Investing in new area

[Richard Mann]

I expect that at some point, possibly sooner than later, we will be investing in areas that we are not totally familiar with. If you do not have any contacts in the area how would you go about determining the viability of the neighborhood you would begin your search in? Some of my initial thoughts would be to look online and check:

Crime statistics

Income levels

Demographics

Do any of you have suggestions for online resources to determine the viability of investments in a desired area?

Thanks

[Christine P.]

Here are some sites I use:

http://www.areavibes.com/

http://spotcrime.com/

I also use an app on our IPad by Esri. Type in an address and it'll give a demographic profile of a one mile radius. See:

http://www.esri.com/software/bao

Finally, start reading the local paper of the area you're considering. If it's out of state, you can order a digital subscription.

Good Luck!