The Neighborhood Experts at Platinum Real Estate says there is one best way to stand out from the buying crowd

By Patricia Nugent

Although the rise in interest rates this month might be costing people a little more when they go to number-crunch their mortgages, locally that isn’t having a big impact on demand for homes.

I caught up with Denise Zervos, who, along with her husband, Mark, owns The Neighborhood Experts at Platinum Real Estate, to get a pulse on how Lake County’s real estate market is faring.

“Despite the increase, the rates are still quite low,” she says. “The number of homes sold in February—208—was robust. I think interest rates are not the hurdle in the current market. The challenge we face is shortage of inventory, the number of homes on the market.”

She says that increased demand has spurred multiple-offer situations. And that when there are several bidders on the table, the one that is meticulously pre-approved will stand out.

“We partner with loan officer Bob Szalay, who is the branch manager for Paramount Residential Mortgage Group,” she says. “His office is within our Platinum Center in Mentor. Bob works intelligently and ‘hands on’ for our agents, which ultimately benefits the clients we serve. Some bigger national firms work with brokerages that are not in the same city or even state. We feel blessed to work with a local mortgage lender with a sterling reputation.”

Bob says that making sure loan pre-approval is in place means consistently updating and prepping potential buyers’ files, so when the time comes, every party knows and trusts the deal will close smoothly.

Bob reports that even though interest rates might be on the rise, once homebuyers get into the paperwork, they are finding that the higher rates are only costing them anywhere from $30-$100 more per month as an example, depending on the size of the transaction.

“Local agents who are selling homes know who the local lenders are,” Denise adds. “We have found that, especially in this market, being able to show someone the worthiness of the buyers makes a big difference.”

Platinum Real Estate has 16 offices in Northeast Ohio and Columbus and nine in Florida. To get more information, call 216-990-2100 or 440-974-SALE or visit YourNeighborhoodExpert.com.