But these should get you started and there are plenty of good sites to do your research, like data usa, city-data, area vibes, neighborhood scout, & best placesPlease, feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions or just want to chat!

I can't remember the last time I drove anywhere that I wasn't scouting for properties, writing down addresses, etc... 

Right now we are looking into neighborhood scout.

I was looking at neighborhood scout and it shows the crime occurs in a seemingly concentrated spot, so I am guessing that Rutland County is okay, just stay out of the town center, right?

I've looked at several different crime maps, sites like neighborhood scout and AreaVibes, and even drive around that area.

I've heard that there are some revitalization efforts as well from a few RE contacts.I go am going to the area this weekend to scout it out but would love to know if the BP community is present there.Best,Mike

@Stephanie Ro let me start by saying that I don't put a lot of faith in Neighborhood Scout and don't use it.

We have lived in Naperville and Aurora in the last 9 years and owned rentals in both, scout the overall area (and I grew up in some rough parts of NJ). 

Theses homes are pretty concentrated in Eastern NC, where I live, I have always been able to scout the homes out.

However, you can get a fair amount of info that'd help you determine what class it's in by looking for a Neighborhood Scout report.There's a decent amount of 1-5 star ratings that could help you get a better idea if it's a neighborhood you want to invest in.