If your rental rate is below the market anyway, a Tenant might consider this to be win as they would get the lower rate in the beginning and just rise to the level they were looking at everywhere else.Step clauses can be written right into the lease, or created by using 3 month lease terms with an auto-renewal at the step up rental rate price. 

The price points do make it hard to cash flow even with the lower interest rate subject tos. 

Some PMC's will charge a lower percentage fee, but will charge it whether tenant paying or not.

The old adage is "marry the property, but date the rate" meaning that if in a few years interest rates are lower you can refinance again into that rate. 5.

that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

Question: Should I collateralize the loan (if using private or hard money), or rely on roll-over loans (to maximize the lower points and 3-4% rate)?

It's OK to be more tenacious with negotiating down, and make the most out of a slowing market to buy at lower prices.

I'm also considering Halethorpe because it's a good commuter location.Some people really like supporting the city in which case , northeast Baltimore would seem to the best place to buy a single family, in my opinion given the taxes situation and given that none of those areas are walkable I’d rather just be in the county and pay Lower taxes, and it’s not like northeast Baltimore is much that much cheaper than Baltimore county, hathorpe is mixed, arbutus is nice, I hate the housing stock there, would rather be in Catonsville if I was considering western Baltimore county. 

And I am doing CD's not LWO's which the #'s with LWO's are even lower close rate than CD's.

I see this home and what you paid and while it's not at all a bad price, I've seen investors offering that size in Palm Bay for as much as $15-25k lower.