@James Wise  some how getting worse tenants and a higher return seems like a disconnect.I suspect over a 5 year run the better property with the lower cap rate or return will in fact be higher than the one with the higher starting return and poor tenant base.. its all blue sky for the first few months or year or two .. but then reality sets in on those tenant bases that are not so hot.. or harder to manage. 

I was getting hit with a lot of maintenance costs and I was suspect that my properties weren't being managed properly.

Hard to tell the exact number and suspect this is very dependent on the Locale.Try sites like city-data or RealtyTrac.

The previous owner warned me she was a real piece of work, on government assistance, drug dealer, suspected of various crimes etc.

I suspect that this type of product on a non production base scale (higher end one off homes) yield better when you self perform more of the work, especially on major line items such as framing and foundations. 

The ads were constantly getting flagged/deleted by craigslist bots as I suspect.

I suspect your evicting these tenants or terminating their lease at the end will have little effect on changing their behavior; as long as grandpa continues to be available this behavior of them of asking for rides, food, money, small loans, etc. will continue. 

I've got one child under age 1 and on WIC in one of the units and the mother has asked questions about lead--so I suspect she's on top of this issue.2) Anyone know of any seminars for landlords to understand the new law and access funding?

The area has been appreciating quickly over the past 10 years and I suspect it will continue at ~4%.  

If you suspect you're going to need some rehab, bring a contractor to bid on the work.