Testimonials From Clients
|
J. D., Kauai--January 2010
Aloha Richard. It gives me great
pleasure to personally thank you for your great dedication and service you
provided in helping me in the sale of my home and lots during a very severe
downturn in the real estate market. I will be pleased to recommend you to my
family and friends.
|
|
John & Ruth from Pennsylvania
Richard was extremely patient and assisted us over a period of two years. I couldn't ask for a better representative.
|
|
Ben & Jennifer on Kauai I
have purchased homes in multiple states and worked with multiple realtors.
All I can say is Richard Dolbeare is one of the best. Professional,
timely, and an expert in all things related to real estate. Every
question my family and I asked was answered quickly and thoroughly.
Every concern that came up was explained and assessed in a manner that made
us confident we were making good choices every step of the way. In a
show of his devotion to his clients, not his commission, Richard saved us
from making a costly purchasing mistake on a more expensive home than the
one we ended up with. Richard is the embodiment of real estate
professionalism. I would highly recommend him to anyone thinking of
making any real estate transaction. Above that, we plan on using
Richard for our next deal. Mahalo Richard!
|
|
Chris, Rami, Kylie (A.K.A. "Squirt")
Thank you so much for your
professionalism, Aloha Spirit and real estate knowledge. Wow!
You work fast, intelligently and with extreme personability! We feel
so blessed that you were recommended to us. We hope you enjoy our
tropical gift basket. Thank you for helping us get our slice of
paradise. |
|
DS in Koloa, HI
I just wanted to say mahalo for
the very thoughtful package you sent us recently. |
|
C & R in Fresno, CA
Dear Richard,
Thank you for all of your help! You are the best!
We appreciate all of your insight. |
|
Patty in Lakeville, MN
I just bought a home on Kauai
with a referral that you gave me. Richard Dolbeare has been an outstanding
and helpful realtor who I will strongly recommend to family and friends. He
is a very knowledgeable, warm and friendly, helpful, with a great sense of
humor to boot! Please do offer him many more referrals, cause he will not do
you wrong! We found him to be very ethical and professional to boot!
|
Interview
Interview with Richard T. Dolbeare, a Hawaii REALTOR®
specializing in Kauai real estate sales
By Rhonda J., December 2009
Richard, I appreciate your taking a few minutes to talk with me.
Let me start by asking how you ended up living in Hawaii?
Well Rhonda, after growing up in the Midwest
and graduating from college there, I moved to the East Coast where I worked
in the aerospace industry for 35 years, starting as a design engineer and
later managing a design engineering department. That career was hugely
rewarding in many ways or I would never have continued for that long.
However I had fallen in love with Hawaii from my very first trip in the
early ‘90’s. That attraction grew stronger and stronger with each
subsequent trip and I eventually decided that I wanted to live here full
time. I view planning as essential to making dreams come true and so
put together a long-term plan to make this one happen. I began buying
properties in Hawaii and eventually had holdings that included vacant land,
a home, and 2 condos. All but the land were rented out to provide a source
of income. I bought a car to use when there so I could bypass the car
rental counters upon my arrival. A year before making the move, I sold
my Maryland home and moved into a rental so that I had that behind me.
The Hawaii real estate holdings had made me financially secure and once
eligible for early retirement, I packed my bags, drove cross-country, sold
my car on the West Coast and flew on to Hawaii. I spent the first
night in a hotel and then moved into my Kauai West Side home the next day.
That was back in 2004 and I’m still loving life here in paradise.
What is it that attracted you to real estate as a 2nd career?
I wasn’t ready to quit working but I did want
to try something different. Real estate sales was a business I
understood from having invested in multiple real estate properties over the
years. There was also a social component of my decision. I was
living in a new place where I didn’t know anybody which was an issue that
needed to be fixed and fixed quickly. Real estate sales offered the
opportunity to build relationships with clients from all over the world and
to establish professional relationships with hundreds of agents and support
personnel. I would point out that being known and respected by the
other agents is critical in this business because most transactions involve
working with another agent.
What about your background prepared you for real estate sales?
Rhonda, when I first entered real estate sales
I didn’t stop to think that I should promote my background as something that
prepared me for this business. Now that I have years of history, I can
see that my background gave me a critical advantage in 3 major ways.
First of all, I’m highly educated with Bachelor of Science and Master of
Science degrees from Southern Illinois University. College degrees
while not unheard of in real estate sales are nevertheless relatively rare.
A key discriminator of mine is that this background trained me in how to
approach a problem and get it solved. It taught me the importance of
accuracy and getting it done right. These are highly-valued traits in
my new business and set me apart from the majority.
Secondly, I’m accustomed to working with people from all walks of life.
In my former career, I worked with hourly, salaried, and professional
people, both union and non-union. I learned to be adaptable, personable,
and to remain calm in situations of adversity while seeking a solution.
It was here that I learned the art of negotiation which is so crucial to
real estate sales.
And lastly I came from an industry where failure was not an option as
peoples’ lives were often on the line. I’ve carried this over to real
estate sales and believe that accuracy, responsiveness, and being proactive
are all essential in avoiding problems. I’ve also learned that there
really is a solution to every problem if we only just spend the effort to
look for one. An important component in every solution is that is must
be mutually satisfactory to all parties, a win-win solution. This is
integral with the Keller Williams belief system expressed as “WI4C2TS”, with
that first “W” standing for "win-win". If you're curious
about
those other letters, they stand for Integrity, Customers [first], Commitment,
Communication, Creativity, Teamwork, Trust, Success.
What about your family?
I have 2 wonderful children, both are married
and living on the East Coast. In 2009 I became a grandfather, a status
in life I adore. I make a point to visit yearly and have already held
my new granddaughter Zoe on my lap. While it would be nice to be
closer, I’m realistic and know that my children have their own lives to lead
and very busy ones at that since they are their spouses all work long hours
in their demanding jobs. We stay in touch by phone and email and are
able to maintain our family relationship long distance. The same is
true with my mother who is 91 years old and going strong. She has come
up to speed in the internet age and loves her email. Her new computer
has a video camera built in and we Skype with each other to stay in touch.
As you know, Skype allows both voice and video and best of all, it’s FREE!
What is it that has made you successful in real estate sales?
Rhonda, at one time I might have just said I’m
a lucky guy. But now with years of experience under my belt, I’m well
aware that it’s much more than luck. I have the educational and
professional background which enables me to work with clients from all areas
of life. I’m intelligent, wise, creative, and know how to plan and
execute. My decisions are well thought out and are forward looking to
assure long-term objectives are met. My decision in 2009 to move from
Century 21 to Keller Williams as an example of that. Keller Williams
is the fastest-growing real estate franchise in the nation and is currently
the 3rd largest in the nation. Who doesn’t want to be part of a
fast-growing organization! I hate failure and thus am driven to succeed
regardless of the obstacles. I enjoy my work immensely which allows me
to work hard and work long hours without getting burned out. This
career is just so fulfilling on a personal level that I can’t imagine ever
giving it up.
What advice do you have for those thinking of buying or selling a home
in Hawaii?
I have strong opinions on this and highly
recommend the following:
a). Use an agent. They don’t cost anything for a
buyer and are worth their weight in gold. A seller is well-advised to
list with an agent instead of using a go-it-alone approach. A seller
is rarely successful without an agent and surveys have shown that homes
usually sell for a significantly lower price without an agent.
b). Make sure your agent is a REALTOR®.
All REALTORS® subscribe
to a code of ethics, must treat all parties fairly, and can be disciplined
if they violate that code.
c). Make sure your REALTOR®
is experienced, well-educated, and continuing to further that education.
The educational barriers to entering real estate sales in Hawaii are very
low, perhaps the lowest in the nation. When I first started, it was
only 9 days from my first day of class to graduating, passing the real
estate test, and being a fully-licensed, active real estate agent.
Nine days! Compare that to 6 years of college to obtain my Masters
degree. It was shocking to me then and it still is today. A
motivated agent will realize this minimal level of training isn’t nearly
enough and will actively seek out additional training. A good way to
tell an agent’s level of training is to check for all those letters after
their name. You will see that mine include “ABR”, “CRS”, “e-PRO”,
“RSPS”, SFR, and “BS/MS”. The consumer doesn’t have to know what those
letters mean but it’s very reasonable to conclude that the more you see the
more experience and training the agent has.
Thank you Richard for sharing your thoughts with me.
Rhonda, it was a pleasure chatting with you and
I love the opportunity to “talk story” about Hawaii real estate.
Hawaii is a very special place, unlike any other I’ve visited in my world
travels. Someone once said that real estate is a good investment
because they aren’t making any more of it. That’s not fully true here
in Hawaii as Goddess Pele is busy making more with her Big Island active
volcano with lava flowing into the sea and cooling. But none of that
new land will be usable for millions of years which is way too long for
those of us living today. While real estate has ups and downs, long
term I strongly believe it’s the key to wealth and financial independence.
The move from print advertising to the web has accelerated to where it is
now the dominant force. I am in step with that and have now replaced
much of my print advertising with a leading web presence. I no longer
show samples of my print advertising on this site since it's effectiveness is
small. I do still believe in targeted mailings and that remains a
significant marketing tool.
Most buyers start their search on the internet so a strong presence there is
crucial. 78% of buyers find the home they purchase either through
the internet or their real estate agent. Newspaper ads only account
for 1% of sales and magazine ads less than 1%.. Source:
National Association of REALTORS® "Profile of Home Buyers and
Sellers 2010".
Contact Information
I believe in hard work and in being accessible
to my clients. You are welcome to contact me 24/7 except when the
legendary Menehunes are up and about. The Menehunes work while we sleep,
somewhere between the hours of 8 PM and 7 AM Hawaii time.
Author of the #1 real estate blog on
Kauai
Engineering Hawaii Dreams Today
[All information contained herein is deemed
reliable but not guaranteed]
Click to Print This Page
This website is
provided direct from a Kauai real estate agent
Richard T. Dolbeare is a REALTOR-ASSOCIATE®
with Keller Williams Realty, 1819 S. Kihei Rd., Ste. D-110, Kihei, HI
96753. He specializes in Kauai real estate
|
