Frequently Asked Questions

We work throughout Northeast Ohio, with our office in Fairlawn and most of our business in Summit County. That includes Akron, Copley, Bath, Montrose, Hudson, Stow, Cuyahoga Falls, Green, and the surrounding communities. If you are looking a little outside that circle, ask us anyway. We would rather tell you honestly whether we are the right fit than take on something we cannot serve well.

Yes. Most of what we do is residential, helping people buy and sell homes. We also work with investors and commercial buyers on rentals, multi-family buildings, land, and commercial space. You can read more on our Residential and Commercial Property pages, and both have their own set of detailed questions and answers at the bottom.

Every Realtor is a licensed real estate agent, but not every agent is a Realtor. Realtor is a membership designation, and members agree to follow a written code of ethics that goes beyond what state licensing requires. Our team members are Realtors.

A person, not a call center. Our team is small on purpose: Mark Miller, Katie Middendorf, Justin Decker, and Mark Platts. You can read about each of them on our About Us page. Whoever you start with is who you deal with, and the rest of the team is there when another set of eyes helps.

Talk to more than one, and pay attention to how they answer hard questions. A good agent will tell you things you do not want to hear, like when your price expectation is too high or when a house has a problem worth walking away from. Ask how they plan to market your home specifically, not in general. Ask who answers the phone when you call. And notice whether they are asking about what you need or just talking about themselves.

Real estate commissions are negotiable and are not set by law. For sellers, the commission is agreed in writing before your home goes on the market and comes out of the sale proceeds at closing, so you are not paying anything up front. For buyers, the rules changed in 2024: you and your agent now sign a written agreement that spells out how your agent gets paid before you start touring homes. We will walk you through the numbers for your situation before you sign anything. Nothing about it should be a surprise at closing.

No. The first conversation is a conversation. We will look at your situation, tell you what we think, and give you a realistic picture of what to expect. If it turns out the timing is wrong or we are not the right people for the job, we will say so.

Agreements have a defined length and defined terms, and you should read them before signing rather than after. If something in the agreement concerns you, say so before you sign. Most terms are negotiable, including the length. Ask what happens if you want out, and make sure the answer is in writing.

We listen first. Where you are trying to go, what your timeline looks like, and what is driving the move. If you are selling, we will want to see the house. If you are buying, we will talk about budget, financing, and the areas you are considering. You will leave knowing what the next step is and roughly what it will cost. There is no pressure to decide anything that day.

Less than you think for a first conversation. Nothing at all, really. When things get moving, sellers should gather the deed, recent tax bills, any survey or plat, records of major repairs and improvements, and HOA documents if you have an association. Buyers will need pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements for the lender rather than for us. We will tell you what is needed and when, so you are not hunting for documents at the last minute.

It is our step-by-step process for selling a home, from the first consultation through preparing and launching the listing, handling offers, getting through escrow, and closing day. We wrote it out so you can see exactly what happens and when, instead of wondering what is going on between showings. You can read the whole thing on our Benchmark page.

Yes, and it is more common than people expect. The tricky part is the timing, because most people cannot carry two mortgages and do not want to move twice. There are several ways to handle the gap, including sale contingencies, rent-back agreements, and bridge financing. Which one fits depends on your finances and on how competitive the market is when you go. We will map out the order of operations before you list.

Ask us for a comparative market analysis. We look at what similar homes near you actually sold for recently, not what they were listed at, then adjust for the differences between those homes and yours: condition, updates, lot, layout, and location. It is free and there is no obligation attached to it. Get in touch and we will put one together.

They are a starting point, not an answer. Those tools work from public records and past sales, and they cannot see inside your house. They do not know you replaced the roof, finished the basement, or that the kitchen has not been touched since 1994. In neighborhoods where homes vary a lot, the estimates can be off by a wide margin in either direction. Use them for a rough sense, then get a real analysis before you make decisions based on the number.

It changes, which is exactly why we do not publish a number here that would be stale by the time you read it. We put out a market report with current local data on prices, inventory, and sales trends. You can request the latest one, or just ask us what we are seeing in your specific neighborhood, which is usually more useful than a countywide average.

The honest answer is that it depends far more on your situation than on the market. People who need to move usually should, and people who are trying to time the market usually cannot. What matters is your equity, your rate, your timeline, and what you are moving toward. We would rather talk through your specifics than hand you a headline. If the timing is genuinely bad for you, we will tell you that.

Yes. Use the Listings menu at the top of any page. Property Search lets you search active listings across the area, and you can also see our own active and recently sold listings. Those open our MLS search tool in a new tab. If you would rather not sift through it yourself, tell us what you are looking for and we will set up a saved search that emails you new homes as they come on the market.

Just reach out. Use the form on our Schedule page, or call us at (330) 294-6854. Tell us which home caught your eye and when you are free, and we will arrange it. You do not need to already be working with us to ask.

Yes, and it is a different kind of job than helping someone who already knows the area. Relocating means learning neighborhoods, school districts, commutes, and what a fair price looks like, all at once and often from a distance. We can do virtual tours, walk properties on your behalf, and give you the local context that does not show up in listing photos.

For a seller, the two halves are time on market and time to close. Time on market depends on price, condition, and demand for your kind of home. Once you accept an offer, closing typically takes about 30 to 45 days when the buyer is financing, and can be faster with cash. For a buyer, the search is the unpredictable part. Some people find it in a weekend and some look for months. The closing timeline works the same way once you are under contract.

We can give you names of people we have worked with, and we will usually give you more than one so you can compare. What we will not do is tell you that you have to use them. You are free to choose anyone you want, and it is worth getting more than one quote on bigger work.

You are not legally required to, and skipping it is a gamble we would not take. An inspection is a few hundred dollars against a purchase worth hundreds of thousands, and it tells you what you are actually buying. Even in a competitive market where you may not ask the seller to fix things, you want to know what is coming. Go to the inspection if you can. Reading the report is not the same as watching someone point at the problem.

It comes straight to our team, and a real person reads it. We will get back to you to set up a time to talk. Filling out a form does not sign you up for anything and does not put you on a drip campaign. If you need an answer quickly, calling is faster than a form.

We use it to answer you and to help you buy or sell. We do not sell it. Our full Privacy Policy spells out what we collect and how it is handled, and it is written to be read rather than to be skimmed past.

Fair housing laws make it illegal to treat people differently in housing because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability. It affects you as a practical matter too: it is why we will not answer questions about whether a neighborhood is "good" in the coded way people sometimes mean, and will instead point you to data you can look at yourself. You can read our full commitment on our Fair Housing page.

Ask us. Sellers and buyers will find much more detail in the questions at the bottom of our Residential page, and investors should look at Commercial Property. If it is not there either, send us a message or call (330) 294-6854 and someone will answer it directly. No question is too basic. We would rather explain something twice than have you guessing.