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.

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

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

Before we moved here our perception of the area was worse than it is now.

I addressed it...As I pointed out, I didn't live 80 years ago, so I have no idea what the social stigma of welfare was.Let me also point out that you didn't live 80 years ago either, so you are either relying on the memories of people who are very old, the perceptions of media and culture, or the romanticized beliefs you've gained through some experience or medium.

Often times, perception carries more weight than the truth, therefore my desire to correct it.

Being nice to a litigious tenant might not save you from a lawsuit, but sometimes the idea of a lawsuit results from the perception that the other party does not care. 

While their perception may or may not be reality, their perception is ultimately what matters because that is who you are marketing your property to.