All Forum Posts by: Timur Abdullin

Here's a map to help with some of the aforementioned neighborhoods:

@Art Perkitny that's an interesting approach and I suppose one way to rate areas. However, besides vacancy rates, I would contend that the education level and economic status of the populous isn't necessarily a gauge on what makes an area a good investment. Rather, I would suggest that crime stats should weigh heavily into the formula and, if there is a way to quantify it, the physical shape of the neighborhoods. There are many areas with small inexpensive homes that generate modest rents which are good investments. 

In my view, A and B neighborhoods are pretty obvious. C neighborhoods are solid working class neighborhoods with a fairly stable population of mostly renters. The houses are typically older and no where near as valuable as the B properties. The renters are not high earners and many are not college educated and some may even be receiving assistance but, if the crime and vacancy rates aren't super high, I would not grade them any lower than C. D neighborhoods would be places where crime and vacancy rates are more of a problem and you may start seeing vandalism and occasional signs of blight. F should be reserved for the all out war zones which do indeed exist in Indianapolis.

As an example, one of my properties is in an area called Drexel Gardens which you rate as an F neighborhood. I feel perfectly safe in this area and have a stable tenant. It happens to feed into a desirable set of schools which is  big attraction for working class families that cannot afford to live in Greenwood or some other A or B area.

You mentioned your metrics include median home value and median rent. Are you using that data as low is bad and high is good? Or are you possibly working out a ratio between the two? I ask because the returns (as in rent:purchase cost) on what I consider a C neighborhood is really good....much better than the A or B neighborhoods. The advantage of the A's and B's might be lower vacancy rates and potential appreciation, of course. But that might be an interesting stat if you don't have it worked out already.

Anyhow...I don't mean to disparage your map and give you props for creating it (assuming it is yours). I just think there are other metrics that should weigh in for potential investors using your tool.

@Ric Ernst the metrics used include the following:

- Median Home Value

- Median Rent

- Percent of Population with College Degree

- Percent of Population on Food Stamps

- Poverty Rate

- Vacancy Rate

- Rent to Income Ratio

- Median Household Income

Which area do you no agree with exactly?

The rankings are accurate about 95% of the time and identifying locations with incorrect scores helps us fine tune the algorithm to perform better

@Art Perkitny what metrics were used to develop this map? I invest in Indianapolis and, while I think it is terrific that this tool exists, I am not sure I agree with the assessments...at least not in some areas that I own property. Perhaps there is criteria here that I am missing?

Hey @Zulf H. I can help with suggesting areas to avoid/investigate. 

If you are looking for higher quality tenant profile i would suggest sticking to B or higher areas. 

Returns will be lower, but so will the hassle factor.

The map below shows the rankings for area within Indy on an A to F scale. The lower the score, the higher the risk and lower quality the tenants will be. 

Hi BP members, My portfolio is mainly in Chicago and I have been considering investing in Indianapolis as the prices in Chicago have been going up quite a bit. I spent my college years in Indianapolis and I think it would be a good place to invest in multi-apartment building. I would like to get some advice/feedback from investors based in Indianapolis on how the rental market is in terms of ( Apartment availability, rental units occupancy, quality of tenants, apartment price appreciation) Also if you can advise what areas in Indianapolis would be good to invest for apartments with good tenants. Looking for less headache as it will be managed remotely. Thank You!

Hi All,

I recently read Sterling White's great article on BP about the different areas of Indy. Can other investors give me their opinions/knowledge on the article. Particularly the accuracy of the map and the different ratings of the neighborhoods.                                                                        

Regards,

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/guide-grading-indianapolis-neighborhoods

Crime is on the upswing in Indy unfortunately.  But, I think this can be said for most cities.  There have been shootings and break-ins all across the map.  

This map makes broad generalizations, especially in the townships.  The center of the map is more accurrate.  But, in any given township, you can find neighborhoods that are A, B, C or D.  

Indy is not a town to buy property site unseen.

Yeah, it's pretty accurate from a crime rate and quality of properties perspective.  Also is reasonably accurate for where values have gone up significantly over the past decade... But I don't think it's helpful in figuring out where values are good.  It's mostly a risk / lack of hassle map.

If you're going to be investing in one of the yellow areas or in general inside the circle you probably want to go walk/drive the neighborhood as things can change DRASTICALLY in a block or 2.

My neighborhood is 2 blocks from a neighborhood with houses 1/4 the value.

Quote from @Timur Abdullin:

Quote from @David Gotsill:

@Timur Abdullin - A good first stop can often be the county bar association  (the association of local attorneys).  Here's a link to the bar association in Pittsburgh.  https://www.getapittsburghlawy...

 Thank you, David. Would you personally recommend an attorney in Pittsburgh? I want to close this lending deal this week.

@Timur Abdullin - Sorry, I don't have any specific recs for Pittsburgh, or PA in general.  If you're trying to close this week after consultation with an attorney, you definitely need to reach out soon as they may need some time to consider the situation.