For some of these communities, I was able to find negative reviews online that made the reason for low prices apparent, but others still seem mysteriously not selling. 

What I mean by that is you have to realize at some point there will be bullet holes in your houses, and most likely you will need to learn the proper procedures for what to do when someone gets killed in one of your units.I've never had someone definitively get murdered, but I did have someone who was carried out of a unit on a stretcher. 

Also, the murder rate is up like 50 percent over it's previous bloody maximum.

There is a murder there almost daily.

those have always been mysteries to me ... but when I talk to some folks that say they are in a mastermind group..

How does someone invest in Detroit, Michigan without being murdered?

well a lot of them failed during the last GFC... especially in hard hit areas of PHX  Vegas FLA central CA  FLAand around atlanta.. no mystery not everyone is a good operator.. and or they get into the deals very thin on capital as the sponsor. or its there first one and have no real experince.. especially in bad times.. then you have garden variety greed..

That area now needs new subfloor ( thus why the floors aren't done) and then we mysteriously has a short in the previously fine electrical and he says we need a whole new breaker box. 

I get that... but I suspect that's far and few between as your close ratio with sellers would be pretty low if that's your only approach.The more common approach is Hey I am going to buy this subject to my partners approval.. little white lie, as there is no partner the wholesaler is alluding to some mystery person when in fact if they can't resell or assign they just say their partner nixed the deal..  

Murder is illegal, people do it every day.