One thing they emphasize is that  the people who had the balls to publicly complain where ostracized by other owners because they would adversely affect resale value if everyone knew what a disaster they were.So when an investor in NYC says, "move along, nothing to see here... everything is back to normal..."

When you've watched someone fight their way out of poverty and overcome all the obstacles associated with it, you'll understand what I'm talking about it.

I hope it includes stories of fighting through adversity and nearly losing it all just to come out on top as a millionaire......all while being 97% leveraged....All of that said, I know my local market is in need of a reboot....

The economy may take a while to recover but adversity to some is opportunity for others. 

If so, how have you overcome it? 

The title wouldn't be clean to flip to most buyers or get traditional financing until that is handled.If you don't mind holding it, consider Adverse Possession or Master Leasing.

Some ResourcesHOW TO INVEST ‘SUBJECT TO’ AND OVERCOME THE “DUE ON SALE” CLAUSE | EREI 28BP Radio Podcast 002: Starting Out with Karen Rittenhouse – Subject To, Direct Mail, and Investing from a Woman’s PerspectiveBP Podcast Show 70 buy subject-to, with wrapped mortgage, selling owner financed

Sometimes we approve someone who has disclosed an adverse credit/financial history or has no rental history and we will require 3x coverage.

The 21 year interval mentioned is the time period for "adverse possession" in Pennsylvania; failure to serve notice would result in this situation.

Honestly I can't imagine trying to pay off most mortgages in increments when you could simply put the cash to more work elsewhere, unless maybe if the house was already very close to being paid for.I suppose also if you were very risk adverse and wanted to build equity in the property for a refinance later on to reduce payments... but given that interest rates are not going to get any lower (foot in mouth perhaps) I would hesitate to plan to refinance later on to increase cash flow.So the long and the short of it is, it depends, but it seems likely to best scenario would be to refi the high interest rate items and use the cash gain to pay off the near-complete items (or use the capital you're planning to use in 'safe' higher paying investments for a set period and then cash it all out at once).