Hawaiianshirtguy Reviews 1

On a list of odious things I've had to do in a half-century, paying Sean Dougherty (RE/MAX Hall of Famer!) nearly forty-two thousand dollars for his role in a simple real estate transaction ranks first. But at least it gives me the right to post a review of what I got for my money. In my opinion, the guy could not hold a job as a secretary anywhere I've worked. To give just one example: For reasons related to lending, the buyers wanted to change our agreement from paying nothing for a list of included furnishings to paying $1000. So all Sean had to do was take the signed Personal Property Agreement, change zero dollars to one thousand dollars, and send it over. Three times he sent versions that included additional language we had not agreed to, and that he knew (or definitely should have known) we objected to. Finally we had to do it ourselves: we took the original version, changed $0 to $1000, signed it, and everyone was good with it.

Here's the scoop, folks: there is absolutely no reason to agree to pay a buyers' agent 3 percent anymore. Don't do it. You have other options! Think about how much money it is, not as a percentage (what Realtors want) but in dollars. Were the services of Sean Dougherty worth over forty thousand dollars? If he were the best agent on the planet... no. And if you read this far, you know he's not. If you are a buyer and thinking basically that the cost of your agent isn't your problem, you'll just make the seller pay - it wasn't true in our transaction. We would have gone lower on the price if not required to pay so much for Mr. Dougherty's services.

[Mr. Dougherty responds, 2025-07-11]
I’m sorry you felt this way, Mr. Summers. Normally I wouldn’t reply to your review, as seeing most of your past postings make it sound like you enjoy complaining about perceived slights that you have felt, but this review leaves out so much of the story.

You say it was a simple transaction, but I can tell you from nearly 25 years’ experience, it was not. And the one reason it was not simple was you. Let’s face it, you were difficult to work with for everyone involved, from wordsmithing boilerplate, state-approved, contract language to not responding to Amendment requests for days. Your narcissistic personality made it difficult for everyone else involved in the transaction because you couldn’t see when you didn’t know anything close to what you thought you knew about real estate contracts, but forged ahead anyway.

As for the Amendment, I cut and pasted exact language into an Amendment, the Buyers signed it, we sent it over, then heard nothing. Three times. Instead of feedback, or even criticism, we had crickets, so yes, I finally asked your agent to have you fill it out the way you wanted it, as you were risking the Buyers’ loan approval, and the contract, with your silence.

I’m sorry that you find paying for a service to be unneeded, but I’d have to say that if I didn’t introduce these wonderful Buyers to your home, and if I didn’t do my job in helping them with their purchase, and do work for your side that you couldn't or wouldn't complete, you’d still be sitting on the market, after well over a year.

I will happily continue to help Buyers and Sellers achieve their real estate goals. I'm sorry you don't see the value, but I'm pretty sure that if you were trying to do this without a real estate professional, you wouldn't have gotten the same successful solution

[My reply, 2025-07-11] Thank you for your response, which is certainly enlightening! I'm just going to ignore the petty insults and set the record straight on one matter. Fact: there was never a single communication from you that we did not respond to by the next day at the latest. Usually we responded the same day. So if you have a problem with anyone, perhaps it should be with my agent, your fellow "real estate professional", and not with me. Good day Sir.