Elsbet Doucette Real Estate

11/08/2022

06/20/2022

♥️

01/22/2021

If I weren't a realtor, I think I would make a great hairstylist 💇🏼‍♀️

Or I'd have my own Etsy shop 🧶

I've always loved playing with hair.

I remember when I first learned how to french braid. I would practice on anyone who would let me.

I've always loved making big dramatic changes to my hair colour and length.

I love how it makes you feel when you walk out of the salon.

I'm also very detailed oriented. Everything has to be perfect which can be a blessing and a curse. Something that would help me as a hairdresser.

Maybe in another life or maybe it will be what I take on in retirement.

Most people become realtors when they retire, I'm going to do it the other way around!

What is a career, not your current one, that you think you would be really good at?

01/21/2021

I recently finished Willpower Doesn't Work and I loved it! 📚

I read it as a "business" book but there is so much to take from it personally as well.

This is a book that my coaches have been recommending I read pretty much as long as I've known them.... probably because my willpower isn't that strong 😂

I get distracted easily.

One of my biggest takeaways from the book was that in order to have continued success, you need to create an environment to supports that success.

An easily relatable scenario would be if you are trying to lose weight but your house is full of junk food. Your willpower to resist junk food will most likely only last so long.

However, if you were to clear your house of junk food, it makes sticking to your goals much easier.

Now apply that everywhere in your life.

Another theme I liked was not taking everything on your own shoulders. Utilize your environment and support system to help you succeed.

I found a lot of the book to be extremely relevant. It was also very inspiring.

I found it easy and engaging. If it sounds at all interesting to you, I encourage you to give it a read!

Then let me know what you thought!

01/20/2021

Where is the first place
you’re going to fly
once it’s safe to do so?

01/19/2021

Have you ever received a low offer on a home you're selling and immediately wanted to reject it?

That is a completely normal feeling. It can feel like the buyers are undervaluing your home. It's hard to see how you could possibly agree on a price.

You're going to want to resist this feeling.

Just because they presented a low offer doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to pay more.

Always, always, always counter. I cant emphasize this enough.

You never truly know what the buyer's position is. When they see that you aren't willing to accept a low ball offer, they often respond to your counter with a more competitive offer.

Not all the time, but often enough that you never want to immediately reject an offer.

It's hard not to take it personally, I get it, but countering will most likely benefit you.

01/14/2021

Are you still able to show homes 🏘 during the pandemic?

I get asked this often and the answer is YES!

When I meet clients at a home, we mask up 😷, sanitize before entering 🧴, and once inside we reduce touching as much as possible.

We also only have one group in a home at a time. This allows you the opportunity to walk around and explore the home with privacy.

Open houses aren't allowed but private showings with your realtor are welcome!

Have you been viewing homes through the pandemic or did you put your home search on pause?

01/12/2021

I'm a big believer in karma 🔮

What you put out into the world, will come back to you. It may not be immediate, but I truly believe that.

Let me give you an example I deal with often in real estate of good karma and bad karma.

When a seller signs a contract to sell their home, it almost always has a clause about the condition the home will be left in.

Basically how clean it will be 🧹

Even if the wording in the contracts is the same, the disparity of cleanliness from one home to the next is massive.

Some sellers really take pride in their home and leave it as they would want to find it.

Others, don't seem to think much of how they are leaving the home.

If they don't fulfill the terms of the contract (cleaning the home), the chances the buyer is going to sue them are slim to none.

When we walked in the door to our first home we were so surprised at how dirty it was. We could write on the windows there was so much dirt built-up on them. Dirt and crumbs everywhere... like everywhere 😩

It sucked 👎🏻

When we sold our place we made sure to vacuum up all the crumbs, clean the fridge, windows, etc.

We left it how we wished we had gotten it.

Luckily our experience with our second home was much better. The sellers left the home nice and clean for us and it made our move so much smoother! 🙏🏻

I really believe this is a karma thing. I will always leave homes we are selling clean and support my clients in doing the same.

Hopefully, more agents start to put an emphasis on this because it makes such a big difference for the buyers on possession day!

When you got keys to your home was it left clean or dirty?

01/11/2021

What’s is your favorite board/card game?

01/08/2021

Is your personal insurance up to date with your strata insurance deductible?

THIS 👏🏼 IS 👏🏼 SO 👏🏼 IMPORTANT!

Over the past two years strata insurance premiums and deductibles have increased ⬆️

If you haven't updated your insurance to match your strata's, it could cost you thousands.... like many many thousands 💸

Let me break it down for you.

Your strata will have insurance for the building with deductibles for all the owners. These deductibles can range from $10,000 - $100,000 +++.

When you bought your condo the strata's water deductible was $10,000 and you set your personal insurance to match that. Over the past few years, your building's water deductible has increased to $50,000.

Let's say your washing machine has a pipe burst 💧 and there is water damage in your unit as well as the two units below you.

The strata insurance would cover the work and you would be charged back the deductible.

You haven't updated your personal policy to account for the larger deductible 😳

If your unit is the source of a strata insurance water claim you'd be charged $50,000. Your insurance would cover $10,000 and you would be on the hook for the additional $40,000 🤯

I don't know about you but there are a lot of things I would prefer to spend $40,000 on 🐾 ✈️ 🏝

This is why it is so important to keep up to date with your strata insurance policy!

If this isn't clear or you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out 📞 This is not something to overlook.

01/07/2021

I recently finished Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming 📚 and am left with mixed feelings.

I think she is an interesting person who has led a very unique life. It was cool to hear her perspective.

But, I found I struggled to connect with her. Everything, even the struggles in her life seemed to be curated in the way she shared them.

I can't imagine what it must have been like growing up with a father suffering from MS. As much as I felt for her, it didn't make me feel connected to her.

I didn't feel like she was raw or vulnerable. Moments, where people open up their souls and allow us into their world, are the moments that capture me.

All my favourite memoirs have that in common. It allows me to relate to public figures on a human level.

That being said, I'm glad I read it. I found it interesting and very easy reading.

Have you read Becoming? What did you think of it?

01/06/2021

I'm going to be real with you about open houses. The chances someone walks into your open house from the street and ends up buying your home are slim. Like.... so slim.

I have had people come in off the street when I've hosted an open house. Some of them have even loved the home 🏡

The issue? They aren't ready to buy a home within a couple days.

For agents, an open house is a big lead generator. It's a way to meet potential clients. When I first started in real estate, I did a lot of open houses and met some amazing clients who, over time, have become friends 🚪

With that being said, an open house does benefit the seller as well, but maybe not in the way you thought.

Because homes sell quickly in our market, the buyer of your home, is already out there looking at homes 👀

Let's say we list your home on the MLS and 15 buyers see it online and want to view it. Without an open house that means 15 private showings where you need to clean and vacate your home.

That's pretty inconvenient 🙅🏼‍♀️

For Sellers, if we do an open house, and 7-10 of those interested buyers stop by the open house, then you are only doing 5-8 private showings That means we are condensing the showing times down.

The way I look at it, an open house saves time and energy when you are selling your home 🙌🏼

And let’s be honest, we could all use a bit of extra time.