I would hope to eventually have long term dependable tenants so I don't need the company as much but I am basically looking for someone to poke holes in my plans and see if there are any flaws.

The rule is basically that you can estimate NOI is 50% of the total potential rent at the property.

So I did side by side comparisons in 5 different homes and the case study showed basically the same test results. 

He's been traveling all over and spending a good deal of money to take courses, go to conferences, etc but the overall sentiment I get from him I think is half of the answer to your question.He, as well as those you describe, is basically on a quest for "The Perfect and Best Way" to invest.

@Isaac Geller the disconnect here is that you are confusing concept of "return" with "cap rate". 

Basically, what makes this home be $100k more than similar comps.

Basically it's set up as 2 condos instead of a multi-family so no one could get a mortgage to purchase the whole thing.We were able to come in with a substantially lower bid since we can pay cash. 

It basically comes down to what return you can earn investing real estate and what your interest rate is.If your interest rate is 7 percent and you can earn 12 percent doing REI is it worth it?

Just some basic information would be amazing to have, like inventory, average days on market, etc.

Don't go out of your comfort zone just to get a good deal, most auctions are basically site unseen sales with no contingency period, the less you buy in this way the less successes you have to offset a potential loss.