Whether you choose to revamp your space or start from scratch, options abound for creating your dream home. Find out how from local, award-winning experts.
BEST ENTIRE HOMEOVER $500,000 Perrino Builders & Remodeling
BEST CUSTOM HOME
BEST SPECIALTY / ENTERTAINMENT ROOM Payne & Tompkins Design Renovations
BEST GREEN BUILTUNDER 2500 SQ. FT. Rebuild Cleveland
BEST GREEN BUILT2501 - 4,000 SQ. FT. Keystate Homes & Development
BEST GREEN BUILTOVER 4,000 SQ. FT. Payne & Payne Builders
BEST CUSTOM HOME
$500,000 - $750,000 MJ Builders, Inc.
BEST CUSTOM HOME
$750,000 - $1,000,000 MJ Builders, Inc.
BEST CUSTOM HOME
$1,000,000 - $1,500,000
JEMM Construction, Inc.
BEST CUSTOM HOME
$1,500,000 - $2,000,000
Otero Signature Homes
BEST CUSTOM HOME
OVER $2,500,000
Prestige Builder Group
2024 HBA Officers & Board
Debra Branske, President
Third Federal Savings & Loan
Andrew Gotlieb, Vice President
Keystate Homes & Development
Dan Smoulder, Treasurer Petros Homes
Jason Rodgers, Secretary Paine Creek Builders
Rob Myers, Immediate Past President Myers Homes/RHM Homes
Brenda Callaghan, Executive Director HBA of Greater Cleveland
Board of Trustees
Joe Archer
Sherwin-Williams
Tim Bennett Bennett Builders
Steve Caldwell
Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery
Dennis Dlugosz
Corrigan Krause CPAs
Loretta Jones
Third Federal
Brian Miller
Mont Surfaces by Mont Granite
Dana Novotny
K. Hovnanian, Cleveland Division
Anthony Piocquidio Lowe’s
Dennis Reber
Apollo Supply
Amanda Richardson First Energy
Rodney Simon Simcon Custom Homes
Legal Adviser
Russell O’Rourke, Esq. Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis
On the Cover Payne & Tompkins Design-Renovations
Courtesy Payne & Tompkins DesignRenovations, HBA 2024 Cleveland Choice Award Winner: Best Specialty/ Entertainment Room.
Making Your Dream Home Attainable
In Northeast Ohio, many homebuyers are choosing to build new homes with one of HBA of Greater Cleveland’s talented builders. The big decision buyers face is how best to finance a new or existing home. Should you use the equity in your current home, or should you utilize a construction loan? Here is a brief overview to help you understand how each of these products works.
Home Equity Lines of Credit, often called HELOCs, offer homeowners the flexibility to borrow against the equity they have in their existing homes. This type of financing can be advantageous for those who already own a property and wish to use the equity as collateral for their new home construction. With an equity line, borrowers can access funds as needed during the construction process, and many banks offer the option of paying interest only on the amount used.
On the other hand, construction permanent loans provide a more structured and comprehensive approach to financing a new build. These loans are specifically designed to cover construction costs and convert into a traditional mortgage once the project is complete. Construction permanent loans offer long-term, fixed- or adjustable-rate mortgage options, providing stability and predictability for homeowners. Many banks
and builders have financing options for this type of loan.
Both equity lines and construction permanent loans have their merits, and the choice ultimately depends on each homeowner’s unique needs and circumstances. While equity lines offer flexibility and the ability to tap into existing home equity, construction permanent loans provide a dedicated financing solution tailored to the construction process and long-term homeownership. Your best course of action is to discuss your options with your financial institution so you can compare and make an educated decision on which type of financing will best meet your needs.
Sincerely,
Debra Branske President, Home Builders Association (HBA) of
Greater Cleveland
Do new... or re-do.
Whether you need financing for new home construction or a new kitchen, we can help you own the house of your dreams. Visit Dollar.Bank or your local Dollar Bank office to get started.
A kitchen and living space remodel, like the one below by Otero Signature Homes, can update your home and give it a completely new look and feel.
Improve or Move?
Northeast Ohio homeowners share factors driving their decision to stay put and remodel or move and start from scratch. By
Kristen Hampshire
The floor plan feels choppy, you’re missing a must-have mudroom, your family is bigger (and growing), and you’re ready for a kitchen that works for everyday life.
Tempted by Instagram reels of quartz countertops and Houzz galleries brimming with fully equipped outdoor living spaces, you’re ready to remodel. Or, given your existing property’s limitations, does it make more sense to build a new home?
Both are options to consider, and there are variables to weigh. (Sorry, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.)
Above all, location is a driving factor, even more than interest rates and cost of construction.
“When we go into a home and evaluate the current situation and talk to homeowners about their wants and needs, we do an analysis of what renovations are possible and if it’s even realistic to get all the features they want in their current home,” says Darren Mancuso,
who owns Mancuso Homes with his wife, Kate. The couple stars in HGTV’s “Gut Job.”
Next comes budget straight talk.
“Based on their goals, we estimate what it would cost to renovate versus move,” Mancuso says.
Sometimes, the numbers are not too different.
“Does it make sense to put that much money into a house, or does it make more sense to tear the house down and build a new, custom house?” Mancuso says, introducing another angle in the remodel-or-move decision. What about razing the house you own and starting from scratch?
Across the board, renos, new builds and teardowns are ongoing in Northeast Ohio, and demand is strong.
“We have seen the renovation market skyrocket, but new homes are also back this spring with land coming available slowly as new subdivisions come online,
Financing Options
When it comes to paying for your new build or remodel, you have options. Here’s a look at a few loan types and what they entail.
Building New
Construction Loans: A single closing construction loan locks in the rate upfront before work begins. “Payments during construction are interest only based on how much has been paid to the builder via draw requests,” says Liz Schneider, a mortgage officer with Dollar Bank. “Most builders take five to seven draws during the construction phase of the loan.” The loan can have a fixed or adjustable rate and can be used to purchase the lot and fund construction. When the home is complete, the loan converts to the permanent financing at the same interest rate, and the homeowner begins paying on the principle, interest, property tax, homeowners insurance and PMI (if applicable). “The only funds needed at the time of conversion are the funds to set up the escrow account and any interest due,” says Schneider. Most loans have no prepayment penalty.
Funding a Renovation
Home Equity Line of Credit: These loans have a variable rate and allow the homeowner to borrow additional money down the line based on credit limit. Over the draw period, homeowners can borrow on this line of credit and pay it back again as often as necessary.
Home Equity Loan: These are fixedrate term loans with fixed monthly payments. All the funds of the loan are paid out to the borrower at closing.
Cash-out Refinance: Homeowners can borrow an amount greater than their mortgage and use the excess money to fund home improvement projects or other needs.
EXPERIENCE MAKES
along with people looking at infill lots and outlots that have not been selected,” says Ted Otero, president and founder of Otero Signature Homes.
Stay Put and Remodel
“The saying in real estate is, ‘location, location, location,’ and that holds true,” says Dean Tompkins, vice president, Payne & Tompkins Design-Renovations, reiterating the No. 1 priority for many homeowners.
But with location, there are sometimes trade-offs. Even if your existing home is in a sweet spot, you may not have the lot leeway to expand as you hoped, and there could be floor plan constraints. “You may need to change locations to get the home you want, or buy something that is less than ideal in a location you like and make changes to it,” Tompkins says.
Along those lines, Tompkins is seeing an increase in renovation projects on properties
that owners purchased in a rush as homes only spent days on the market during the pandemic. “They like the lot and location — they don’t love the house — but they know they can make it into what they want,” he says.
If location is the reason for staying put, another factor is determining whether the scope of work and investment in a renovation makes sense for the neighborhood. In some markets, the condition and size of surrounding homes is a non-issue, and Mancuso says streets are gradually transforming, one house at a time. In those cases, updating a $250,000 home into a $500,000 property is all about realizing the owner’s goals, and “pricing yourself out of the neighborhood” is not a thing.
However, for those expecting to sell, dollars dedicated to a supersized renovation that far exceeds the value of homes on the street will probably not cash in to a selling price of equal value.
“We have seen the renovation market skyrocket, but new homes are also back...”
– Ted Otero, Otero Signature Homes
Ultimately, renovation is about achieving the lifestyle you hope for in an existing location that you love.
Otero points to some key renovation projects that homeowners find well worth the investment. For example, kitchen overhauls, along with adding a mudroom and laundry space, make it possible to work within an existing footprint and enhance life at home. “Walls can be taken down, updates can be made, and we can give them a new look and feel,” he says.
Finished basements with workout sections, entertainment areas, theater rooms and comfortable living spaces are ways to “add quality square footage” without a new addition, Otero adds. “And, we are doing a lot of backyard escapes,” he says. “People realize that home is where the heart is, and if they have an outdoor living area or covered porch, they can extend their indoor environment.”
Motivation to Move
Otero lists a few reasons why building new is the best solution for some owners. “One is if you are relocating into town, and we are seeing that quite often,” he says. “Or, your existing house is just purely
undersized for your needs. Three, your subdivision can’t handle the renovation you would plan to do from a cost or equity perspective.”
He adds, “New builds are going strong,” and especially with a strong cash position from an existing home sale. As for higher interest rates, some are reasoning that a move now is worthwhile and they can refinance down the road.
However, for those who locked in an interest rate lower than 3% for an existing home, there’s a real value decision to consider, Mancuso says. “You can sell a house for $400,000 to buy a house for $750,000 with double the interest rate — or stay in your 3% interest rate and put $350,000 into the house at the new rate.”
In some cases, cost of ownership can be a leading reason to build new rather than remodel.
“There is a cost of living,” says Rodney Simon, owner of Simcon Homes. “At some point, you’ll have to replace the roof, the windows, furnace and hot water tank.”
You can renovate a kitchen or add an outdoor living space, but building new provides the latest mechanicals and materials without the mileage. This
prompts some to raze an existing home to start from scratch or choose new construction elsewhere.
On the other hand, renovations involve upgrading to new materials with less maintenance, Tompkins points out.
Ultimately, Tompkins says, “When we see people decide to build new, it is usually that they found a lot or a new subdivision they like and can get a total all-in home that is exactly what they want.”
Again, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the remodel-or-move question. So what can builders and remodelers say for certain?
Demand across the board is not going to let up any time soon because those in waitand-see mode will eventually hit a tipping point. Mancuso says, “Everyone wants to do something, and if they are holding tight for something — economic uncertainty, the election, interest rates — at some point, the rubber band will snap.”
A newly built home by Mancuso Homes
HOME Reimagined
Home Builders Association of Cleveland members deliver award-winning results with thoughtful spaces that suit modern lifestyles. By Kristen Hampshire
The Home Builders Association (HBA) Cleveland Choice Awards celebrate outstanding new building and home renovation projects across Northeast Ohio and honor the talented professionals who make their clients’ dreams come true.
Here’s
a look at some of this year’s winners.
A Healthy, Sustainable Home
Payne & Payne Builders: Best Green-Built Home
Over 4,000 Square Feet
A healthy, efficient home that is responsibly built, reduces waste and functions for family were priorities a Beachwood client specified when enlisting Payne & Payne Builders for a new-build project.
“They wanted something practical, something respectful, something functional — and they are big on entertaining and needed space to accommodate immediate and extended family,” says Mark Verdova, vice president of the Chardon-based firm.
Payne & Payne delivered with a right-sized home at just over 4,000 square feet, with thoughtful space planning so every designated area
has a purpose. For instance, the kitchen offers modern finishes — including quartz countertops, sleek, white cabinetry and a deep island for seating and food prep. It’s roomy, but not oversized, and flows into an equal-sized dining room outfitted with two square tables seating eight each for large gatherings.
The second floor contains four bedrooms plus a primary suite, along with a lounge area and laundry space. Stacking the floor plan nearly evenly minimizes the footprint.
“We took down an existing home to build new, which minimized site impacts, and we didn’t have to clear trees,” Verdova explains, noting that parts of the driveway were repurposed, and most materials were locally sourced.
A focus on indoor air quality involved low-VOC finishes on products and fresh air intake. Low-E windows allow natural light to enter the home while deflecting UV rays and infrared light. The home also includes a high-efficiency furnace and hot water tank, additional insulation, LED lighting and more windows strategically positioned on the south side — a solar advantage.
“We got such a great outcome without being extravagant — the house is incredibly efficient and beautiful for entertaining,” says Verdova.
A Culinary Kitchen
Bennett Builders & Remodelers: Best Kitchen
$100,000 to $150,000
A traditional colonial in Bay Village with a typical center-hall firstfloor layout underwent a complete reimagining and all-out renovation to accomplish a brighter, more open floor plan designed for cooking, gathering and family life.
Lakefront Exterior Character
JEMM Construction: Best Exterior Architectural Design
$1.5 to $2 million
A Nantucket-style lakefront estate with characteristic gables and lighthouse features is a true escape and multifunctional home that serves to entertain, relax and work from home. The owner partnered with JEMM Construction based in Painesville to raze an existing home, clear the lot for a clean canvas and develop a 10,000-square-foot house in Eastlake that leverages lake views and beachfront access.
The four-bedroom home includes six bathrooms and coffee bars, as well as three kitchens — the first on the main level, the second on the lower level that walks out to the beach and the third in the guest suite.
“We have a balance of entertaining space and bedrooms,” says Joshua Edgell, owner of JEMM Construction. For instance, the lower level includes a sunken theater room, workout area, game room and a pool bathroom with two stalls for changing. The space opens to a deck for lakefront gathering.
The interior is clean-lined with abundant ceiling detail, which creates a welcoming feel in even the most expansive spaces. Millwork throughout introduces texture and movement, adding interest to a largely neutral color palette of grays, blues and white.
Before, stained wood cabinets and a closed-off dining room, modest windows and a dated color palette — the red wall dining room of yesteryear — resulted in a choppy floor plan that didn’t accommodate a modern lifestyle.
A love for the neighborhood and schools anchored the family to their location. So, they decided to work within the existing footprint and “reappoint” the first floor and kitchen, says Terry Bennett, president and general manager of Bennett Builders & Remodelers in Westlake.
“They love to cook and entertain, so the kitchen is the focal point of the house,” says Bennett, noting luxury appliances by Thermador, an expansive glass wine display case, double oven with warming drawer and custom cabinets by Dura Supreme.
An adjacent dry bar includes glass, lighted shelving and a secondary undercounter refrigerator. The backsplash is finished in the same luxury vinyl plank surface as the flooring, along with the backdrop of the wine case, creating a seamless visual flow throughout the main floor. Also, quartz with dynamic veining for countertops and the range backsplash provide continuity.
“We expanded the windows and added a glass sliding door at the rear to usher in more natural light,” Bennett adds.
An expansive island offers plenty of seating, as does the peninsula and a counter-height farm table with bench and stool seating that flanks it.
Bennett also reconfigured the stairway off of the foyer, where there are marble floors. Refinished and stained treads and balusters with updated newel posts with a square craftsman aesthetic offer a polished entry at the front door leading up to the second level.
The significant transformation with entirely open space on the first floor was only possible because of complex “major surgery,” Bennett says of enlisting a structural engineer and relying on the team’s skilled carpenters to conceal a load-bearing header beam underneath the ceiling.
Bennett says, “The ceiling is flush, giving you a much greater feel of the expansive views.”
When building on the lake, wind is a key consideration for materials selections, Edgell notes. JEMM Construction specified Ascend composite cladding with a high wind rating and insulated backing that resembles wood shake. Casement windows are hurricane rated and made of impact-resistant glass.
Exterior architectural detail, including bracketry, columns, generous eaves and a combination of shake siding and stone facade offer a
A French Country Pool House
Payne & Tompkins Design-Renovations: Best Specialty/ Entertainment Room
Inspired by a French country cottage, a pool house in Chagrin Falls mirrors the main home’s architectural detail and serves as a year-round space to gather, entertain and relax by the water or cozy up by a wood-burning fireplace.
While the home has an indoor pool, the family added an exterior pool and outdoor entertainment area. “They wanted a space that would open up for indoor-outdoor living for family and friends,” says Leslie Reddy, a senior designer with Payne & Tompkins Design-Renovations in Chardon. Many of the pool house walls open up to the outdoors, thanks to retractable Nano Doors.
Inside is a main kitchen and “dirty kitchen” for prep or catering, along with a full bathroom, laundry area, great room, wet bar, enclosed patio and loft that houses a pullout sofa.
Architect Mike Caito designed the pool house, working with the
level of character that is necessary for this size of a home, Edgell says, where there is a risk of appearing large and bland.
“The Nantucket gable in the center anchors the home, and we tie in a lighthouse look,” he says of a cupola effect.
Awash in colors of the water, sand and sky, the result is a wellplanned home that although sprawling, is every bit as intimate and part of the natural landscape.
homeowners to tweak the layout while staying within the city’s architectural review board limits. For instance, due to the exterior elevation, windows were required on either side of the fireplace where the owners hoped for bookshelf space.
“If you look at the outside, you will see the windows look dark as if the lights are off,” Reddy says. “They are blocked off and custom arched bookcases are in place, so that was one of the ways we worked with the city while delivering on what the client wanted.”
Thoughtful design details include hand-hewn ceiling beams, panel moulding that scales the stairway walls to the loft, a cupola with a weathervane that mimics the main home, French oak floors and custom cabinetry. A combination of lodge-like and rustic-modern light fixtures double as focal points, drawing attention to pitched ceilings that deliver a wide-open feel throughout.
A Euro-Modern Addition Simcon Homes: Best Addition Over $400,000
Appreciating amenities such as a park-like property and a pool, this couple wanted to stay put — but with an empty nest and a second-floor primary suite, their home no longer suited their daily lifestyle. So they invited dear friend Rodney Simon, owner of Simcon Custom Homes from Orange Village, to help design and build an addition that incorporated a main-level primary suite with all the trappings.
“The homeowners were very in tune with what they wanted, and all selections were made before the shovel hit the ground,” says Simon,
noting the post-pandemic build required strategic planning to secure the necessary trades and materials for the large-scale project, which was completed in 11 months.
A Euro-modern style is reflected in a cool black-white-gray palette, sleek finishes and fixtures and innovative surface treatments. For example, the spa bathroom floor with book matching positions large-scale porcelain slabs to mirror the pattern, creating a continuous flow — a work of art. His-and-hers curbless shower entries each have heated towel bars, while a freestanding tub and stacked-stone backdrop (frosted windows were an afterthought) anchor this area. The primary suite sitting room includes a kitchen/bar space with
a dishwasher, built-in coffee maker and drawer fridge. Boutique closet space provides displays for clothing, offers plentiful storage and “is like walking into a shop in Miami,” Simon relates.
In the primary bedroom, coffered ceilings add interest to an expansive stretch of space, while a grandiose chandelier punctuates it and adds a sense of luxurious formality to an otherwise modern aesthetic. A similar light fixture treatment is repeated in the ensuite.
A long hallway outside of the new suite appears to have paneled walls. “But when you push on them, they open up into storage —
Transformation to a Spa Space
HTZ Construction Inc.: Best Bathroom Under $100,000
“There’s a place for everything, and everything has a place,” says Nicole Spade, project consultant at HTZ Construction Inc. in Richfield, reciting
those are hidden doors,” Simon says.
The owners lived through the renovation, so they were very much a part of the everyday progress and ongoing milestones. But a week before completion, they were out of town. This offered an opportunity to stage a grand unveiling.
“The designer was onsite, we had someone who moved everything from their existing closets to the new ones, and the beds were made,” Simon says. “When they came home, they moved right into their new suite and loved it.”
an organizational mantra that underpins the intentional, functional redesign of an outdated Strongsville bathroom.
The before-and-after pictures are startling. Think a tub/shower with a sliding glass door on aluminum tracks, oversized corner jacuzzi, shallow twin sinks crammed into a vanity lacking counterspace
and water damage. Multiple doors to a linen closet, the hallway and commode jammed up the flow.
“It felt confined, and we wanted it to be more open and bright,” Spade says. “They do not use the tub, so they wanted to get rid of it, create a larger spa shower and build in more storage with multiple niches.
Large format tile in the shower room resembles marble, and a bench of solid surface material means no grout lines. A stone textured floor serves dual purposes; it feels good on the feet and is slip-resistant.
Spade divided the vanity with a floor-to-ceiling storage unit, and drawers are equipped with electrical outlets to tuck away appliances
like a flat iron or blow dryer. Additional custom storage includes floating shelves with a shiplap backdrop, additional counterspace and lower cabinetry.
Proper ventilation was key, as the previous configuration did not vent to the exterior, resulting in mold and mildew buildup.
“Elegant lighting and beautiful fixtures elevate the space,” Spade notes, pointing to a towel warming bar and dual shower heads — a stationary rain head and removable attachment with separate valve controls. “It functions for their daily life and they just love being in the space.”
