BUCYRUS, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—“I’m very faithful, whatever I do,” said Sharon Katona of her marriage of 57 years. The same faithfulness goes into her realty business.
Katona’s initiation to the profession came after a decade of working the night shift at Timken. “My husband and I used to be flippers before people called it flipping,” Katona explained. “We would buy a house, live in it with our two kids and two dogs, and we’d make it beautiful. We would do any repairs, paint, and clean. I loved houses.
So, my husband said, as much as you love houses, why don’t you get your real estate license? He even went with me. We went to Ohio State Marion for a half year, two nights a week, and I got my real estate license.”
This year will be Katona Realty’s 35th, and broker Sharon Katona’s 47th in the business. “I still love it,” Katona said, “and after my husband passed away seven years ago, I couldn’t just retire. Well, what do you do when you only have a cat?”
In their offices at 410 Kaler Avenue in Bucyrus, Katona and her realtors, son Louis and Sarah Miller, face new challenges in the housing market.
Potential buyers, especially retirees and first-time homebuyers, often have difficulty making the investment. “They often think they can’t afford it,” Katona explains, “but they can buy a house with almost nothing down.”
Similarly, sellers are often unaware of the value that can be added before sale. “The best way to sell a house,” Katona said, “is to clean and paint it … that’s the biggest thing … and you can get $5000 to $10,00 more.
I tell [sellers] what they can do to get the most money, then we go to work. We’re just here to help everyone any way we can. But it’s not easy.”
Financing is often another object of buyers’ anxiety. “Younger buyers don’t know where to start,” Katona continued, “they’re scared of that banker behind a desk.”
To alleviate buyers’ worries, Katona will often accompany them to meet the professionals she does business with. “We help them go to the right bank or mortgage company to get them a loan,” Katona explained.
“Credit is a big thing. And a job. If you have good credit and a good job, you can get a house … I just pick a bank in town, and it usually goes really smooth. Then the buyers are okay.”
Added to the difficulties of customer trepidation is the influx of part-time brokers who briefly enter the market to sell a few properties per year.
“Being a realtor is supposed to be the most sought-after job in America,” Katona explained, “because people think they can make a lot of money. But if you have your own business, there’s a lot you pay for. And the brokers that want to sell two houses a year all have other jobs … and usually end up quitting.”
“I quit my job and dedicated everything to this,” Katona said, “and I still wouldn’t want to do it the other way.
We buy and sell houses all year round because people want to sell at some point, and someone wants to buy at some point, and that’s what drives the market. It’s just a really good business, and I love finding people houses.”
While it’s obvious that realtors want to steer potential buyers away from renting, Katona offered a compelling perspective. “The rent today averages about $1000 a month,” she explained, “but you could buy a house for $800 a month, then you build equity, which is better for your whole life.
Getting a loan is the big thing. But it’s still going to be better than paying rent.”
“Some people will always rent,” Katona continued, “but they end up just throwing that money out the window with nothing to show for it but saving up for another month’s rent.
When you make a [mortgage] payment, you will eventually own that property, and you will take better care of it.”
“So being an owner is really better than being a renter,” said Katona. “But sometimes people don’t see the future. If you get in trouble, you can always sell the house. But if you’re renting, you’re out on the street.”
Despite the difficulties of the market, Katona Realty prepares for spring, when the sunshine will stoke the courage of potential clients to seek the faithful, full-time service of its realtors.
“I love this job,” Katona said. “I’ve had this building forever. We moved here in 1990, when we had six or eight people, always friends and relatives. Now it’s just three of us, but we still love the job. All of us.”