I do not anticipate on appreciation because it can fluctuate a great deal.  

Just make sure you have the same loan terms in every calculation so that you can compare them consistantly.. but yes, you do have to anticipate closing costs, holding costs, and rehab costs as cash that you are putting into the deal most likely.

I anticipate being in the office most days, probably 9-ish. 

Also, I have very little capital at the moment but I anticipate being able to stash some cash away in the time that I'm researching (I have no debt other than the two houses I own; one is rented and I plan to rent the other when I move out of the US).

Anticipate that.I always try to save tenancies first and proceed with that in mind.

There has to be a way of creating a network of low margin, high volume “ sale by agreement off network by owner” real estate transactions where the fee anticipates 2 transactions in a short time i.e the buy then the sell....

I was looking at buying my first rental property in the spring but my financial situation improved faster than I anticipated and it looks like I’ll be able to purchase by the end of August early September.

You should be prepared to put in 10X the work that you anticipate having to do and you'll accomplish your goals.

Suffice it to say that for this reason Series LLCs are not for those who are not particularly good at keeping the books, and it is somewhat anticipated (based on, if nothing else, common sense) that a Series LLC will have its own professional accounting staff to make sure that the books are well kept."

When it comes to utilities if you can not have them in the tenants name paying directly you are better off just raising the rent, plus some, to cover any anticipated costs and look into properly dividing the utilities with their own meters.