Intro Message | How to Classify Neighborhoods (A-D) in Memphis, TN

[Kristen Wright]

Greetings, BiggerPockets community! I'm Kristen, a dedicated buy-and-hold investor with a keen interest in the Memphis, TN real estate scene. Currently, I'm the proud owner of a single-family home rental in my home-town city and am on the lookout for additional investment opportunities. I'm actively searching for my next buy and hold property in the area (DeSoto and Shelby County). 

I'm excited to learn and share in the BiggerPockets Community! And I'm looking forward to connecting with people focused on the Memphis, TN market.

Question: I've seen posts on that classify neighborhoods in grads (A,B,C, etc.). What is the criteria for such a grading? If anyone has experience with grading neighborhoods in the Memphis, TN area please share!

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Kristen Wright:

Greetings, BiggerPockets community! I'm Kristen, a dedicated buy-and-hold investor with a keen interest in the Memphis, TN real estate scene. Currently, I'm the proud owner of a single-family home rental in my home-town city and am on the lookout for additional investment opportunities. I'm actively searching for my next buy and hold property in the area (DeSoto and Shelby County). 

I'm excited to learn and share in the BiggerPockets Community! And I'm looking forward to connecting with people focused on the Memphis, TN market.

Question: I've seen posts on that classify neighborhoods in grads (A,B,C, etc.). What is the criteria for such a grading? If anyone has experience with grading neighborhoods in the Memphis, TN area please share!

 No help with Memphis specifically, but in general:

A: Highest grade area. Expensive homes, good school districts, few if any rentals, mostly professionals live here. Highest middle class and upper class live here. Generally you pay a premium to buy in A neighborhoods relative to what the house would be worth otherwise. House ages can be all over the place, from historic mansions to newer modern homes. No crime. 

B: Good area, mid to upper middle class live here. Reasonable school districts, close to shopping & jobs. Housing here tends to be about the median price. Housing is a mix of newer houses in smaller subdivisions to older homes on nice lots. Crime is relatively low and usually petty. A mix of professionals and blue collar workers in better jobs here. Rentals aren't common but aren't terribly hard to find either. 

C: An area on the bubble. Edges of the lower class moving up and lower middle class live here. School districts are so-so. Housing stock is older and mostly kept OK though there are some rough houses in the area. Locations vary from out in the boondocks to close in but bumping against undesirable uses near highways, dumps, etc. Rentals are very common; homeowners in these areas tend to have trouble keeping up their houses because of income levels. Crime is pretty common though the worst types (violent assaults, heavy drug, etc) are relatively uncommon. These areas are often either slipping into D or being gentrified into B.

D: A bad area. Most of the housing stock is very old and in poor shape. A very low proportion of homeowners to renters here. Most rental property is only kept up to bare minimum standards - lots of Section 8 here. School districts are lousy or failing. Crime is pretty common. These areas have trouble attracting any kinds of businesses. You generally don't want to walk around at night if you can avoid it. 

F: War zone, essentially. Very bad area rampant with drugs and crime. Virtually all property is rental or abandoned. Schools are a joke. Housing stock is in laughable condition. You definitely do not want to walk around in the day time, much less at night.