All Forum Posts by: Brandon Williams

The City of Merced Police Dept participates in a pretty cool online tool called crimemapping.com.  It could give some of you who are unfamiliar with the area an idea of areas you may want to avoid.

Hi Jeet, I know Susan Ensz is in the Tulare area.

@Account Closed

It's hard to carve Merced up by zip code but in general, I would stay away from most South Merced properties, that being south Highway 99. There are other pretty rough areas too that I would avoid. In general, anything east of G Street and North of Bear Creek would be a good B or better neighborhood, with a few exceptions. Also, west of G Street and north of the Black Rascal Bike Path that runs through town (check out google maps). These are very general but should give you an idea.  

Then there is downtown.  I'm personally looking for deals in pockets of downtown. The UC is going to build their administration building downtown and there will be 100's of new workers stationed there. I think it represents a good opportunity if you're looking to buy & hold as i am.  These are just my opinions.  Let me know if there is anything else I can help with.

Vamshi Ananth I live in Merced and would be happy to provide some insight. The info you found on enrollment at UC Merced is pretty inflated. Fall 2015 enrollment was 6,685 students. The campus does lack enough housing though so there is a pretty large demand for rentals. Make sure you research which neighborhoods the UC's bus system makes stops at as parking on campus is limited and the majority of students are not able to park there whether they have a car or not. Let me know if you need anything here in Merced and I'd be happy to help if I can.

Welcome Stuart. I'm in construction also and just getting started in REI. I'm down in Merced so if you're ever looking around here and need some photos of properties or opinions on neighborhoods let me know!

Thanks @Jay Orlauski, I appreciate that offer and will undoubtedly take you up on it soon.  I travel a lot between Tulare/Visalia and Merced so Fresno would be a great spot to get started. @Jay Orlauski

@Julie Marquez things are definitely starting to turn around...hopefully I'm not too late to the party!

Thanks Jo-Ann!

Hello BP! My name is Brandon and I live in Merced, CA. I joined the site 3 years ago but am just now getting serious about REI. Looking forward to networking and learning from others as I get my feet wet. I'm hoping to purchase my first small multifamily property in the Central Valley this year.