Why Work With Us?

The Perfect Choice Prior to making the decision to sell our home with the intent to downsize we had to weigh our Realtor options. Go with "someone you know" – In our case there were part timers while others were either new to the field or quite simply didn't sell many houses. Big downside there is they'll likely be mad because you didn't choose them. The other option is go with a proven well regarded veteran. We chose the latter and went with Elaine based on very positive web research, the large number of signs I've always seen around town and the fact she came highly recommended. During our first meeting it was overly apparent we made the right choice. Her knowledge of the marketplace and sell/buy processes was clearly strong. Elaine's ability to use her years of lessons learned helped us though many decision points. The spring and summer period during 2016 was incredibly busy for all realtors, and she was as busy as any of them, but I never felt like I wasn't just as important as anyone else. She and the team were super responsive, extremely knowledgeable and most of all were willing to go the distance. I quickly learned this because I saw the hours they put in every day. Not just in our case but all her clients. We received offers the first day our house went on the market and closed six or seven weeks later. We got asking price and I don't feel like we left anything on the table. Our downsize purchase went just as smooth. From the day we first met and again when she presented her market assessment, right through the inspection, legal and closings I couldn't have asked for more support, guidance and delivery. Consider this review as my recommendation to choose Elaine McDonald. Thanks Elaine and Doug!

My fiancé and I could not be happier with our experience with Elaine. My fiancé and I had been looking for a home for months with another agent, before we'd met Elaine, and although he was nice person, he didn't seem to meet our needs. Often times he was unresponsive or unable to meet because of vacation or dinner plans. I don't expect people to be at my beck and call but we had lost opportunities to put down offers on multiple homes we were avidly interested in. When viewing homes, he left us alone with our thoughts, and had little to say about the home itself. I thought that perhaps he was respecting our space. Elaine was recommended to us by a mutual friend... She was a rock star! When she took us to see these homes, she'd walk us throughout the entire house, inside and out, and would point out every detail that may be a problem, or might need to be replaced and when, possible advantages or disadvantages if we decided to sell in a few years, what could be changed without breaking the bank. She was very responsive and made us feel very at ease when we weren't sure what to do with our nerves. We were impressed by her knowledge and wisdom. There was an opportunity to buy a more expensive home that we fell in love with, but I knew she was looking in our best interests when she explained to us why it would be a bad investment. We finally settled on a home in Sterling that needed a little fixing up. She negotiated hard for us and we were more than satisfied. We were well below budget and had plenty of room for renovations that wouldn't put us upside down. Thank you Elaine!

Elaine and Doug are an amazing team who know how to help people achieve their goals when selling and buying a home. Having sold and purchased THREE times we have seen our fair share of issues and hardships. Elaine and Doug were there to guide us through the process, coordinate with the other professionals involved and make our sales/purchases go smoothly. Our most recent move included delivering a child AND closing on a new home in the SAME WEEK!! This could have created an absorbent amount of stress, but Elaine and Doug helped us get through it all. Experts in their field, great at trying to understand what we needed through each transaction and a huge help in understanding the market. Certainly an invaluable resource in their field and a team that we would turn to again!!

Elaine made our dreams come true. She was referred to me by a co-worker and I was hesitant to call because we already had a realtor working with us. It was our first home buying experience and I didn't know exactly what to expect from our realtor. We met her out of respect for my co-worker and boy was it a good move. When we did walk-throughs of the prospective houses she walked around with us and pointed out all the issues and features. Our other realtor sat on his phone in the kitchen while we walked around by ourselves. I am an engineer and analyzed all the other sold houses in our area to come up with pricing and Elaine and I were always on the same page. She promptly responded to all our e-mails and always picked up the phone (This is a big deal to me). When we finally found the right house, she was able to negotiate a deal that was significantly lower than the listed price and keep us calm while we waited for a response. She stuck to her guns and saved us some money. Everything went smooth and she is now helping us figure out what to do for upgrades while not spending too much and not be able to get it out later. She was a god send for us and I cannot recommend her high enough. Thank you, Elaine.

Selling a house can be a very personal thing, so it was important to have a personal connection to both Elaine McDonald and to Douglas Palino, her sales manager.  We got along well and felt we had a strong partner in this "moving adventure"!

Elaine let us set the pace and frequency of our new home search; this was mostly good news, because we were capable of doing the work and assessing good possible fits for us.  When we wanted or needed more help, Elaine was right there with good ideas and marketing strategies.  Her follow through with us was excellent.

I would definitely recommend Elaine McDonald and her team to friends and other acquanintances!  Overall, it was a very positive experience with a great outcome!!

We bought our house with Elaine, and sold it with Elaine 7 years later. In both cases, Elaine was attentive, professional, creative and operated 100% with our interests in mind. When selling our house, Elaine was direct, honest and creative in helping us prepare our home for sale, working with us for months before we put our house on the market so everything was "Buyer Ready" by the time we put the sign in our front yard. We got our first offer (a low ball) within days, and Elaine told us to reject it out of hand. We got a full-price offer just a couple weeks later. Through it all, we felt like we were the most important client Elaine & Doug had. They were consistently responsive and proactive. Elaine is THE BEST!!

We've used Elaine McDonald many times over the years to both buy & sell our homes in the area. She's extremely knowledgeable about the area and the entire buying/selling processes.  Elaine tells it like it is (without being harsh) and there is no drama or overinflation of an issue when dealing with her.  I can't possibly overstate her competence and experience.  She's has a great presence on the internet as well and did a great job of getting our listing out there to the world.  She & her team made this last selling process so easy given that we were out of state.  I would recommend her to anyone looking to buy/sell a home.  She's got you covered.

We bought our house with Elaine and sold it with Elaine 7 years later. Elaine is knowledgeable, professional, responsive and always acted 100% with our interests in mind. She was direct and honest with us as we prepared to put our house on the market, and worked with us for months before we put out house on the market so it was "Buyer Ready" by the time the sign went up. We got our first offer within a few days (a low-ball offer that Elaine told us to reject out of hand) and we got a full-price offer just a couple weeks later. though the entire process we felt like we were Elaine's most important client. Doug was also extremely helpful with many of the logistics. I would recommend Elaine to anyone either buying or selling a house. This was our sixth home sale and it went more smoothly and successfully than any sale we've ever done. THANK YOU ELAINE!!

I have purchased many homes, in several states, including 4 in 3 states in the past 10 years, so I have a lot of experience working with realtors from both sides of the buying and selling equation.  I can say, without hesitation, that I have never had a realtor better advocate for me as a seller.  Elaine's evident experience and competence are an enormous asset to a client.  Her knowledge of the area, its home values, and its services makes the transition so much easier as well.  In addition, her patience is amazing, as is her commitment to her clients.  It is clear to me that Elaine will be there to give advice and answer questions at any time, long after the deal is closed.  I cannot recommend her more highly.