After putting the numbers in the rental calculator, it cashflows +216 a month. 

I am going to be pursuing my first property in the next few months in Iowa.

We charge pet rent of $45/pet/month.

If you think of an old school investment club where members get together every month to discuss and vet stock investments and then invest together, it's like that, but instead of stocks we focus on passive real estate investments. 

If you don't already qualify, the answer may be you need to save a larger down payment, look for a cheaper property, or wait a few more months to build longer credit history.Good luck and don't forget to save a beefy emergency fund!

Other people in the lending space might have better answers, but some lenders quote taxes, insurance, etc. to fully understand the monthly cash burden and ensure you know it as well.

.- thats  good to hear .....fyi - when checking the  caps on an ARM loan - there are  3  different caps to understand and  be aware of  :  1) the  intial  cap  is the amount the rate  can change on the  intial  adjustement - this is often 5 or 6% ...so if your rate was  intially 4% - this means the  rate  could  intially  change to 10% +  2) the  lifetime cap  is the  max  amount the  rate can  change over the loans life - this is  often the same as the  intial cap at  5 or 6%  3) the  3rd cap is the one you mention  which is the  period  cap ..this is the  most the  rate can  change  once the loan  begins to  adjsut    annually or  every  6 months ..this is  often  2% 

That's how many months its going to take you just to break even and for it to START being a good decision to refi. 

For me it is not a big deal but for some it would be devastating not to collect payments for 12 + months if you had not planned for it.  

They are offering two months of rent as compensation (around a total of $3 for me).