Neighborhood Classification Question.

[Steve Kim]

How do you determine what is a "war zone"? When researching a neighborhood I've been using Trulia's crime heat map, but even if its green the types of crime in an area are violent. My guess is Trulia uses volume as a criteria and maybe not the types of crimes. So, how do you experts evaluate if it's a class D or class C neighborhood without living there? I've driven in some neighborhoods and they seem fine, but in Chicago it's really street by street where places are "safe". How do you experienced people choose the neighborhood classification without personally living there?

[Troy Luster]

Talk to the police officers that have to respond to that area.  However, you have to weigh this information.  People who don't invest may not understand what you're attempting to do.

[Dave Van Horn]

@Steve Kim

Talk to local Realtors. They'll tell you. Or you could try talking to a seasoned investor at your local REIA.

[John Casmon]

Talk to locals, cops and PMs. The property manager will have to manage the property so they won't steer you into a crime zone if they have the option.

Check the type of crime in the area. If the crimes are murders, robberies, rapes, etc, it's a war zone. If it's trespassing, theft and disturbing the peace it may not be an ideal neighborhood, but may still be good for investing.

Ultimately, I would want to get a feel for the area if I'm investing in it and would get someone to send a video or FaceTime me so I can see the area.

[Jonathan R.]

Look for vacant houses. If everything looks occupied for the most part, that is a good sign. If you see several for rent signs and for sale signs, that might not be a good sign.

[Eric M.]

Go walk the neighborhood. That will tell you really quick.

[Jeff Burdick]

Originally posted by @Steve Kim:

How do you determine what is a "war zone"? When researching a neighborhood I've been using Trulia's crime heat map, but even if its green the types of crime in an area are violent. My guess is Trulia uses volume as a criteria and maybe not the types of crimes. So, how do you experts evaluate if it's a class D or class C neighborhood without living there?

I've driven in some neighborhoods and they seem fine, but in Chicago it's really street by street where places are "safe".

How do you experienced people choose the neighborhood classification without personally living there?

 In my experience, the crime heat maps are pretty good.   The only issue I have with them is they tend to not factor in the severity of the crime.  For example, Wrigleyville is orange/red when Wrigleyville's crimes tend to usually be drunk people being stupid.  And while those crimes can be annoying, they're not the severity of violent crimes that occur in some other places.