I'm not suggesting predatory dealing, but who is the more sophisticated seller?

Personally, I would feel comfortable living here, but this is just based on my perception of the area and the apparent quality of the nearby units/yards/etc.

I've been in your situation and can say that driving up to properties in a nice car absolutely gives off a certain perception you may not always want to...Good luck

An exception would be commercial real estate development where the returns are very large and worth my time.I have clients worth 1 million up to 100 million in net worth and the perception for many of them changes over time.

Usually MF owners will be sophisticated enough to know their property value and they market condition so they won't sell at a very low price. 

Whether he's right or not is largely irrelevant...the fact that the perception even exists is telling indeed.  

I'd ask the seller if they would be open to it - depending on their level of sophistication you may need to phrase it differently and explain the advantages of smaller amounts of income over a longer period of time.

If you are going to try it you'll have greater success, in my opinion, in the small Multifamily space (say under 50 units or so) where the seller's and lenders are less sophisticated in some instances.  

Unfortunately they have two things bad for them: 1) Perception that it is a warzone 2) The schools are terrible.

They are pretty sophisticated and have their own people most times.I could have told them about tax effects, basically, but their eyes would quickly glaze over and I may say something wrong.