I recently semi-retired and moved from San Francisco to Hilo, and picked Howard to work with…read morelargely on the basis of reviews here on Yelp. It was a somewhat bumpy ride, but Howard was a steady hand throughout. He was great at explaining things common in Hilo that I had no experience with in San Francisco, like catchment water systems and flood and lava zones. I really needed someone who could walk me through that sort of local knowledge, and Howard was great at it. He was also great at flagging potential concerns with some of the homes I looked at, catching a number of potential issues that would have escaped me. Things got messy because of unexpected delays in the sale of my house in SF, the proceeds of which were paying for my home in Hilo, causing us to have to negotiate a delay. The sellers in Hilo were house-flippers and, frankly, jerks. Howard -- very much the soft-spoken and polite gentleman -- kept very much on top of things but seemed not to be used to dealing with such ****heads. We got through it, but I did need to make a couple executive decisions on my own to bring things to a close. But those circumstances were pretty unusual (trust me, you don't want to hear the details). Howard is a pro -- calm, knowledgeable and helpful.

Even after a year of My 3 properties being sold, Howard has kept in touch and Emailed me specific…read moredocuments that I have requested from the sale. TOP NOTCH CUSTOMER SERVICE THANK YOU HOWARD!!!!!!

Nicolette and the team at Big Island Brokers are absolutely amazing…read more Let me set the stage - My wife and I have been looking to buy a home in Hawaii a while and finally have our ducks in a row financially and the motivation to move forward. In our copious research we stumbled upon a youtube channel for a local realtor that had a lot of really good info, including monthly updates in the market conditions on the Big Island. We think "hey, let's reach out to these people" and so we do. We then email these folks and wait.... Days go by.... We email a different person tangently related to the agent we were trying to reach and she gets us all in contact. Ok, great. A few emails back and forth, but each time we are waiting days to hear back. Starting to get bad feelings about it and like we are almost a bother to this realtor. We book a trip from the mainland to Big Island to come look. Set up our times and meet our agent. She's personable, sure. She takes us out for 2 days looking at many properties. There are a few we have some extra questions about and she makes some notes. After our 2 days looking at properties we take a few days to discuss and reach out to our agent.... Crickets. We go back to the mainland feeling frustrated. Email our agent about some prospects, nothing back. Trying to set up a return trip to the island we reach out again trying to book some time to look at places and asking about times and showings. We get a one word email back "sure". So why the great review? Well.... None of that happened with Big Island Brokers or Nicolette. Instead we called our friend in HPP and asked who he used when they bought their house 4 years ago. That's right, they used Big Island Brokers and he gave us a contact there who set us up with Nicolette. Nicolette called us while she was on vacation to say hi, introduce herself, and let us know she was thrilled to work with us. We set up a meet for when we were on island next and sent her a bunch of listings we had seen and our thoughts, along with listings we wanted to see coming up. Truth be told I basically just took the email we had sent to our previous agent (the one I got a 1 word response to) and modified it slightly to send to Nicolette. Nicolette finished her vacation and then sent us a wonderful email with detailed answers to our questions along with some insight we hadn't gotten previously into the areas we were interested in. We exchanged emails back and forth and made a game plan for our next trip on island. We then crammed in 30 some odd tours of properties in 2 days to maximize our time on island and found the perfect house with Nicolette. One that wasn't even really on our radar that cancelled our showing one of the days but she squeezed back into our schedule on day 2. We went back to see just that house a few days later and pulled the trigger. Nicolette has been very personable, communicative, friendly and made us feel like old friends. She has connections with local folks to help us get our next steps lined up too with respect to local trades and always made us a priority without ever coming off as trying to push us into anything. If you happen upon my review, look up Nicolette at Big Island Brokers. She and the entire team there will do right by you too. I am positive of that.

Sophia Douvris -- remember that name! My sisters and I decided to sell an undeveloped lot on the…read moreBig Island that had been in the family since shortly after Hawaii became a state in 1959. Real estate transactions are rarely smooth and easy, but the usual challenges and logistical headaches were exacerbated by several factors, including both sellers and buyers residing on the Mainland and having to adhere to Hawaii's real estate laws and procedures. There were several obstacles to overcome, not the least of which was old paperwork showing that there was a "flume" on the property left by the long-shuttered sugar factory (thankfully, a third party discovered that the flume was a mile away). I don't know how we could've managed what at times seemed like an impossible ordeal if it weren't for our Big Island real estate agent, Sophia Douvris. From our introductory email through the close of escrow, she was patient, kind, efficient, and good natured while having to navigate a thicket of procedural hurdles, communicate with three elderly people 2500 miles away, and deal with various legal/financial/administrative issues. Throughout, she clearly articulated comprehensive explanations, sometimes by succinctly putting the situation in the context of changes in Hawaiian and global commerce. She was diligent, professional, and forthcoming, and she made the process as pain-free as humanly possible. Sophia is proof that there are still some good-hearted, dedicated, conscientious people doing business these days. She's absolutely the best, and my sisters and I will forever be grateful to her.

Lailan Bento is a true professional , with both the knowledge, and patience, to lead her clients…read morethrough the myriad of steps of either buying and selling real estate, in the unique market on The Big Island!

Lailan and her team have been wonderful to work with in purchasing our new home on the islands…read more Quick response times, always accessible for questions and concerns, offering so many resources depending on our needs.. and all with a friendly, open and accepting attitude. Thank you Lailan and team!

I am planning to move to Big Island for my future happy retirement. I Have arrived in May, 2024…read morehoping to purchase an acre of land. As locals recommended , I have contacted a Big Island Brokerage in Pāhoa. Sophia was highly professional: attentive the most knowledgeable and patient. The very first property she recommended was the right one for me. And even we had a list to look at many more to choose from, after 5 days looking we came back to the one she recommended first. Good job, Sophia!

Big Island Brokers was very professional in handling the sale of my property. Sophia was my agent…read moreand with in one week of the listing being posted had a buyer. She was very helpful and had great communication, so I am completely happy with this business.

Winston Churchill is a realtor that you will definitely get along with and may also add as a…read morefriend. You will immediately notice that it is his style to care about you and gladly show you whatever properties you want and find things that you haven't found once he knows your interests.

From the owner: For expert real estate guidance in Pahoa, HI, locals know to turn to REALTOR® Winston Churchill…read more Winston has been in the business since 1976, and in that time, he's learned the ins-and-outs of what it means to deliver results for his clients. He maintains a strong focus on the pragmatic elements of real estate, but above all, he prioritizes relationships. Winston knows that satisfying results are the product of personalized strategies. This philosophy has guided his career, and continues to guide his mission to serve more Pahoa residents. EPRO, GRI, SSR, ADR

Disappointed to learn from my referring broker that her referral to Denise was not accepted as she…read moredid not want to pay a referral fee and participate in a Military rebate program for buyers. We chose Denise specifically as she mentioned on her bio that she was a Major in the Army and how she "also devotes many hours to various Veterans' Organizations." Did enjoy the webinar with local home inspection business.

Denise is an amazing realtor! When we first listed our home she lined us up with a professional…read morestager. The result was so awesome that a national house hunter television show (Waterfront House Hunters) filmed and aired our home! I recommend Denise over and over to anyone who asks my opinion for the Bis Island's best realtor!

Absolutely terrible company. Erin does not respond to texts, emails, phone calls, etc…read more The office manager is about as useful as a wet tissue.

I worked with Leihana from Hilo Bay Reality several times over the last 5 years. She set up an…read moreauto-email for me that monitored properties at a specific elevation and I was able to secure a lot for $8,500 to build my future home on. She's a very technical person and enhanced the experience.