Buying a House

Kevin’s skill in identifying a good fit, good value and projecting a clients needs that they aren’t yet aware of are invaluable. It’s not always immediately obvious but he ends up being spot on with almost almost all of his projections.

He’s been at this for decades, there’s almost nothing he hasn’t seen, so he can essentially project the behaviors of sellers and buyers as if he’s inside their heads. He knows where to probe when viewing properties (think boundaries, easements, structural repairs, associated costs) to protect your interests, and he has the perspective both from his experience as an agent but also his development background to perfectly advise you on what ‘little stuff’ shouldn’t get in the way of the big picture. His skill in this regard is incredibly valuable – especially when there’s big money on the line. Sometimes every small thing feels like a huge deal. He lets you know when it is and when it isn’t.

We were about to list our house with Kevin right when the pandemic hit. We followed all Kevin’s advice and in hindsight, glad we did. To our delight and with Kevin’s guidance, we ended up selling our house for a price that was about $100k higher than all the market data justified. We felt very confident that all Kevin’s advice and actions were in our best interests. And his knowledge base and experience are well beyond all the other agents we know. You think things like that don’t matter… but they do. We’re using Kevin again to purchase our new home and would confidently recommend you do the same.

I’ve represented Kevin Dougherty on three closings so far, and Kevin has impressed me with his quick decisions and tenacity. He’ll also look for creative solutions to get the deal closed. And Kevin has a good support team to help overcome the many hurdles in the property-buying process. Kevin is clearly an experienced buyer, and I would highly recommend him to any investor who might consider bringing him on as a partner.

Kevin is a true professional with exceptional knowledge of the San Diego real estate market. In spite of the many challenges of this particular transaction, including my travel schedule and the seller being somewhat difficult to work with, Kevin and his team succeeded in completing the transaction while maintaining excellent communication and assistance to me throughout. The work and diligence to his clients that I experienced from Kevin is unparalleled and I highly recommend Kevin for any real estate transaction.

You hear realtors boast of their levels of experience all the time. Often it’s just rhetoric – but not in Kevin’s case. I didn’t know his 25+ years of experience in real estate was going to be so obviously helpful but it was. Especially in today’s challenging buy-side housing market, Kevin’s understanding of all things real estate from construction, finance, and legal literally translated to real strategic value and real dollars. In our recent transaction the seller had a rookie agent. It was so advantageous to have Kevin’s representation as our buyer agent to work with a newbie to the industry. A lesser agent would never have overcome the hurdles he did. We highly recommend Kevin’s service and would work with him again without hesitation.

When we first started working with Kevin, he said his 25 years of experience was going to help us in many way but we took that comment with a grain of salt. He was right. Looking back, his efforts and experience really did make the difference in achieving our goals.

Kevin’s knowledge, advice and negotiating skills saved me multiples of the few thousand I would have been rebated from the other agent. His construction experience proved to be invaluable when addressing any physical conditions during the inspection. And his extensive experience in executing a real estate transaction help to point out and avoid all the potential pit falls I might have stumbled in to. Kevin negotiated for every penny he could on my behalf and I was pleasantly surprised to see how he took my transaction so very personally. He paid great attention to the detail needed which gave me great comfort and confidence in working with him and knowing the job was getting done right. I didn’t really know how involved a good real estate needs to be and how crucial their experience is. Now I know and in hindsight, I could have never bought my home without him. I can and do confidently recommend using Kevin’s representation if the opportunity ever arises.

If you want a broker that is dedicated, on top of everything, follows through, and takes care of you in more ways than you realized were even needed, Kevin is your guy. He performance during my short sale was outstanding and impressive. He truly cares about his clients and it’s no wonder we end up being his friends. I was primarily dealing with a bank. If you are in need of a hero to battle the banks in a short-sale, I would 1000% recommend Kevin. If it wasn’t for his efforts, his round the clock diligence and his determination to help me accomplish my goals, I wouldn’t have gotten out of the tough situation I was in. A big thank you to Kevin and to his team. Simply Fabulous!!

Once again we went back to Kevin to help us execute our 4th real estate transaction with him. And once again he did not disappoint. Our deep understanding of Kevin’s work experience and expertise made coming back to Kevin an easy decision. His upbeat personality and sense of humor makes him easy to work with, but when it comes to negotiating a real estate transaction, he takes his job very seriously and very personally. I always know he’s acting in our best interest and making us a priority. In our most recent transaction, after several counter offers, we got to a place in the negotiations where we were ready to accept. Although we were happy with the negotiated terms, Kevin felt there was a little more being left on the table. Sure enough, he got us another $10k off the purchase price. In the grand scheme of things, $10k isn’t a huge number but it speaks loudly about how he does his job. I highly recommend Kevin to anyone looking for a ‘best in industry’ agent, and trust that he will continue to exceed our expectations with our next transaction.

Besides being a good friend, Kevin also did a fantastic job for me in selling my home. He undertook the role right as the market began the downturn. He stuck with it and, through his diligence alone, got the property moved under very difficult circumstances. Many thanks.

Kevin took what is an overwhelming process, and made it as seamless as possible for me! I had no idea how involved a real estate transaction could be. Thank goodness for Kevin’s guidance and expertise. I have to admit, I was really nervous and even freaked out at a couple points during my transaction. Kevin was part counselor, part contractor, and all real estate broker extraordinaire!

Kevin’s knowledge of everything real estate is so far above his peers and colleagues, its recognizable upon meeting him. You know you are going to be working with a person who has integrated real estate into his life and authentically enjoys it. He is genuinely devoted to his clients giving his all to ANY type of real estate transaction. He oddly enjoys reading contracts word for word, line by line to ensure there are no surprises. His communication is thorough throughout the process which I found crucial. His level of professionalism and steady, consistent demeanor made every meeting and conversation productive and provided me with a clear understanding of what was next.

Kevin is an incredibly talented and professional investor. With lightning speed he brings in his highly skilled and proficient sub-contractors and within hours, there are answers and solutions, to otherwise challenging issues. Kevin treats the clients with the utmost care and respect, which is an honorable trait for someone with his track record of success. Our last deal required a true “Hail Mary” pass but we pulled it off while working together for the benefit of the entire team! I look forward to many more successful deals with Kevin.

I did a real estate transaction previously before I knew Kevin. It was nothing like this. I now have a new appreciation for what an exemplary agent can accomplish. We learned a lot from Kevin and we are literally now set for life. I can’t recommend Kevin and Reef Realty highly enough.

Kevin is highly competent, analytic, down to earth, and a good communicator. He is patient with the inevitable client neurosis and he gets the job done right.

If we ever had to buy or sell again, I wouldn’t hesitate to enlist his services for a 4th time and beyond. You cant put a price on someone who is experienced beyond belief, unquestionably loyal to your interests as clients, understands the market and has a keen eye for evaluating property fit, value and design potential.

We dropped about the most complex real estate transaction on Kevin that any of us have ever seen. There was a foreclosure, an eviction, an unlawful detainer action, and a quiet title action all on this one property at one point or another during the transaction. Kevin took everything in stride overcoming all obstacles and even kept the bank from taking the property back on numerous occasions. His advice, experience and his contacts lead us down the right path. We recouped our original investment plus a lot more making it all worthwhile in the end. I know a lot of real estate guys but I don’t know another that would have persevered and ultimately succeeded in achieving our goals like Kevin did on this property. In the end, after the chaos subsided, Kevin presented us with multiple offers and a fast, all-cash close on a very complicated transaction. You would be hard pressed to find better representation.

I would have never been able to do this without Kevin’s experience and guidance. He treated the negotiations as if they were his own. There were times when he could have taken the “easy” route and been done with it. Instead he took the hard route and protected my best interests instead. He proved to be an excellent negotiator and found compensation for me that I would never have even requested. He was 100% transparent and highly responsive to my never ending questions. Anyone considering a real estate transaction would be hard pressed to find a better broker.