Another income point is that loans are done when sales are slow in refinancing but the mortgage market fluctuates as well.You may excel quicker as a Realtor, if you're good, getting into higher incomes as a mortgage originator take time as you're more of an captured employee.  

Mine fluctuates constantly, never more then 3-4 months at the same amount.I'm not aware of HELOCs with fixed rates, i thought they where all a variable interest rate product.Here is a post to exactly how I use my LOChttp://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/100685-here-is-how-i-do-it-please-critique

It's hard to answer your question regarding what rates are because there are many factors that go into what your rate will be, and rates can fluctuate throughout the day.

(We're not discussing seller financing, below market financing or assumable financing here, that's a whole another discussion vis-a-vis the relationship of value to below market financing.)What the Professor is saying is that real estate values have NOT increased in "real dollar", when you exclude inflation from that equation.Once upon a time, a long time ago in a distant land, the distance measured in a few miles, before the current real estate crash; I discovered several pockets of real estate that were somewhat isolated from market fluctuations in value.

They tried to justify using the 7% rate because "the rate could fluctuate from now til the time the loan funds."

. ;)3-get rental area rates and crunch some numbers with tax, ins, rent, capX (will fluctuate if newer things have been done), r&m (lawn-do I want tenants to pay?

Additionally, vacation properties are rented daily/weekly and can be very susceptible economic fluctuations.    

Gas is the big one that fluctuates in Michigan so I calculated the average.

Obviously this experience helped me to understand why people struggle here all the time with identifying high volatility and fluctuation on prices. 

In reality, that percentage fluctuates a bit, but that's the rule of thumb.