Hello and thank you for checking out my Real Estate Website! I want to tell you a little about myself.  You can read about my real estate credentials on my website page, but this will show you how I became interested in the profession of Real Estate!!!

I grew up on the Westside of Cleveland in Lorain and Amherst. Lorain Catholic High School is my alma mater, which is no longer in existence, unfortunately.  Lorain was booming and a different place back then. The friends I made and leadership roles I held while in high school helped me to be who I am today. After graduating from Lorain Catholic High School I attended Miami of Ohio for 1 year, but it was not a match for me.  I needed more…more people to interact with and more opportunities at my disposal so I ended up at The Ohio State University! I pledged the Chi Omega Sorority and majored in Fashion Merchandising with a minor in Marketing. After graduating from OSU in 1983 I married my husband and we moved to St. Louis, MO where he attended medical school at St. Louis University. During that time, I worked as a store manager for Ups N Downs, owned by US Shoe Corporation.

------------------------------------

My husband's internship in Radiology at University Hospitals moved us to Cleveland and we were thrilled to be able to return home! Buying our first house in 1987 was at a time when interest rates were peaking at 12-13%. We purchased a 3-bedroom colonial built in the early 1900’s in Fairview Park for only $60,000! We did some improvements and sold it 5 years later for $96,000. Woo Hoo!  Sold at the right time…and all worked out well for us to build our dream home in Avon Lake in 1992.  Going through the building process at that time was an eye opener. I had no idea how much went into it!

------------------------------------

After being a stay at home for many years and 4 children later (Adam, Cory, Tyler, and Paige) unforeseen circumstances took me and my children to another home in Avon Lake in 2001.  This time it was a “spec” home.  This was fun!  All I had to do was pick out the “FUN STUFF”.  It was a brand-new home without the hassles of waiting 9+ months and the need to make so many final decisions along the way. My Realtor® was fabulous and I looked up to her! This is what triggered my first interest in real estate. At this time, I also went back to work.  First I worked for a friend who runs the real estate division of The Buckle clothing stores.  This was fun, but as an assistant I didn’t get to be out there involved with it all.  I was a behind the scenes person.  During the same time, I started my own marketing business, "Enhanced Image Advertising".  I handled numerous marketing and promotion events for restaurants and sold advertising for the in-room hotel directories which I created from start to finish for 22 different hotels.  This was fun, but I spent more time hounding people for the payment for my work than doing the work.  I needed more…

------------------------------------

Everyone had always told me that I was the perfect type of person to be a Realtor®. My Grandfather was an Italian immigrant and did well buying real estate and developing properties, as only one facet of what he did. I grew up going to all these different places in Cleveland and in the Ft. Lauderdale area while listening to him talk about it…sometimes trying to figure out what was being said in Italian! I have always had his drive and ambition, so this was something else that made me decide to do this! With my 2 oldest children being 17 and 19 in 2005, I thought I could do this!  I was going to become a Realtor®! 

------------------------------------

Lots of hard work and determination lead me to be successful.  I LOVE my job!  I LOVE meeting new people and helping others. This is something that I have always wanted. My Grandmother always said, “everything happens for a reason”.  I see that now and I understand.  Now that my children are young adults, I have a strong dedication to my clients and peers. I am now in my “empty nester” home, so I have gone thru the cycle that my clients go through!! This is where I belong….and it is because of all of this that I will make the BEST Real Estate Agent for you!!   Christina Higgins