How accurate is Trulia’s crime heat map in Birmingham Alabama?
I’ve been researching Birmingham Alabama as a potential market for out of state investments. I like that the price points and rental rates are similar to other high cashflow markets such as Ohio and Wisconsin, but without the ridiculously high taxes and declining population. I notice a lot of very inexpensive SFR’s in green areas of the crime map. One area that caught my eye was Bessemer. In the crime map it’s mostly in the green, but when I googled Bessemer I came across an article that calls it “the most dangerous city in Alabama”. So what’s what’s the real scoop on Birmingham neighborhoods? Do you trust Trulia? If not what methods do you use to determine if a property is C class and not D? I want a solid lower middle class neighborhood, not a war zone. Any advice from Birmingham investors?