at that price. I know the numbers tend to look great on paper but there are a few things that worry me.
The first is the loan. My investing strategy is to build up long term debt, outsource that debt to tenants, and pay off the loans in cheaper dollars through the 30 years. I just found out through my loan officer that my portfolio loan would be a variable rate loan and could go from 4.9% to 10% after the first 36 months.
My second concern is the location. The units are located in south east Columbus in an area called Linden. Its a pretty rough area with a high crime rate for Columbus. Im ok with being there during the day, but would not want to be walking the streets after dark. Im concerned about the quality of tenants i would get in my units.

So my questions are:

What are peoples experience/ thoughts on variable rate portfolio loans?
Does anyone invest in higher crime rate areas and what are your experiences?
For my Columbus peeps, Whats your thoughts on owning properties in Lindin?
Any general thoughts on my deal?

I really appreciate any advice!

FYI: I plan on hiring property management.