.- When the "appraiser" provided a report that DID NOT MATCH my property; their "investigation" was I sent the appraiser an e-mail and he said no".  

Account Closed  could be a private mortgage not showing up on credit report.but really this is two issues  1. is their a recorded Deed to Secure debt or not..  2. will this POA be adequate to convey title and will a title insurance company insure it.this is what needs to be addressed and resolved if the OP is going to buy this or flip it right.So in my mind I would simply open an escrow pay a few hundred bucks and get a preliminary title report and title commitment.it will show any and all Liens that need to be addressed and it will also let you know who is in title and who needs to sign to convey title at that point you present this POA and its up to the title company to decide if its good enough.now in some cases they will want their escrow officer or another third party to go to hospital or were ever the owner is living to verify they are real and this is the intentions.I know we have to do this with extreme elderly that don't understand or those that do not speak english. usually thou they can come to the title company personally everything else is just supposition and trying to conduct real estate without spending a dime  LOL

I have electronic keypad locks on some of my houses but they do not lock automatically ...going to investigate the automatic lock option thanks 

They will send you a preliminary settlement statement with most of this information for your specific transaction.  

As a result, I am in the very early stages of investigating a possible career change.

They won't file a case unless a neighbor complains or requests an investigation so...Are these situations worth pursuing, should I walk away, does anyone have experience or some guidance?

David,I am an experienced real estate tax accountant who worked for the IRS as a Tax Examiner and later in the Criminal Investigation Division, I taught college level tax and accounting and now like you owns and operates a series of residential and commercial units in and out of NJ, my home state for almost 13 years and like you own the residentials personally and the commercial ones in LLC's.

The buyer then investigates this further and finds that the seller also contacted other plumbers in the area to get different quotes.

The instructions at the end explain the fine.https://www.lavote.net/docs/rrcc/documents/Preliminary-Change-of-Ownership.pdf?

My suggestion would be to order a preliminary title report on the property.