ARM rates tend to increase when the economy is hot and tend to get cut during recessions.

Hey, I can only take you at your word in regards to unbiased and arms length choosing of Title companies, attorney's, etc.But Adam Smith, an absolute genius IMO, kind of nailed it on the head with these words:"Men of the same profession gather only to conspire against the general public"Getting involved in the RE business has taught me to think in a much more elastic way than before.No one can deny, it's a high stakes game.And because this is a BP thread, sorry I will say it:  I learned the hardest meanest lessons via trial by fire. 

ARMs are most common (5/1 & 7/1) but 30 year fixed options do exist.

Treat the real estate LLC like a third party in an arms-length transaction and you'll be fine. 

UPDATE: I have been able to lock in a 4.25% 10/1 ARM on a 4 unit property in Northern Colorado and no lender fee's. 70% LTV...I'm good with this option and one of the best rates I could find on small MF property.

@Ashley SliwaYour story is very similar to many of us on BP. 1st of all, I think the safety of a full-time W2 job, especially such an important one, is invaluable.

Thanks for all these ideas, i was very worried...not inly for the safety of the tenants, but also for when i have to sell.... 

If you mitigate your other risk factors (short term loans/ARMS, borrowing capital that needs to be returned in 12 months, high interest rate loans or poor financing terms). 

A quote at 6.85% & 2.5 pts (Lender and Broker combined) at 75% LTV  5/1 ARM 30 Yr Amortization on a purchase with a 765 FICO and just 1 other owned properties felt like a pretty good offer (Borrowers DTI was too high for bank) When we presented an 85% LTV and 8.150% and 3.5 pts on a 10/1 ARM 30 Yr Amortization - the borrower jumped at it for the extra LTV even though he had the liquidity to move forward on either.Sometimes situations shock you, I almost completely disregarded the second quote but turned out to be the winner for hte borrower.

As per my lease, I do a "safety inspection" personally every 6 months.