When researching locations for your next rental home purchase, start wide and research the job market of the city/county/region where you are considering purchasing investment properties. Because you need a large pool of tenants who can afford to pay rent on your properties, look for locations with growing employment opportunities, high median annual pay and a higher-educated employee pool. For example, according to Forbes 2016 Fastest Growing-Places, owning rental properties in Raleigh, NC is a smart move for landlords as its local job market is promising and its median annual pay for college-educated workers is also highly ranked. In fact, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are perennial “Best Of” list-makers, making the Triangle a highly desirable market for real estate investors year after year.