Rental Property Investor · Tulsa, OK · Member since 2012 · 291 posts · 102 votes
I realize that the classification of A, B, C, or D properties discussed in this forum are basic rules of thumb, and can certainly vary by location, quality, age, etc. However, I am interested in getting others perspective on a dollar figure for their area or even in general.
In Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana and probably much the Midwest (excluding higher density metropolitan or destinations), I would suspect it to be somewhere around the following:
A - $150,000+
B - $60,000 to 150,000
C - $25,000 to $80,000
D - $5,000 to $30,000
Investor · Southeast, MI · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
I was under the impression that it has more to do with crime and the people in the area and less to do with price. I could be wrong.
I've been using a definition like this:
A The kind of neighborhood you live in or would like to live in.
B A nice working class area
C A little sketchy. Lots of Section 8 renters and property crime.
D War zone. Murders, rapes, robberies. Boarded up ghetto.
I could be wrong on this. If anyone else can chime in, please do. Steve Babiak had a link a while back talking about this.
Rehabber · Albuquerque, NM - New Mexico · Member since 2011 · 283 posts · 38 votes
13y
Not exactly sure what A, B, C, and D would fully imply but I'll take a shot. I'll rate the house as if I had unlimited funds, and was buying the house for my personal pleasure. I'm in the south. East of Arizona and west of Texas.
Most Expensive House on Market: $7,000,000 - It's an amazing place to me, I've seen it in person: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Los-Ranchos-De-Abq_NM_87107_M11268-11451
A+ - $850,000+ - This would mean top of the line finishes everywhere. Flagstone exterior walls, marble throughout, huge ceilings, huge backyard, fountains, etc...
A - $350,000 to $700,000 - I'll leave between A+ and an A as a grey area, but this would be really big and nice houses just without the extras like flagstone everywhere, gigantic backyards, and stuff.
B - $250,000 to $350,000 - These are still super nice houses I'd gladly live in, but when you have to compare them to the others...
C - $140,000 - $250,000 - Median sales price in my city is about $160,000. These are all also nice houses I'd love to live in.
D - $90,000 - $140,000 - Average house, in an average area of town at this price. Neighbors can be anyone from drug dealers, to school teachers, to college students.
F - $45,000 - $90,000 - As cheap as you can go. Starts mixing with mobile homes and houses. Houses are in bad areas of town. Warzones, and the really ghetto parts that you will get robbed in if you try walking around with anything nice (like my cousin).
Investor · Southeast, MI · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
I was under the impression that it has more to do with crime and the people in the area and less to do with price. I could be wrong.
I've been using a definition like this:
A The kind of neighborhood you live in or would like to live in.
B A nice working class area
C A little sketchy. Lots of Section 8 renters and property crime.
D War zone. Murders, rapes, robberies. Boarded up ghetto.
I could be wrong on this. If anyone else can chime in, please do. Steve Babiak had a link a while back talking about this.
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
13y
The class of a property is subjective and could mean different things to different people (or in different areas). But I've never heard it reference the cost of a property before. Usually, it has more to do with the condition of the property and its location.
For instance, this is generally what I think of when talking about the property classes:
- Class A = Essentially the best properties in a market. They are generally new, or almost new, and command a higher rent because of their quality, features, and/or the neighborhood.
- Class B = Properties that are 10–15 years old, well-kept and are in the “middle class” part of town.
- Class C = Properties that are in low to moderate income or blue collar neighborhoods. They range in age from 30-50+ years old on average.
- Class D = Properties that are in very bad neighborhoods. These are in high crime neighborhoods....neighborhoods where you do not want to get out of your car. Many investors call these areas "war zones".
Keep in mind, these classes are just rules of thumb. There is no formal definition for them.
Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 450 votes
13y
I concur with Callum Kerr and Rob K. With the exception that I would like to live in a Class B neighbor hood and if I had the money, I'd live on a ranchett rather than in a class A neighborhood.
These classifications may have been purposed for multi-family, but it doesn't hurt to have a rough assessment for SFH's. However, as can be seen herein, the class is in the eye of the beholder. I think we can all agree that Class A means super nice and Class D means super crappy. Everything between is a little gray.
Rental Property Investor · Tulsa, OK · Member since 2012 · 291 posts · 102 votes
13y
Interesting responses. I knew multi-family housing used this system, but had seen so many references to SFR in these forums I was curious as to how others broke it out. Every time I read these references I wondered where my properties fell on this scale. The perspective associated with quality rather than cost makes perfect sense and based on these responses it looks like this grading system is more applicable to each persons investment style and not necessarily cost.
We definitely can't go based on price, if we're talking in a broad sense. Around my area, for instance in the Bronx you can have a SFH go for $250,000+ in a C class area, whereas that could possibly get you a great house in an A class area in some other neighborhoods in other states.
Originally posted by Rob K:
I was under the impression that it has more to do with crime and the people in the area and less to do with price. I could be wrong.
I've been using a definition like this:
A The kind of neighborhood you live in or would like to live in.
B A nice working class area
C A little sketchy. Lots of Section 8 renters and property crime.
D War zone. Murders, rapes, robberies. Boarded up ghetto.
I could be wrong on this. If anyone else can chime in, please do. Steve Babiak had a link a while back talking about this.
This is exactly my impression of the "property classes" as well.