re: Real Estate Investing in Baton Rouge

How do you RE guys go about feeling comfortable about “taking a chance” in a certain area? More specifically, what tends to make an older area (60/70s homes) likely candidates for new $ coming in and renovating? This seems to be hyper localized and I can’t really see trends to decipher either way. Blocks can seemingly separate super nicely redone homes and old homes with shag and original wood paneling.