Those "eyes and ears" on the ground mean everything.I can imagine that the prices would be higher and the service slower if I didn't have the personal relationships behind these business transactions.  

Third you get better interest rates on a primary residence compared to an investment property.

Even if you’re not able to get any contracts signed right away, you can have everything ready and hit the ground running in April. 

But is it reasonable to account for paydown when calculating return to compare to a stock market investment?

This allows me to compare a property that I'm looking at to similar properties (location, quality of finishes, size) in the area.

With all that being said, I am considering Virtual wholesaling, I'm under the impression that it wouldn't be viable seeing how I couldn't drive for dollars and would have to pay to find all leads as well as  finding boots on the ground.

It helps that the units have luxury finishes compared to the others offered in the area and rent is only $200-250 above the average price.

If debt was included in the NOI, cap rates would be different for everyone (except cash buyers) depending on terms and DP.NOI doesn't include debt service or cap ex so we have a universal base to compare other properties to.

Does running the numbers mean looking at the potential sale price, and comparing that to Monthly expensesWhat class of home it isWhat class of environment is the dealPotential cash flow Running those numbers, and seeing if it is a potentially good deal, or am I completely misunderstanding this concept?

Find as many comparable homes in your market.Many - myself included - recommend a 5-5-5 strategy:5 homes currently listed on the market5 homes pending (under contract)5 homes recently soldIf you're not an agent, you may not have the ability to find homes currently under contract but you can at least look at what sold recently and what's currently active.