Top 5 Cities to Get a Job and Lease-Option

October 20, 2018 by Marty Orefice | Financing, Real Estate, Rent to Own

There are high amounts of job openings in these cities. They might be a great place to rent to own.
Glassdoor recently released a study about the top cities to find jobs. In these areas, median salaries are strong compared to the median cost of homes. For young home buyers interested in moving to a new place to rent to own, these may be great areas to consider.

You can move to the area through a lease-option program while you're considering the area. If the area isn't what you were looking for, you can back out of the rent to own deal and you'll only lose your down payment. However, if you do like the area, you'll have vetted the home and neighborhood you want to purchase in. Potentially, you will also have saved up money through a rent credit system for the down payment.

These are the top five cities from the list you might want to consider:

1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh tops the Glassdoor list as the best city to find a job. The study states there are 91,849 jobs in the Pittsburgh area.

The median home value in Pittsburgh is $141,300. On a thirty-year mortgage at a 5 percent interest rate, the monthly payment would be $758.53.

To abide by the 30-percent rule that many lenders follow, you'd need to earn $2,528.43 each month. That's the equivalent of $30,341.16 per year. The median base salary in Pittsburgh is $46,500 – $16,000 more each year than needed.

Pittsburgh is full of opportunities that can lead you to successful homeownership. It could be a great place to start building your job history and saving up for a down payment.

2. St. Louis, Missouri

The median home value in Missouri is $161,400. Given the same mortgage terms above, the monthly payment for this property would be $866.43. Therefore, given the 30-percent rule, you would need to earn $2,888.10 each month to afford the property.

That monthly salary translates to $34,657.20 each year, which is $13,500 less than the median base salary in St. Louis – $48,000.

Glassdoor states that there are 75,061 job openings in St. Louis, the number 2 city on the list. If you prefer the midwest over the East coast, consider buying a home in St. Louis.

3. Indianapolis, Indiana

You would need to earn $2,734.20 each month to afford a monthly mortgage payment of $820.26. That's the amount you'd need to pay each month for a $152,000 mortgage.

It's also the equivalent of a $32,810.40 yearly salary. The median base salary in Indianapolis is much higher than that at $45,000 per year.

There are 55,344 jobs available in Indianapolis placing it at number three on the Glassdoor list.

Consider applying for one of them and starting a lease-option in the area. There's no need to wait for your lease term to end. If you like the area, you can close whenever you would like.

4. Cincinnati, Ohio

The monthly mortgage on the median properties in Cincinnati is $863.75 each month with a 30-year mortgage at a 5 percent interest rate.

To afford that payment, you need to earn $2,879.17 each month or $34,550.04 annually. That's well within the median base salary in Cincinnati – $45,000 a year.

There are 61,320 jobs available in Cincinnati. It's an affordable spot with strong opportunities available for people starting out. Rent to own is a good way for young professionals starting out to afford a home purchase. Cincinnati may be the right place for you to start renting to own.

5. Hartford, CT

In Hartford, you'll need to earn $4,072.70 each month to cover the monthly mortgage payment of $1,221.81.

That's a $48,872.40 salary each year, which is considerably more than in the other cities on the list. Nonetheless, the median salary in Cincinnati is $7,000 higher than any other city on the list – $55,000. The median salary is high enough to cover the median home in Hartford.

There are 40,978 job opening s in Hartford. The city is well positioned for a new influx of residents. It could be a great area to start your rent to own journey in.

Bonus Content: Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is number six on Glassdoor's list of top cities to find a job. The median cost for a home in Boston is $455,600.

The monthly mortgage payment on a median home is $2,445.76. For that payment to fall into the 30-percent rule, you would need to earn $8,152.53 each month. The equivalent of $97,830 per year salary.

However, the median salary in Boston is considerably lower than $97,830. The median salary is $62,000.

It makes Glassdoor's list because there are 211,602 jobs available in the area, but it doesn't make our list of top cities to live because the median cost of a home does not make it an affordable place to live.

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About The Author

Marty Orefice

Martin Orefice is a real estate investor who has been in the industry for over a decade. He has experience with rent to own deals from all sides—as a buyer, seller and investor. He created RentToOwnLabs.com to provide the #1 resource where people can find information about all things rent to own.

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