which of the following Detroit suburbs is ok?? (Lansing, Ann Arbor: apartment, foreclosed)

[eraniscare]

Have a investment offer (single-family home) in one of the following:
Taylor
Lincoln park
East point
Hazel park
Ypsilanti
Roseville

Wish to invest in an area which is middle class relatively clean, safe and easy to rent out.
Can you pls. advise which areas are better? and any alternative locations?
Thanks

[us66]

Ypsilanti and Taylor aren't okay citywide. House rents are very high in Roseville and Eastpointe for how cheap the houses can be had, as long as there's a basement and a garage. South Lake Schools in Eastpointe and Fraser Schools in Roseville add to desirability for rentals; the East Detroit and Roseville Schools aren't so good.

[Coldjensens]

Have a investment offer (single-family home) in one of the following:
Taylor - Mostly blue collar. Small homes mediochre schools, reputation for being hicky (TaylorTucky)

Lincoln park Getting pretty run down. Still has some decent areas. It is infected by its proximity to the City of Detroit. Bad schools. Middle class to blue collar.

Ypsilanti Ypsi is a mix. Good and bad areas. It tends to get overshadowed by Ann Arbor to which it cannot compare. Ypsi has some really neat things to offer, several very nice very walkable areas. Bad schools. Bad reputation for crime due to some sensationalized crime sprees in the past.

Roseville Roseville is pretty decent. Solidly middle class. Mediochre schools. Some parts are better than others.

Wish to invest in an area which is middle class relatively clean, safe and easy to rent out.
Can you pls. advise which areas are better? and any alternative locations?


Alternative locations:

Wyandotte, Trenton, Livonia, Royal Oak, Ferndale.

If you are gutsy and can wait you might want to think about parts of Detroit (Corktown for example). If Detroit makes some kind of recovery, you could make a killling by buying homes in a place like that. If it does nto recover - well - investing is gambling. Sometimes you lose.

[Browneyes29]

Eastpointe or Roseville.

[Retroit]

If you are from the area, you should be familiar with, or be able to become familiar with, at least some of these areas, so I would suggest you use your own judgment.

And if you are not from this area, I hope you have not been convinced by some internet scam that you can become the next Donald Trump by investing in Detroit area housing.

(Why don't people fill out their Public Profile?)

[Northsider 248]

Originally Posted by eraniscare

Have a investment offer (single-family home) in one of the following:
Taylor
Lincoln park
East point
Hazel park
Ypsilanti
Roseville

Wish to invest in an area which is middle class relatively clean, safe and easy to rent out.
Can you pls. advise which areas are better? and any alternative locations?
Thanks

Hazel Park
Lincoln Park
Roseville (kinda)

Taylor is OK, but alot of the outer parts of the city are somewhat backwoods and they're accompanied by a lack of sidewalks and poor roads (even worse than normal).

Lincoln Park is somewhat economically distressed but is still a decent place to live, especially for being along the downriver sector.

Eastpointe is just a dirty pit. Don't bother.

Hazel Park, you'll notice more foreclosed homes than average and a few ugly cars here and there but it's very clean, crime rate is going down and rent is cheap.

Ypsilanti, I can't speak much of. All I know is that apparently it's very economically distressed but still at least safe.

Roseville has alot similar to Eastpointe, probably just minus alot of the gang violence.

Your best bet as I see it is to either go with Hazel Park or neighboring Ferndale. If this is your price range they are about the absolute best you can find. Ferndale schools are below average, but Hazel Park schools are exemplary, and Hazel Park residents receive scholarships just from graduating in the district. Both cities are middle class, ethnically diverse, and in walking distance from eachother as well as in biking/public transport distance from downtown Royal Oak.

[Briolat21]

Don't forget that with Ypsi, (depending upon where the property is) you have a built in rental population with Eastern Michigan University.

But it would be very dependent upon where the property was located.

[us66]

Originally Posted by Briolat21

Don't forget that with Ypsi, (depending upon where the property is) you have a built in rental population with Eastern Michigan University.

But it would be very dependent upon where the property was located.

That would drive up the price of entry, though. Those houses and apartment houses won't be selling for pocket change like houses in the other cities mentioned.

[indigonation]

Ypsi I would have to say since its the only one on the list I really know about, and its pretty nice on the west end or near EMU and there are a lot of nice buildings and independent stores, I would vouch for Oak Park or Southfield or Beverly Hills over it in a second though, they just felt safer for some reason. I used to live in Southfield, I now live near ypsi (Ann Arbor) and its still not too bad though, its a little better than what most people (Ann Arbor residents) say I will give you that much and I do go there to shop sometimes and go to the parks. I will say that a lot of people seem paranoid about it and I saw someone walking there and she looked like she was scared out of her mind just being there so I really wouldn't live there but I don't know that its that bad. Hell Port Huron and Lansing look worse.

[Northsider 248]

Originally Posted by indigonation

Ypsi I would have to say since its the only one on the list I really know about, and its pretty nice on the west end or near EMU and there are a lot of nice buildings and independent stores, I would vouch for Oak Park or Southfield or Beverly Hills over it in a second though, they just felt safer for some reason. I used to live in Southfield, I now live near ypsi (Ann Arbor) and its still not too bad though, its a little better than what most people (Ann Arbor residents) say I will give you that much and I do go there to shop sometimes and go to the parks. I will say that a lot of people seem paranoid about it and I saw someone walking there and she looked like she was scared out of her mind just being there so I really wouldn't live there but I don't know that its that bad. Hell Port Huron and Lansing look worse.

If you're vouching Oak Park and Southfield over Ypsi, I know one place I'm never moving to...