Is Springfield, MA a good area to invest in a rental property? (Boston: condo, violent crime)

[generalcarlito]

I'm looking to invest in a rental property in Springfield, MA, because I have family there and the prices are low. I don't know whether there are areas within Springfield that have potential, if Springfield as a whole is at a stand still or just in decline.

I would appreciate any info and ideas that you might have.

[Alexander M.]

No, most certainly not. I've lived in Springfield and visit it regularly; my grandparents reside there. The crime is simply out of control and drug use abounds. I think it was the 18th most dangerous city in America in a recent list.

Good luck to you and your family, though!

[western mass and love it]

there is still plenty of areas in Springfield that are great, i know of a few people who live downtown and have zero problems.Springfield is not the wild west that the haters on the net make it out to be.

[ChrisA70]

Is Compton, CA. a good place??? Nope not really....

[theh]

I completely doubt Springfield's the 18th most dangerous city. That's a bit far-fetched.

With that said, Springfield is not the most glorious place in the world and like every city, it does have it's problems. Whether or not it would be a good investment really depends on what neighborhood it's in.

[Alexander M.]

Originally Posted by theh

I completely doubt Springfield's the 18th most dangerous city. That's a bit far-fetched.

With that said, Springfield is not the most glorious place in the world and like every city, it does have it's problems. Whether or not it would be a good investment really depends on what neighborhood it's in.

Your location says you live in California. I've lived in Springfield, and while it may not seem like it it as bad as I say, almost all neighborhoods are bad. Also, taxes are extremely high on account of the fact that half the city is on welfare. There are only a few taxpayers left, and they get hit hard.
I think this person would be better served looking at property in East Longmeadow or a similar area.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by Alexander M.

No, most certainly not. I've lived in Springfield and visit it regularly; my grandparents reside there. The crime is simply out of control and drug use abounds. I think it was the 18th most dangerous city in America in a recent list.

Can you cite a source, or are you just basing this off of a random bit of memory that you THINK you have?

It's never been ranked the 18th most dangerous in America. It was ranked 40th in terms of overall crime (better than Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Washingotn DC, Philly, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee, by the way... all cities with plenty of safe, reputable neighborhoods)... far less than that in terms of murder and violent crime in a 2008 list. Keep in mind that the list was for cities as a WHOLE over 75,000 people. So that list didn't take into account terrible neighborhoods in otherwise decent cities... it just looked at each city as a whole; so while Springfield may be ranked worse than a city like Boston or San Francisco even though those cities likely have neighborhoods that are worse than anything you'll find in Springfield.

Your perspective is a bit limited if I recall another post you made, correct? You've said, "I've barely left Massachusetts," right? So really, how are you prepared to make the relative comparison to anywhere else? Springfield, like any city of 150,000 has some rough pockets, but some other areas are quite nice. To generalize that the entire city (as in every area within Springfield's city limits) is teeming with crime and drugs is not only ignorant, it's just plain incorrect.

Originally Posted by ChrisA70

Is Compton, CA. a good place??? Nope not really....

Is Springfield MA really comparable to Compton, CA in any way??? Nope, not really.


Areas of Springfield are good investments while other areas aren't. Do your research and find the areas that are better. There are plenty of good ones.

[western mass and love it]

i would hardly consider the 16 acres neighborhood as well as the east forest park,a good potion of forest park,most of hungry hill and east Springfield as places that are crime and drug ridden.there are plenty of new condo's built downtown that are wonderful and still some nice small pockets in the south end that are very well maintained. as far as the taxes go Springfield has relatively low property taxes compared to other cities and town in the area.and as your theory about all the people on welfare and not paying taxes,well the people on welfare have to live somewhere and someone owns those places.that would mean that the owner of those dwellings would be paying TAXES.please pull your head out the sand and stop hating on Springfield,if the people of this region took more pride in the city and thought of ways to help instead of being so negative about it maybe the reboind that we all want would happen sooner than later.

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Can you cite a source, or are you just basing this off of a random bit of memory that you THINK you have?

It's never been ranked the 18th most dangerous in America. It was ranked 40th in terms of overall crime (better than Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Washingotn DC, Philly, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee, by the way... all cities with plenty of safe, reputable neighborhoods)... far less than that in terms of murder and violent crime in a 2008 list. Keep in mind that the list was for cities as a WHOLE over 75,000 people. So that list didn't take into account terrible neighborhoods in otherwise decent cities... it just looked at each city as a whole; so while Springfield may be ranked worse than a city like Boston or San Francisco even though those cities likely have neighborhoods that are worse than anything you'll find in Springfield.

Your perspective is a bit limited if I recall another post you made, correct? You've said, "I've barely left Massachusetts," right? So really, how are you prepared to make the relative comparison to anywhere else? Springfield, like any city of 150,000 has some rough pockets, but some other areas are quite nice. To generalize that the entire city (as in every area within Springfield's city limits) is teeming with crime and drugs is not only ignorant, it's just plain incorrect.



Is Springfield MA really comparable to Compton, CA in any way??? Nope, not really.


Areas of Springfield are good investments while other areas aren't. Do your research and find the areas that are better. There are plenty of good ones.

It was a figure of speach, ha ha, get it???? I would never live there, or Holyoke, maybe by HCC, and it is a BIG maybe... But my daughter would not go to the schools there, no way no how.

[Alexander M.]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Can you cite a source, or are you just basing this off of a random bit of memory that you THINK you have?

I believe I've stated I've lived there. I actually just got back from Springfield a few minutes ago. I was in the city visiting a friend. I know what I'm talking about.