Birmingham investors I need your input
I flew out to Birmingham Alabama last week and drove around for a full day. I wanted to see the neighborhoods in person before I commit to investing there. I made a list of all the properties on Trulia that caught my eye, drove to the property, and then canvased the area around each property. I went through a tank of gas on a little hatchback so I pretty much covered the city. Now there were some areas that I would definitely not invest in. I didn’t even bother going to any of the red zones of the crime map, only areas showing green. But some of those areas were still too rough. Bessemer looked rough, also the area around Miles College was rough. Too many vacant homes. But there were some areas that actually looks decent with mostly occupied homes that were well kept. Looked like mostly families. I could tell it was block by block. You can’t judge Birmingham by zip codes you have to know the streets and not trust google street view. You have to see the neighborhood in person. Three areas that looked good were Midfield, Center Point, Tarrant, and parts of Fairfield. I’m looking for C CLASS so keep in mind my definition of “decent” isn’t somewhere I’d want to live. It’s somewhere I can get good cashflow without dealing with the bottom of the barrel tenant. They looked like solid blue collar neighborhoods with well kept homes. I’m looking at 2-3 bedroom SFR’s in the $30,000-$50,000 range that rent for $700-$800. If any Birmingham property manager’s or investors out there could share their opinion I would appreciate it.