Ohio has among the lowest housing prices in the country.  In four of the five largest markets in Ohio, the average household buying a typical home will end up with a monthly mortgage payment under $800.

​

Notwithstanding these low real estate prices, the Ohio rental market provides a much higher return on invested capital than the rest of the country.  A $40,000 home in the Cleveland area typically rents for $900 per month, equal to a 27% rate of return per year.  A comparable home in Atlanta would sell for $175,000, rent for $1,400 and return less than ten percent annually.  In San Francisco that same home would be worth more than $1,000,000, rent for $4,000 and return less than five percent annually – less than a fifth of the return from the home in Cleveland.

​

In addition, Ohio is one of just a few states that use special, lender-favorable promissory notes, known as “cognovit” notes. Cognovit notes grant lenders the right to take immediate possession of loan collateral upon default. In practical terms, it means if a borrower misses even one interest payment, the lender can immediately start the foreclosure process without a contested legal challenge.