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                  AMENDMENT TO EMPLOYMENT AND AWARD AGREEMENTS
                  --------------------------------------------


     This Amendment to Employment and Award  Agreements  (this  "Amendment")  is
entered into as of April 18, 1996 (so as to be effective: (i) in the case of the
Employment  Agreement (as defined  below) as of the 1st day of April,  1996; and
(ii) in the case of the  Award  Agreements  (as  defined  below) as of April 15,
1996) by and between Mark D. Thompson ("Employee") and Cardinal Realty Services,
Inc., an Ohio corporation ("Employer").


                                    RECITALS:
                                    ---------

         A.  Employee  and  Employer  are  parties  to that  certain  Employment
Agreement dated as of April 1, 1996 (the "Employment Agreement").

         B. Pursuant to the Employment Agreement,  Employee has received certain
Restricted  and Deferred  Share Awards  ("Share  Awards") of  Employer's  common
stock,  no par value (the "Stock")  under  Employer's  Amended and Restated 1992
Incentive  Equity Plan (the  "Incentive  Equity  Plan"),  as well as  Employer's
agreement to issue or deliver "Matching Stock" to Employee, as follows:

                  1. Deferred Share Award related to Employee's  Stock Bonus (as
         defined in the Employment  Agreement) pursuant to Section 3(b), clauses
         (iv) and (v), of the  Employment  Agreement  and that certain  Deferred
         Shares  Agreement  dated as of April  15,  1996  between  Employer  and
         Employee;

                  2. Seven  thousand five hundred  (7,500)  shares of Restricted
         Stock pursuant to Section 3(d)(i) of the Employment  Agreement and that
         certain Restricted Shares Agreement (Stock Award) between Employer and
         Employee dated as of April 15, 1996;

                  3. Nine thousand  (9,000) shares of Restricted  Stock pursuant
         to  Section  3(d)(ii)  of the  Employment  Agreement  and that  certain
         Restricted  Shares Agreement (Market Cap) between Employer and Employee
         dated as of April 15, 1996; and

                  4.  Employer's  agreement (as set forth in Section 3(c) of the
         Employment  Agreement) to issue up to five thousand  (5,000)  shares of
         Stock to  Employee  on account of each  share of Stock  which  Employee
         purchases  for his own  account  from April 1, 1996  through  March 31,
         1997.

         C. Employer has afforded  Employee and certain  other senior  executive
officers of Employer with the  opportunity  to defer federal  income taxes which
may  otherwise be payable on account of the issuance or vesting of shares of the
Stock by establishing an Executive  Deferred  Compensation  Plan dated April 18,
1996 (the  "Deferred  Compensation  Plan")  and by  entering  into that  certain
Executive  Deferred  Compensation Rabbi Trust Agreement between Employer and The
Provident  Bank,  a  state  chartered  bank,  as  Trustee   (together  with  its
successors, "Trustee"), dated as of April 18, 1996 (the "Trust Agreement").


                                        1


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         D. Employee has  heretofore  taken steps to defer federal  income taxes
otherwise  payable in respect of the  issuance or vesting of shares of the Stock
by executing that certain equity  deferral  election dated April 1, 1996 thereby
electing  to defer his  actual  receipt  of the  Stock  pursuant  to a  Deferred
Compensation Arrangement and Rabbi Trust to be established by Employer.

         E. Employer has now formally adopted the Deferred Compensation Plan and
entered into the Trust  Agreement and,  pursuant to Employee's  prior  election,
Employee and Employer  desire to cause the Stock to be issued to and held by the
Trustee for his benefit in accordance with the Trust Agreement.

         F.  Employer  and  Employee  desire to  refine  the  provisions  in the
Employment  Agreement for  Employee's  Cash Bonus (as defined in the  Employment
Agreement) and Stock Bonus.

                                   AMENDMENTS
                                   ----------

         1. Amendments to Award Agreements.  Concurrently with the execution and
delivery of this  Amendment,  Employer  and  Employee  will  execute and deliver
Amended and Restated  Award  Agreements in the forms of Exhibits "A" through "C"
hereto.  The  Amended  and  Restated  Award  Agreements  will  provide  that all
Restricted and Deferred  Shares will be issued to the Trustee for the benefit of
Employee in accordance with the provisions of the Deferred Compensation Plan and
Trust Agreement.  The Award Agreements will also eliminate any references to the
Incentive Equity Plan inasmuch as the Stock formerly subject to the Share Awards
will not be issued under the Incentive Equity Plan.

         2.  Amendments to Employment  Agreement.  The  Employment  Agreement is
hereby amended as follows:

                  (a) The  words  "taxes,  depreciation  and  amortization"  are
         hereby deleted from Section 3(b)(i) of the Employment Agreement and the
         following  words are hereby added to Section  3(b)(i) of the Employment
         Agreement following the word "interest" as it appears in the fifth line
         thereof: "(excluding,  however, interest expense on account of mortgage
         loans secured by real property in which the Company  retains,  directly
         or indirectly, a one hundred percent (100%) equity ownership interest),
         taxes,  depreciation  and  amortization;  with such earnings,  however,
         being  further  adjusted  so as to  exclude  all  non-recurring  items,
         including,  without  limitation,  loan fees which the Company  receives
         from  limited  partnerships  or other  entities  in which it  retains a
         minority interest and the accounts of which are not consolidated in the
         Company's  financial  statements,  net income from disposal of non-core
         assets,  restructuring  costs  and all  other  extraordinary  gains  or
         losses; all as".

                  (b) The third entry in the table set forth in Section  3(b)(i)
         of the Employment Agreement is hereby deleted in the following entry is
         substituted therefore:

                                       2

                                      119


Greater than 110%                        Additional Percentage Increase in
up to 120%                               Comparison EBITDA (above 110%)
                                         multiplied by 2; plus, if applicable,
                                                                --------------

                  (c) The  dollar  amount  $9,072,649  relating  to  "Comparison
         EBITDA" as it appears in Section  3(b)(ii) of the Employment  Agreement
         is  hereby  deleted  and  the  dollar  amount  "$7,606,000"  is  hereby
         substituted therefor.

                  (d) The  words  "the  Employer's  Incentive  Equity  Plan,  as
         amended,   and"  are  hereby  deleted  from  Section  3(b)(iv)  of  the
         Employment Agreement.

                  (e) The last  sentence  of Section  3(b)(v) of the  Employment
         Agreement is hereby  deleted and the following  sentence is substituted
         therefor:  "No  fractional  share  shall  be  payable  to  Employee  in
         connection  with the Stock Bonus,  but  Employee  will be entitled to a
         cash payment equal to the dollar value of any fractional share to which
         he would  otherwise be entitled  under the Stock  Bonus,  to be paid to
         Employee together with the payment of Employee's Cash Bonus hereunder."

                  (f) The words  "shall  issue to  Employee"  as they  appear in
         Section 3(c) of the  Employment  Agreement  are hereby  deleted and the
         following  language  is  substituted  therefor:  "shall  issue  to  The
         Provident  Bank,  a state  chartered  bank,  in its capacity as Trustee
         under  that  certain  Executive   Deferred   Compensation  Rabbi  Trust
         Agreement  dated as of April 18, 1996 (the "Trust  Agreement"),  or any
         successor trustee thereunder ("Trustee"), for the benefit of Employee".

                  (g) The  second  sentence  of Section  3(c) of the  Employment
         Agreement is hereby  deleted and the following  sentence is substituted
         therefor: "Any Matching Stock which Trustee is entitled to receive from
         Employer  shall  be  issued  to  Trustee  within  thirty  (30)  days of
         Employee's  purchase of any shares of Common Stock and shall be subject
         to all  restrictions  and limitations  imposed by applicable  state and
         federal securities laws and regulations."

                  (h) The  words "to the terms of  Employer's  Incentive  Equity
         Plan, as amended" are hereby deleted from the first sentence of Section
         3(d) of the Employment Agreement.

                  (i) The  following  language  is added  to the end of  Section
         3(d)(i)  of the  Employment  Agreement:  "and  except  for the terms of
         Employer's  Executive  Deferred  Compensation Plan and the terms of the
         Trust Agreement".

                  (j) The term "Employee" is hereby deleted from the second line
         of Section 3(d)(ii) of the Employment Agreement, and the term "Trustee"
         is substituted therefor.

                                       3


                                      120


         3. Miscellaneous.

                  (a)  Effect  of  Amendment.  Except as  specifically  provided
         herein, this Amendment does not in any way waive, amend, modify, affect
         or impair the terms and conditions of the Employment Agreement, and all
         terms and conditions of the Employment  Agreement are to remain in full
         force and  effect  unless  otherwise  specifically  amended,  waived or
         changed pursuant hereto.

                  On and after the date of this Amendment, each reference in the
         Employment  Agreement  to  "this  Agreement",   "hereunder",  "hereof",
         "herein" or words of like import referring to the Employment  Agreement
         shall mean and be a reference to the Employment Agreement as amended by
         this Amendment.

                  This  Amendment  constitutes  the entire  agreement  among the
         parties  pertaining  to the subject  matter hereof and  supersedes  all
         prior and contemporaneous agreements,  understandings,  representations
         or other arrangements,  whether express or implied, written or oral, of
         the  parties in  connection  therewith  except to the extent  expressly
         incorporated or specifically referred to herein.

                  (b) Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in any number
         of   counterparts   and  by  different   parties   hereto  in  separate
         counterparts,  each of which when so executed  and  delivered  shall be
         deemed an original, but all such counterparts together shall constitute
         but one and the same instrument.

                  (c) Governing  Law. This  Amendment  shall be governed by, and
         shall be construed and enforced in accordance  with,  the internal laws
         of the State of Ohio, without regard to conflicts of laws principles.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Employer and Employee have signed this Amendment so
as to be effective as hereinabove provided.

                         CARDINAL REALTY SERVICES, INC.
Attest:

                                By: /s/ John B. Bartling, Jr.
- -------------------------       --------------------------------
                                        John B. Bartling, Jr.
                                        President and Chief Executive Officer
- -------------------------

- -------------------------           /s/ Mark D. Thompson
                                ------------------------
                                        MARK D. THOMPSON
- -------------------------


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