Class D-F apartment question

[Heather Henriques]

Hi there, I am analyzing an apartment deal and it is in a D-F class area of St. Clair Superior area of Cleveland, OH.  I know that C-D are your cash cows, but I am in CA and would appreciate any feedback if members here have any experience with that area.  It looks really rough, lots of boarded up homes and businesses around it on google maps.  Thank you.

[Brian Burke]

@Heather Henriques, I'd be wary of defining D&F properties as cash cows.  I'd argue that they could be more accurately defined as headaches.  To the extent that one can be transformed into a cash cow it could best be accomplished by a local investor because it would be an extremely hands-on, management intensive process. Locals probably don't want it because they know better, so the seller's dream is to get lucky by snagging an unsuspecting California investor (which, by the way, is a somewhat unrelenting joke in the industry--CA investor thinks they hit pay-dirt while the locals point and laugh).

This opinion is in no way intended to be a comment on that specific local area, but I think that those who have "been there and done that" with D&F properties would likely admit that they are glad to have moved on to better quality properties in better quality areas, especially if they are long distance investors. Or perhaps I'm the only one...