Even if you found a great deal in high crime area would you purchase it?
Do the headaches outweigh advantages?
What are various investors outlook on this from those who have purchased and invested in rough areas?
I don’t think so it would be striped before you could sell it numerous time.
If the city was interested in bringing this area back and offered incentives to encourage many investors to come in and a show of force and rehab an entire block or so you’ll be dealing with petty crimes every step of the way.
I saw it in an old downtown area where I live. They blocked it off, fenced it in and police patroled it. They rehab the downstairs to stores upstairs to condo’s and made the street scape appealing and now its the desired area. Even when President Clinton came thats where they had him come to and address the crowds. They now have outdoor events and craft, art and farmers market there.
I don’t think it would be stripped while im trying to sell it, I am more worried about just dealing with tenants. The numbers are great, otherwise I wouldn’t even think about it.
There are a few nice houses on the block, alot are boarded up though, and there are pockets of development going in all around there. Its just still a very rough area. Its a steal, and doesn’t need much work at all, which is why it caught my eye.
Rule of thumb: don’t buy rentals in an area where you won’t walk at night.
I don’t worry about normal thugs and bullies. They will let the alpha dogs pass and if you don’t show any fear you can walk right through the middle of their gang.
If the thugs are regulars in the area, it is easy enough to make friends with them, which makes them less dangerous (not safe, but less dangerous)
But more and more what you have to worry about is the dopers and the nuts. They don’t respond in a normal way to normal situations, so there is really no telling what they might do, and that makes them truly dangerous.
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Does anyone know if murder is still a felony in NC???
phatman5,
What do you consider a high crime area? Are gang bangers standing on the corner? Do people get murdered regularly in the area? If so, then I would not buy there. If you’re just taking about the run of the mill low income neighborhood theft, fighting, drug abuse and other stupidity, then I do buy there.
Mike
I agree the fighting, theft and drugs are in most areas and other than supplies being stolen would probably be okay to invest in. I don’t think I want to take the risk on loss of supplies and installations being riped out.
I agree if people are being murdered and abducted and you can’t walk at night nobody gonna want to live there.
Although my sister use to live in DC and you didn’t go out in her area at night but by day was a okay area. All she could afford at the time a student in college.
Not worth it. Many other properties to rehab walk away from this.
In today’s buyers market there is just no reason to purchase in high crime areas. There are lots of quality bank owned properties in quality neighborhoods that can be had for a song and, in the coming year, the deals will only get sweeter.
I live in Baltimore, this whole city is dangerous.
Look at this 2007 murder map (link under the Murder Ink) logo
http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=14611
Even though dangerous, I do enjoy living here.
You are lucky to be living in Baltimore. You could be living in New Orleans. New Orleans is the 40 largest city and is tops once again in murder rate in the USA. I guess the citizens are coming home again.
God sent them a sign a couple of years ago, but I guess they didn’t get the message.
what sign was that Bluemoon?..
I buy in war zones all day long - some streets are good and some streets are bad - my rule of thumb is “If I wouldn’t leave my “21 year old daughter” show the house I will not buy it”
Also war zones are great for cash flow but it all depends on your property management company - if your tenants churn every 5 months because they do not pay their rent and trash your house there is no cash flow…
I’ve walked away from many great deals simply because of the area, it wasn’t worth the effort in the long run. Had a deal to buy 4 houses in a row that were vacant and planned on fixing them up and selling or rent them out in hopes it would help the street and area but the block could really care less.
I would drive out there at different times of day and night to get a feel for how it worked and any work that would’ve been done that day at night would be destroyed. Anything they can get thier hands on and sell will be gone.
I am talking about Katrina. It is like nature or Feng Shui, carma, sodom and gomorrah or whatever you call it. If you live where it ain’t right it will never be right.
When you have a situation that is bad like living below sea level between a big ass lake and the ocean in a hurricane prone part of the country. You have to ask yourself what kind of person is attracted to that kind of place to live. The same kind of person that would build a house on a railroad track and say that there is no train coming now, or a person that would live on the earth quake prone hills of San Francisco or the fire prone hills of San Diego. The only thing about the California guys is that it is so darned pretty there it is worth the risk. But New Orleans doesn’t have any of that (they do have the food but you can get that in Baton Rouge). So the only people attracted to that are people that are reckless or not that smart. The kind of people that kill each other A LOT.
The kind of people that kill each other A LOT.
Natural selection at its best.
Mike
I could invest in Gary Indiana. It is literally only 25 minutes from me. But I don’t think I will. It was the murder capital of the world (per capita) for quite some time, and went back to the top after Katrina because New Orleans was vacated. But I really don’t care to buy and rent in that area at all. I have a list in my email now of properties that a large wholesaler has in Gary that need rehabbed…properties starting at 10k and ranging up to 40k, but I’ll pass. There are similar low income areas that aren’t the “murder capital of the world” if I choose to be a land lord.
Only 1 murder that occurred so far this year in New Orleans was a normal person. The other 58 or whatever were all drug related, black on black crime that occurs because the city MIXED PROJECTS TOGETHER after Katrina hit. Most of this current crime problem can be attibuted to mismanagement by the same city governent that left hundreds of buses to be flooded while thousands didn’t have a way to leave the city…
Despite that there are many great things about New Orleans and to say
“You have to ask yourself what kind of person is attracted to that kind of place to live. The same kind of person that would build a house on a railroad track and say that there is no train coming now”
is ignorant to say the least. I moved here to go to school and now I am staying because the real estate opportunities are great. The food is without a doubt the best i’ve had around the country, the culture puts california to shame and the people ACTUALLY ARE FRIENDLY.
People who move to New Orleans do so because this city is unlike any other in the United States. It’s not just the crime that defines this city. Come by sometime and maybe you will realize that we all aren’t as dumb as you seem to think. Hopefully you don’t fall off of your horse when you are here or you might have to walk around with the rest of us.