When guys like you disagree with me it does give me pause. 

You don't want to sound like a robot, but it's a good starting point so you're not saying "uhh" or have awkward pauses on the phone.Here are a few points I'd emphasize:Start by asking the seller if this is a good time to talk after a brief introduction. 

You could end up pausing your campaign and significantly stalling your momentum.

The only thing that gives me pause is the ARM, but you've still got 7 years left before it adjusts. 

Longer term, I have 500k of my own savings that I'd like to invest but I'm pausing right now since I'm reading that the country my go into a recession in 2024.

Don't get lulled to sleep by the Fed's announcement that they were pausing the hikes in the Federal Funds rate.

During COVID some of these HML put a pause on these loans and are now gradually re-offering them at less interesting terms.Aside from financing a successful flip comes down to having a good team (from contractors/sub contractors to material suppliers) and coordination/construction knowledge.

It's not meant to, but rather it's meant to give you pause and to have you think over how and why you believe real estate is your optimal route to success. 

Last year we started looking for our next property in AZ, but recent research about drought conditions there makes me pause in considering it for a long term buy and hold.

Higher rates effectively push pause on many concepts like the 1% rule… and 7+ percent rates with high prices removes the majority of profit / cash flow from most deals right now.