There are cases when the investor is 'forced' to sell and no one can predict those sad events.

If we were dealing with logical, predictable machines - i.e., something actually measurable, that would be all you would need. 

I know there's no way to predict what the rates are going to be in 2 or 3 years but I'm just a little nervous what if I take the fixed rate and in a few years rates still aren't above 5% that would be a huge loss in all the interest I'm paying right?

But, no one can predict the future.  

Now, call me crazy, but I would rather spend a little more money, in a predictable and responsible manner, than have stupid maintenance calls.  

minimum ;) tablet predictive text u know

Even the above is not really a full picture of all the factors that can go into calculation of predicting the future demand of housing for a particular City or Neighborhood.Be careful how you interpret the data.Just my 2 Cents.

While anyone can make vague predictions about something happening, I'm not doing that.

If security and predictability are the main reasons for working for someone else, and that security can often times be an illusion, then I see self employment and real estate investing as not only better options, but essential!

This plus JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is predicting an economic hurricane according to CNN Business June 2, 2022.