There is no magic, mystery or external powers controlling that success.

Im biggest mystery is how they got in. 

I am (as always) biting my fingernails hoping the loan is approved and then it came to me... there are loan officers and underwriters on bigger pockets that might be able to shed some light on this mysterious (to me) process.

Make the seller implement new leases (that you approve) as a condition of closing (assuming these units are m2m).Then reduce your offer by the amount of the security deposits called out in the leases that the tenants have signed, this way you know exactly how much funds are needed (like already mentioned).Now you have new leases as well as baseline of the condition of the units (if you do a inspection along w/ the new lease)......and there's no mystery left about anything.

The neighborhood is pretty rough, but not as bad as other parts of Chicago with regular murders.

I'm the mysterious Martha @Brian Wilcock is referring to.

Even if this mysterious stranger buys the property at 60% of "fair market" I'll go out on a limb and say that both of you will think:  it's way too risky, they don't have skin in the game, how do you know they'll follow through, what if they change their mind, what will stop them from walking away, etc. 

My group tries to buy deals from wholesalers, but it often becomes more work on our end unfortunately...Pro= Someone is bringing you a deal and if done correctly, much of the upfront heavy lifting has been done (research, analysis, etc.)Con= It's challenging to find a true wholesaler that:1) Actually has a solid deal under contract 2) Is not just passing along an email from a broker 3) Is not working with other people along the way- ultimately forming the mysterious "daisy chain"4) Is not greedy and not asking for an outrageous fee

I have had very little success in getting attorneys to cooperate in providing information (although in a few cases they have been helpful.)The strategy for how the bank determines its bid is one of the mysteries of the universe.  

But, when the budget was mysteriously depleted, and no one could make sense of the numbers, the bank began blaming the builder, and the builder began blaming us.