Originally posted by @Robert Matelski:
Originally posted by @Ben Halabi:
Based on the tremendously positive feedback that the Cleveland Price & Neighborhood Map has gotten from clients and users on BiggerPockets, we've decided to put more effort into making it an interactive map that can be zoomed to street level through the Google maps platform. The map has helped investors make more educated buying decisions. The new version now allows you to insert the address of the property you are considering and it gives you the grade on the area and the price range in that area. I look forward to hearing everyone’s opinions on the map.
Definitely appreciate the effort, and sorry to be a naysayer, but the map seems pretty flawed and arbitrary across the board.
If I'm reading it right, you're saying this house on Neff Road off of Lakeshore in Cleveland's North Collinwood neighborhood (https://www.redfin.com/OH/Cleveland/17900-Neff-Rd-44119/home/66589005) is in the red zone (D-F grade), but this house on Elberon Avenue in East Cleveland (https://www.redfin.com/OH/East-Cleveland/1780-Elberon-Ave-44112/home/66588077) is in the yellow zone (B grade)?! This is just one of many examples that makes me majorly raise an eyebrow. (NOTE TO MODERATORS / ADMINS: I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH EITHER PROPERTY LINKED... THEY ARE JUST EXAMPLE PROPERTIES.)
I really do worry about out of state investors seeing material like this, presented by brokers and PMs, and trusting it blindly when they plug an address in. This sort of flawed and arbitrary content being presented to investors is what drove me to create my own data-driven map, down to the census tract level, to define the grade of each area down to the most granular level.
Robert, all good notes here, I appreciate your feedback.
It is never recommended for any investor to purchase property blindly without doing more research on the exact location. This is also mentioned in the article, to help investors understand that no map will negate the need for a CMA or proper due diligence.
As you may know, some Cleveland neighborhoods can vary from one street to the next. In regards to the property referenced on Elberton Ave, this specific location is less than .5 mile away from $300,000 homes on Wade Park Ave, and falls on the border between a mix of D and F neighborhoods. As an investor, you cannot simply assume that because a property is in a general B grade neighborhood, and borders rougher neighborhoods, that it won't experience a spill-over effect from its surrounding neighborhoods.
Again, I appreciate the feedback on this, but your remarks of the content being flawed and arbitrary are perceived as one-sided and inequitable. You're entitled to your own opinion of a neighborhood / map guide, which makes BP the great forum it has been, and it's great to see you have your own version. The feedback will certainly be considered in future revisions to the map itself. Best of luck.
