The opportunity to find your dream home and put down roots is still within reach

By Patricia Nugent

Peace of mind is an invaluable commodity, especially when it comes to real estate.

Several factors have a bearing on people’s decision to sell their home or buy a new one.

Heading into winter, with interest rates slowly ticking upward, people might think now is a time to hold off on their decision until next year to see what happens with the market.

I caught up with Denise Zervos, who, along with her husband, Mark, owns of The Neighborhood Experts at Platinum Real Estate, to find out what’s happening here in Lake County.

Owning vs. Renting
The question to ask in the long and short term is: Is your money working for you?

“Building equity, your personal wealth, instead of handing it over to a landlord, is usually the right idea,” she says. “One thing we’ve been seeing over the past few years is that rents are skyrocketing everywhere you look.”

She points out that even though interest rates are slightly rising, people shouldn’t put off buying a home because of that, especially first-time home buyers.

“People are wondering if they are better off renting for a while instead of buying a home,” says Denise. “One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Date the interest rate, marry the home.’ You shouldn’t let catching the rate dictate getting into your perfect home. In perspective, the rates are still low compared to past years. Now is a great time to buy a home.”

To overcome any fear factor for buyers or sellers, the agents at Platinum Real Estate consider themselves advisors first.

“We educate every buyer and seller about each step of the process,” she says. “We work closely with the lenders so we can explain to clients exactly how much they’ll spend after closing costs, etc. As professionals, we understand that people will only buy and sell a handful of homes in their lifetime.”

Big No-Nos When Buying a Home
“In the modern age, there are speed bumps we never had to consider before,” says Denise. “For instance, we strongly advise people not to mention anything on social media about buying or selling a home until the deal is done. You’d be shocked how common it is for someone to post picture of their ‘dream home’ on Facebook, which alerts the seller about how much they love it and might affect the negotiations. For instance, maybe after the seller finds out, they might refuse to fix things after an inspection. It just makes our job harder.”

Another consideration is watching what you say while in a house during a showing. Lots of homes in every price range now have interior cameras, whether to see when their kids get home from school, or for security purposes.

“The reality is sellers can see and hear what you’re saying,” she says. “You have to assume that everything you say, whether inside a home or by the front door, is being monitored. Our agents know to table important conversations until after a showing.”

What Happened in 2022?
As you can see on the chart here, in 2022, the average time a house under $500,000 spent on the market was only 35 days. And a whopping 2,836 homes were sold in Lake County.

“The good news is that the Cleveland market is quite stable compared to other markets in the country, and we are a prime area for relocation moves,” she says. “People coming here from the East or West Coast are always blown away by how much house you can get for the money. Where else can you find neighborhoods near the lake and close to so many amenities?”

Platinum Real Estate has 16 offices in Northeast Ohio and Columbus, Florida and South Carolina. To get more information, call 216-990-2100 or 440-974-SALE (7253) or visit NeighborhoodExperts.com.