Chances are carrot sites are always ranking high.What they have going under the hood.. all the technical hosting site speed and all that weird stuff... they got that dialed in. 

Another lender suggested a 5 year adjustable at 7% and refinance when the rates are lower - what if the rates aren't lower in 5 years?

Vacancy control prohibits rental housing providers from adjusting rents to market rates when a tenant moves out.

Here are a couple of suggestions to speed things up:1. 

Stay informed about market trends, property management best practices, and adjust your strategies as needed.

So, even if the properties declined 10-15% further, arm gets adjusted, the increase in mortgage payment per month should not be significant (I believe interest rate will stay low for a while.)

The repair estimate - I do my own repairs so it's slightly different but I have found that a 20% cushion for overages is good to start with - then adjust accordingly as you become better.Just my $0.02 - Best of luck

Any advice on how to speed up the process with the lender?

Does anyone have any resources that can be used to access values for adjustments to be made when making appraisals in different areas.I know that a pool or an extra bedroom in San Diego, California will merit a different deduction then Orlando, FL, but how much exactly?

You can always adjust your Trust.