They seem to be able to make their desired profit.They are wagering on market/rent appreciation.They see a hard to identify value add. 

I think those closing costs--at least in a situation like this--is a fool's wager. 

You'll want to do some of the preliminary work up front, and then start driving neighborhood (driving for dollars), or contacting people (agents or home owners).

Top of page for the White House:And I pulled Ben Bernanke's after reading on the news that his mortgage refinance application was denied due to being self employed for <2 years after he was no longer Chairperson of the Fed.Often these aren't super accurate; not uncommon for the preliminary title report to uncover more stuff.

Turned out after I pulled preliminary title work, and had my surveyor look at the public records, the driveway that was supposed to be included on the property had apparently been deeded away. 

Getting starting in buy-and-hold and trying to do as much preliminary research as possible.

(A recorded trustee's deed (or similar alternative) confirming the amount paid by the grantee to trustee may be substituted for a settlement statement if a settlement statement was not provided to the purchaser at time of sale.)The preliminary title search or report must confirm that there are no existing liens on the subject property.The sources of funds for the purchase transaction are documented (such as bank statements, personal loan documents, or a HELOC on another property).If the source of funds used to acquire the property was an unsecured loan or a loan secured by an asset other than the subject property (such as a HELOC secured by another property), the settlement statement for the refinance transaction must reflect that all cash-out proceeds be used to pay off or pay down, as applicable, the loan used to purchase the property.

When performing a quick preliminary screening on those websites (i.e. to exclude obvious bad deals), do you usually use the 50% rule (or similar % rule) to estimate expenses?

This is preliminary research.Thanks, Frank 

If you like I can do a no-cost preliminary analysis for you and give you an idea of what it would be.