laminate is less expensive and is more durable  some  of the go to brands are allure http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Allure-6-...but I have used laminate from as low as $1.25 sq ft  

As far as the number of units it doesn't matter, you can get 4-plex after 4-plex as long as all your VA loans don't add up over $424,000, that it is increased in more expensive areas, over $700k in the Bay Area, Hawaii etc. 

The Parma area is more expensive than Old Brooklyn but also has higher rents and stable tenants without the overhead you can get in some of the more "glamorous" suburbs.I'm not nearly as experienced as some of the people on here but feel free to connect with me on here or when you come through.

Or hopefully the cash flow pre tax , is after all reported expenses have been taking into account.

Have I left anything out of the expenses?

college and wedding expenses, and then at some point be able to retire.  

A flip can be expensive and time consuming.

No firsthand experience, but every time I've seen this question come up the responses indicate that for a few small units LLC will not protect you better than simply adding an umbrella policy to your insurance while being more complicated and expensive to maintain.Also many snags to consider such as banks not likely to finance residential property to the name of an LLC, transferring to an LLC later can trigger a due on sale clause in your mortgage, if you mix personal funds and LLC funds to pay for something you can negate all legal protections.

I listed core expenses.  

Getting solid rent prices and ensuring you have enough vacancy and capex expenses built in while analyzing properties is crucial.