We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elyse Berman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elyse below.

Elyse, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents were the kindest, most honorable people. They taught me to treat people with kindness and always take the high road, to do the right thing.

Elyse, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a retired Court Reporter and REALTOR® with a special emphasis on helping people finding pet-friendly homes.  

Many years ago my husband and I were looking to move to a condo on the beach. Although I didn’t know it at the time, this was the beginning of how I became a pet-friendly Realtor.

We had three kids, two dogs and five cars, so it was virtually impossible to move to the beach for a while. Where was I going to find five parking spots?  Not happening! 

We had had several homes in pet-friendly gated communities in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, but we wanted to live on the beach. The sand, ocean the salt air was calling – like being on vacation all the time.

Time passed. The kids grew up. It was just the two of us and our dogs.  It was time to revisit moving to the beach.

We found a great pet-friendly condo on the beach in Delray. While we were talking with the agent, she told us the condo would accept one dog with a maximum weight of 60 lbs.  I said, that’s great.  I have two papillons that weigh a total of 16 lbs. The agent looked at me and said, “You can’t live here.” And she was serious.

I was speechless.  Anyone who knows me knows I am rarely at a loss for words! I’m a New Yorker (although I’ve been in this area for 29 years) so things need to make sense. They need to add up. And this made absolutely no sense to me!

Where was the rationale? What was the point? Who made up this ridiculous rule? I could move in with one dog that weighed 60 lbs but not two with a combined  weight of 16 lbs? It was crazy!

No matter how I tried, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. It was a no-brainer to me. The rules of this pet-friendly condo on the beach were totally absurd. But rules are rules, so we moved on from this condo on the beach to another dog-friendly gated community in Boca.

And thus began my journey. 

I was incensed. I started to do research. Hours and hours of research on pet-friendly condos and acquainting myself with pet restrictions. As a retired Court Reporter in the days before Google (yes), I have done extensive research in order to get a transcript out that didn’t say (phonetic.) I worked until I got the spelling of whatever word I was looking for. So off I went.

The more I read, the more I learned which condos in Boca Raton and Highland Beach allowed pets and which did not, which condos in Delray Beach allowed pets and which did not. Which ones had even more ridiculous rules – such as allowing a bird or a fish and then calling it ‘pet friendly.’

And that is how I became a pet-friendly REALTOR® in Boca Raton.

Soon thereafter, I began to notice that different communities would update their rules and regulations, from time to time, and change the pet restrictions. For example, one waterfront condo went from two dogs with a maximum weight of 25 lbs to one dog maximum weight 25 lbs. Why? Who knows? The board voted on it.

Another condo that originally allowed two pets now allows no pets. Why? The board voted it out. A pet-friendly 55+ gated community allowed two dogs up to 25 lbs each. All of a sudden, it was one dog up to 35 lbs.

I began compiling a list about many years ago which is a work in progress. I’ve spent countless hours reading documents. When a listing said “pets restricted,” I wanted and needed to know what that meant. 

Did the condo or community restrict the number, breed or weight of the dogs or cats, or were pets restricted from the community altogether? Or was it another fish-and-bird restriction?   

I was on a mission to quickly becoming the pet-friendly REALTOR® in Boca Raton and the surrounding areas.

I used to work late at night trying to put together a schedule for buyers that were coming in. Imagine trying to plan a day with someone who has a beautiful Golden Retriever or two, and the listing says “pet restrictions.”  It’s midnight or 1:00 am. Even if I could call the agent at that hour, more often than not, they didn’t have a clue.  

It frustrated me.  It drove me crazy. How was I supposed to show dog and cat people condos or homes when I didn’t know the pet restrictions? Each time this happened, I researched more and more. 

How would you feel if you fell in love with a home only to be told your beloved pet or pets were not welcome. You understand! Exactly!   And it has happened.  

I learned that on-site managers and office personnel for the community could be and sometimes were wrong.  I remember an incident with a woman who had three dachshunds. She found me looking for a pet-friendly buyer’s agent to buy a home in a 55+ community in Delray Beach.  I checked with the office and was told two pets maximum, which I relayed to the buyer. She had three. She left south Florida disappointed because they wouldn’t accept her three small dogs. 

Sometime later, I was telling this story to a friend who lived in this same 55+ community. She was incensed, telling me the office manager was wrong. She went to the office to tell the office manager about the pet restrictions for the community. Here this woman was the office manager, and she didn’t have a clue what the pet restrictions were! True story!

Or the time a buyer wanted to know if 3 lbs of dog was really too much in Boynton Beach. Another true story. Ask me about it!

HOW I BECAME A PET-FRIENDLY REALTOR® was born out of my own frustrations, my love of dogs and the law.   It became a personal mission for me to help buyers looking for condos or homes with pets. I didn’t know it at the time, but it’s how I became a pet-friendly Realtor. 

Buyers who were looking for pet-friendly homes in gated communities in Boca Raton, pet-friendly condos in Boca, Highland Beach and Delray Beach, both on and off the ocean, non-gated communities, anything that would accept their furry friends, and in the surrounding areas, as well would find me.  

Many people don’t realize non-gated communities often have pet restrictions, too.

Now, although I love pets, I also work with buyers who have NO pets. Absolutely! All the time!

I realize people may be allergic.  They may be frightened of cats and dogs, or they may just not love animals as I do. And that’s perfectly fine. Whatever the reason, they’re entitled to their wants and needs too. And I’m more than happy to help them find a home. 

I am, and have always been, happy to work with pet-friendly buyers as well as non-pet-friendly buyers.

Being a pet-friendly REALTOR® is not as easy as it sounds, but it is rewarding. It’s time consuming. The time and effort put into research are well worth the smiles I see on my customer and client’s faces’ when we’ve found that perfect home. That’s when I know I’ve done my job well. That home or condo welcomes their beloved pets. After all, pets are part of the family! 

I don’t just throw out listings and hope something sticks. I do the work, and I’m honest. If I can’t help you, I’ll tell you. If it’s impossible to find a pet-friendly home in my area, I’ll tell you.  I may send you to a colleague in another area that may be able to help. You and your pets are just too important. 

And that is the story of how I became a pet-friendly REALTOR®.

Have you ever had to pivot?

While going through a bad time in my life, I enrolled in school for Court Reporting at the urging of a cousin and a friend. When I was about to enter my last class, 200–225 words per minute, the school went out of business. I told them, You can’t close the school. I’m not done yet! 

The state came in to sort things out. Some people transferred to another school, while others left to become legal secretaries or medical secretaries. They brought in new teachers. And that’s where I first met Otto.

Otto was a high-speed teacher and well known in the field. I finished my last class and graduated. Otto became my mentor and friend. I spent many Monday nights and Saturday mornings with other professional Court Reporters in extra speed classes and discussions. 

This was before Google and the Internet. I practiced endless hours of dictation with cassette tapes – Dr Henry Lee – phone calls to hospitals and books to get the correct spelling of a word so the transcript didn’t have to read (phonetic.)  Our programs ran on DOS and we backed up to 5 1/4″ floppies. When Dr. Henry Lee appeared on TV, I was amazed to see he really existed!

Unfortunately, I got sick and had to give up court reporting.  We moved to Boca Raton in 1994. I thought, I’ll do transcription – medical, legal or whatever.  Turns out they were sending it overseas and getting it back in the morning – for five cents a page!  It wasn’t worth my time. I worked for my husband for a while, but bookkeeping was not for me. I needed to see people and the light of day.

After racking up 3-million points playing Solitare on the computer, I was going crazy. I needed something to do. We were buying and selling our own homes, so I got a real estate license.  And then I met Lou.

I met Lou in a Continuing Ed class many years ago. There were about 14 people in the class. Lou was the instructor. I listened and learned from him, taking GRI and several other classes with him. Lou is the reason I began blogging back in 2009. He said, If you aren’t on Active Rain, you ought to be. So I signed up. Lou was one of those rare people who wants to see you succeed and will help you get there. 

I use my background in Court Reporting every day. Having listened to depositions and hearings for many years often helps me see the possibilities of where a real estate transaction may be headed before it happens. Why?  Because we always heard the end, where things ended up.   It gives me foresight. You see, I’ve already seen where this could end up – heck, I’ve marked them as exhibits – and try to avoid potential situations before they occur.

I believe my experience as a Court Reporter helps to make me a better REALTOR®. I understand more of the legal end and communicate easily with attorneys. I try to be especially careful with my contracts and will always go the extra mile to get an explanation for what I don’t know. And I tell people – if I don’t have the answer, I will send you to someone who does. 

Blogging, referrals and repeat business became my best sources of business. Blogging at the suggestion of Lou, who said in a standing-room only class years later, Anyone in here blog? I was the only one who raised my hand. Blogging has been great. It’s truly a labor of love for me, and sometimes I just can’t do it. I don’t know why but it happens. And then I’m back.

I’ve been a REALTOR® for 19 years and I love it.. Although it was not where I started, sometimes in life you have to pivot. I did it from Court Reporting to real estate.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Many years ago, I had Buyers looking for a home in the Delray Beach/Boynton Beach area. After looking at many homes, they found a home they loved. We went to see it twice and asked all relevant questions. Buyers mentioned to the Sellers’ Agent they had a Wheaten Terrier.  Sellers’ Agent said, “No problem.”
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We made an offer which was accepted. I attended the home inspection, as Buyers lived out of town. If all went well, they would send their second deposit. It was an As-Is Contract with a 10-day Right to Cancel.

At the inspection, Sellers’ Agent gent gave me the HOA documents which I overnighted to the Buyers.

Upon receiving the documents, the Buyer called in a panic. He said, “The docs say one pet maximum 25 lbs. My dog weighs 28 to 30 lbs. What should I do? Put him on a diet?”

After we laughed about it, I started to make calls. First to the Sellers’ Agent whose response was, “I don’t know. Call the management company.” The management company said, “I don’t know. Only the Association President can make that decision, and she’s out of town until Monday.”

We went around in circles and got nowhere. 

Here we had Sellers who wanted to sell and Buyers who wanted to buy. And, I couldn’t get a straight answer as to whether or not they will accept 3 lbs of dog? Are you kidding? Something is clearly wrong here!

I talked to the Buyers over the weekend. They were very nervous about being accepted in the community. My concern was that even if they were accepted, they might still have problems if they ended up with a neighbor who decided the dog was too large and complained to the association. This was a problem they didn’t need when moving to south Florida.

By Monday when the Association President got around to calling, she told the Buyer they would consider the dog if they sent a photo and his veterinary records, documenting his weight down immediately.

After sitting on edge all weekend, the Buyer called quite upset. He said, “Is she nuts? I am in the middle of New York City working. She wants me to drop everything, go home and take the dog to the vet? Cancel the contract!”

I promised to find him a better house. He told me his wife would “cook my goose” if I didn’t. So, we canceled the contract and started to look for homes. I sent him one house that he hemmed and hawed about because it had a pool. They didn’t want a pool. I said to him, You don’t have to buy the house, but just look at it. If you don’t like it, we’ll leave.

It was a fabulous house – had an extra bedroom, a 40-foot pool, full- house generator, fully upgraded and they needed to get rid of the house asap. And when I asked about the pet restrictions, the answer from the association was, “Is it smaller than an elephant?” 

The Buyer walked in and immediately fell in love with the house. He called his wife from the living room and said, “We’re buying this house.”

They loved the house and told me they owed it all to their dog and me. So, you see, 3 lbs of dog really does matter in Boca or Delray, depending on the community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://buysellhomesbocaraton.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bocapethomes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petfriendlyhomesinbocaratonfl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elyseberman/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElyseBermanRE
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ElyseBerman
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/elyse-berman-best-connections-realty-boca-raton
• Other: ActiveRain – https://activerain.com/profile/elyseberman

Image Credits
Elyse Berman (my own photos)