You'll get a feel for the age of the neighborhoods, the vitality of the commercial buildings, the ease of location, the closeness to jobs.The markets you're describing are more linear, and usually have lower capital appreciation.

Which will also depend on the neighborhood.You want to, "rehab/maintain to the Neighborhood".Most investors go overboard on their first rehab and waste a decent amount of money.

Look at recently sold properties in the same neighborhood that match the size, condition, and style your property will have post-rehab.

If you haven't already, try going off market, driving around neighborhoods that would be of interest to you and finding ones that fall into your criteria (your agent should be able to help you as well).

@Allison Littman To structure the purchase creatively, you could split the $600k transaction into a $400k purchase agreement and a $200k charitable donation to the seller’s tax-exempt organization.

If you're looking for positive cash flow, you should be looking into the B-/C type neighborhoods because this is where you'll find a lot more buy and hold, BRRRR, and positive cash flow opportunities.I appreciate your comments. 

Spend time driving for dollars in Tacoma neighborhoods to identify distressed properties.

Every Market (Detroit) is made up of a series of Micro-markets (neighborhoods) of which they are all different in cost, value, cash flow, rents, etc...

@Travis Boyd The quality of the neighborhood will affect the cap rate to be used.

Start by exploring books, YouTube channels, market research, and analyzing trends in neighborhoods.