Feature: Laura DeLuca
I recently met up with Laura DeLuca at a local downtown restaurant to chat about her work as a real estate sales representative for locally owned and operated brokerage EXIT Realty Lake Superior.
I have known Laura for a long time and even though it had been a while since we saw each other in person, it was as though no time had passed at all.
This type of easy and comfortable conversation is what anyone who contacts Laura for their real estate needs can expect. It doesn’t take long to realize that she has found the perfect fit for her personality and strengths and anyone looking to buy or sell their home is in good hands with Laura.
Speaking of good hands, Laura has also been a registered massage therapist since 1997 and as she relayed, real estate was a forward thinking profession, as it’s a way to help people in a different way.
It has become her future plan, as massage therapy is a physically demanding profession. In addition to being a registered massage therapist, Laura also has a Bachelors degree in Human Kinetics, with honours in Movement Science.
She has always been drawn to work that involves helping people and bringing some happiness to people’s lives and real estate provides the perfect opportunity to do so.
Being unfamiliar with the process to become a real estate sales representative, Laura in her helpful and animated way gave me the lowdown. She said that for her, the process involved taking six courses which she did through online learning followed by examinations proctored through Sault College which she completed successfully in 2012.
It took roughly a year and half to complete the courses and she did so while also operating her successful massage therapy practice at the time. She loves what she does and her eyes lit up when I asked what the best part of her job is. She didn’t hesitate while responding that it is watching the reaction on people’s face when they realize she has found them their dream home. There is nothing like seeing the pure joy when they know that “this is the one” and that is something that never gets old and her “why” for doing what she does.
It all goes back to always wanting to help people and this is her way of doing so. It is the best feeling to know that your “work” involves helping people from all walks of life find the perfect and arguably one of the most important investments of their lives. The characteristics required to be a good real estate agent are being patient, personable, organized, flexible, precise since you have to work with and prepare a lot of legal documents and passionate which are all characteristics that describe Laura without fail.
She jokes that at times, her clients feel like they become her friends because she spends a lot of time reassuring them that they will find their perfect house or sell their house whatever the case may be. She is very available to clients and they can message her anytime with questions. She wants the process to be as stress free as possible for her clients because she knows that people are stressed enough as is if they are selling their home or looking for a home. The fact that real estate is not your typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. type job doesn’t bother her at all and is something she is used to but she says her background in human kinetics and massage therapy has prepared her well for maintaining a healthy balance.
Self-care is so important and that too is something she tries to remind people of during the process. Her working relationship at EXIT has been so positive and she really loves the fact that it is an empathy driven company as opposed to an ego driven one which completely aligns with her work and life values. EXIT does a lot for staff to ensure that not only are they better realtors but they are also better people. They make a point of ensuring a real team environment that receives regular training on all sorts of topics – not just real estate. Mindset training, personality profile training, business planning and goal setting are just a few of the tools that staff have had access to especially over the recent challenges with Covid-19.
Steve Morris, the founder of EXIT Realty Corp. International is very hands on and engaged. He is not just a distant figure head and as Laura mentioned, he cares about his team and it shows. Despite recent happenings, no layoffs have occurred and there have been free training and stimulus packages in place which shows how much the company cares about its staff, franchisees, brokers and sales representatives.
I asked Laura for the best advice for people buying a home for the first time and she said to find a realtor that you are comfortable with so they can help you make informed decisions but also to speak to a mortgage specialist or a financial advisor so that they can advise you what you are able to afford and educate you prior to house hunting.
One trend she has noticed that is promising for our region is a greater interest in young people in their thirties wishing to return to the Sault area for various reasons such as wanting to be close to their families, wanting a slower pace, and less commuting time.
In addition, they can sell their homes in larger cities for a large selling price and then buy a beautiful home here at a fraction of the cost. The market here is strong right now and in fact there is a shortage in inventory.
According to Laura, the average sale price currently is $205,000. Average days on market is currently 52 days, however if price, location and condition really line up – often, listings are selling within as little as a week.
So is this a lifelong career for Laura? She thinks so because as she stated, she truly loves the process from start to finish and as mentioned earlier the joy and excitement on people’s faces when she is able to help them either sell their home or find their perfect home is so rewarding.
If you love meeting new people, never being bored, then real estate is the perfect fit and for Laura, it is all that and more! She mentions that sometimes people get so excited by a home’s particular feature that they don’t necessarily see the deficiencies which she will always point out because she is not someone who will ignore those things just to make a quick sale.
Her number one priority is to make sure the home is the perfect fit and to protect people from making a purchase they might regret later. That dear readers, is why if you are in need of a genuine, hard working, dedicated real estate sales representative, you should consider Laura DeLuca by calling 705-943-1534. She will make sure that you love where you live, that is her promise!