Of course I understand the main drawbacks will be the variable rate adjustable every 6 months, but I ran a worst case scenario for the rate cap, and I should be able to still cover, and if rates end up going much higher after 10 years (I don't think this is likely) so I would be in a sticky situation.Thank you in advance as always for your responses and time!

Also self employed incomes can be highly variable as business conditions change.

I doubt when you run your own ads you will get similar numbers to what others are getting.. since there's so many variables involved... 2 main ones are1) every geographical location has it's own set of competition people willing to pay more or less to get the leads2) skill level of the person running the ads is another big factor...I run Google ads for 30-40 different insurance agents of the same captive insurance company using the same keywords and ads the only difference is their location and I have cost per lead all over the place.. and every few months we'll see sudden spikes and sudden drops in my cost per lead in each location... it's the nature of the beast so to speak.I think setting a budget and having it managed by someone who is familiar with your industry is a good start.. the main goal will be to keep on improving your numbers every month.. up to a point you are comfortable with your cost per lead.. sometimes no matter how good your guy is you still won't reach your cost per lead goal at which point you'll have to decide if it's worth continuing or not.good luck...

This will help guide you.I know this really hasn't answered your "how much" question, but there are so many variables that it is hard to give an estimate.  

. ;-)  While we have shorter terms, we also have lower interest rates (we just renewed a 5-year variable residential mortgage at 2.4%)I speculate that the tenancy towards accessory apartments by Income Property is because the show is aimed at homeowners, not investors/land lords.  

I'm concerned that the overtime is variable, different on two different paystubs.

There are too many variables and you need to look for a reserve study on that association.

So without all variables being seen, you are honestly in a good range. 

I just listened to Matt Faircloths book on raising private capital and it said for a longer term loan that a HELOC isn’t the best bet because the rate goes variable.

Have to try and stick with Variables in your control.