Trevor Benn and Sean Melton recently assisted us with a successful complex sale of a large mixed use commercial/residential property. Their service was impeccable and their expertise and experience were without compare. They were there to assist us with every step and were always available and reachable at a moment's notice whenever we needed them. We could not have secured or seen this sale through without them and we unconditionally and unequivocally recommend them without reservation. read more

I wanted to buy a specific size unit in a specific Kakaako building. Trevor kept his eye out for me until the exact unit came on the market even though it took a couple of years. He reached out to me the day it was listed, we put our offer in within 24 hours, were in contract 2 days later and closed in less than a month. I can't thank Trevor enough for helping my wife and I to buy exactly what we wanted and to never give up on finding our unit for us. If we ever sell or buy again we will defiantly use Trevor's services. He is the best realtor that we have ever worked with! read more

Sean Melton and Trevor Benn of Forward Realty made purchasing our ohana beach property smooth and satisfying despite the many relentless and complicated negotiation, finance, building permit & other challenges that kept popping up under this difficult mortgage housing climate. Our dream house had been on the market for over a year for many reasons. Yet our tag team star agents solved all of them and kept pulling rabbits out of a hat. The previous owners built a detached studio with a deal breaking incomplete permit but miraculously Trevor and Sean worked their magic and insider connections until the permit was approved and posted a week before the close. Having well experienced, connected humble experts with excellent guidance was invaluable and reassuring to keep pressing forward. Trevor and Sean were very responsive and proactive without being annoying. They provided exceptional invaluable client services that saved us plenty of money and headaches. This is my fourth residential real estate team Ive worked with and Trevor & Sean remind me a lot like the Kobe & Shaq and perhaps Michael Jordan & Scottie Pippen of realtors -- absolutely clutch and arguably the best tandem on Oahu. Mahalo Trevor Benn, Sean Melton and the entire extended Forward Realty team!!! read more

Forward Realty - Real Estate Services Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Love working with both Trevor and Sean! Trevor's expertise in negotiation was invaluable during both selling and purchasing of our condos. His knowledge of local market trends got us a great deal while ensuring that both parties felt like they had a fair outcome from the transaction. His insight was extremely valuable to us and I don't think we could have done this without him. Sean's patience, expertise and great time management made the process simple and easy to understand for us. We are so lucky to have the 2 BEST realtors working on our side. Big Mahalo to Trevor and Sean! read more

Aloha, My name is Leyla Simmons and I'm 21 years old. Before Greg Andrasick and Ryan Oda from Forward Realty came to my aid, I was stuck in a really sticky situation regarding my family home that I had to give up. My mother, who had passed away months prior to making this decision, was my last parent and the owner of my family home alongside my grandfather who is now very old and borderline dementic. At the time, I was trying to balance Mortgage payments, HOA payments, Home insurance payments, and many other bills. But on top of that, I had to find a way to also provide for my younger siblings who were in my care since the passing of my mom. All that being said, when I finally decided to admit I needed help, my prayers were answered. Initially I didn't want to tell my moms property, but with the consultation of other family members and church leaders I was in contact with, I determined that I was no longer able to balance all those payments as I was living off of donations. Greg Andrasick and Ryan Oda were brought to me through my church community and went above and beyond for me and my family. Not only did they take care of all the back & forth with the mortgage company, HOA, utilities, resident manager and insurance companies, but they also labored in my house helping me move out and find a new place to settle into. They accommodated my needs as a lost young adult trying to figure out how to pick up the shambles I was left with, and move on. They spent hours on end packing up my belongings, cleaning the condo, bringing the things I no longer wanted to donation businesses, trashing the things I no longer wanted and couldn't donate, and so on. All while acknowledging that they wouldn't be earning anything from all the extra work they were voluntarily doing and not much from the sale anyways. So much dedication for nothing in return. When the time came where they found a suitable buyer for the condo, they also traveled all the way across the island to meet me at my new living place so I could sign the documents that needed signing. Never once did they ask me to meet them across the island, they always made sure to make everything as easy for me as possible. The sale of my family home was granted not an easy one, as the whole situation was difficult given the circumstances both the condo and I was in. But they fought relentlessly with the mortgage company, (who was very stagnant and always said one thing and then another) resident manager, HOA, and past due payments on my utilities. They even pitched in some of their own funds to turn the electricity back on in the condo so they could continue packing my things to help me move out of it and also clean it up. To top all of that off, at the end of the sale they used their own commission for their services, to give the bank and/or mortgage company the funds they were missing since the short sale couldn't cover all the payments I'd missed once my place went into foreclosure. They really didn't have to go that far to help me and my family, but they did. They spent so much time, from early hours of the morning until the late hours of the night, to coordinate the sale and everything that needed to happen within that very short time frame. All the way until the week of Christmas (12/21/23) when the sale was finally closed. So if anyone deserves an honorary recognition, it's them. I couldn't be more grateful of them and can't find a way to thank them enough after all their hard work and dedication towards me and my family. Please please please give them the recognition they deserve!!! read more

I highly recommend Blaise and Michelle. They are a husband/wife team. They genuinely care for their clients and will really go to bat for you. They may also save you from yourself. If you are considering overpaying for a property they will let you know. They aren't after the quick buck. If you are the buyer their mindset is how will they sell the house years from now when you are wanting to sell. Blaise has an amazing knowledge of construction. He will look at the foundation and the bones of the house. Michelle has great knowledge of strategy, financing, etc. I haven't sold a property with them yet but when the time comes I will. read more

Trevor made selling my dad's property so easy. Both Trevor and Sean were always honest and informative. I felt very comfortable with them. They were both confident and compassionate, which made me feel at ease. read more

We are so lucky to have found Sean Hungerford, at Forward Realty. Our experience with Sean came after having been burned pretty badly by a previous realtor here in Hawaii. Unfortunately, we ended up buying a place that was not in our best interest. Sean, on the other hand, treated us and cared about our decision as if we were family. You can tell this isn't just a numbers job for him; Sean brings with him a keen understanding of people and patience beyond anyone we have ever met. After all, this is one of the biggest life decisions anyone makes. What makes Sean unique is his extensive construction background. He has so much knowledge about repairs and renovations and how much they should cost. In He even steered us away from a house that we liked because he noticed some major faults in the construction. Other realtors would have sold us that home, took their commission and called it a day. Not Sean! In addition, the fact that he grew up on the North Shore gives him a keen knowledge of the area and various neighborhoods. We ultimately did find a house we loved. Sean spent countless hours with us going over the contract. The house was going to need some pretty extensive renovation and construction to suit us. Sean was also handling all of the details for us. He met with us at the property four to five times so that we could get bids from various contractors. The contractor Sean recommended was not only the most experienced and qualified, he also gave us the best bid because he had worked with Sean in the past. Sean hired the contractors, negotiated a great rate for us, and started to oversee the planned renovation of the house. This, of course, was above and beyond what a realtor normally does! Sadly a medical situation occurred requiring us suddenly to change our priorities, our plans, and our finances. Sean immediately stepped into action to help us. This began by Sean cancelling the escrow, even though this meant that for all the time and work he had gone through with us, he no longer would get his well deserved commission. We felt so terrible about all that Sean had done for us without any compensation, yet he continued to work for us being gracious, understanding and kind. hcon Sean reassured us that is what happens in the real estate profession, and that he just wanted us to be happy. He still continued to check in with us. He has remained a friend, and we would never work with anyone else! We cannot recommend Sean highly enough, and we are so grateful for and to Sean. Even after all of this stress that we put him through, he has continued to stay in touch with us. He even checked in on us, from out of town, after a recent hurricane scare. Thank you so much, Sean Hungerford, the finest realtor ( and person) you would be lucky to find! read more

Ryan Oda is a consummate professional. I enlisted his help twice in the last year to assist with first time homebuyers. Both were unsure of their steps and how to proceed and I entrusted them both with Ryan to find them their perfect homes. As you can imagine buying a home is a huge step for anyone and anxiety about the process can run high. Ryan stepped in with ease and was able to earn their trust immediately and instill his confidence within them. What's more, his confidence is backed with knowledge, experience and integrity. He was simply phenomenal with both buyers. His wisdom and insight into the market as well as his constant communication and go get 'em attitude in setting up multiple viewings to educate them about the market and what they might be looking for showed extreme dedication in truly seeing my referrals as not just clients, but people. Ryan was successful with finding both clients their perfect home and he is now assisting a third referral I sent his way. If you are looking for a dedicated professional who values people first, then Ryan is your guy read more

Mahalo Trevor and Sean for your thorough planning, communication, and hard work which got me top dollar selling my home. I was also impressed with your knowledge dealing with the complexities of a beachfront home and mainland buyers. Stellar! read more

I cannot be succinct with reviews cause I feel it's necessary to pour my heart into any of my recommendations. So in summary/tldr, Ryan Oda from Forward Reatly is not only an excellent realtor, but overall an amazing human being. We need more people like him in this world and I cannot recommend him enough! ---------- Every generation has its defining moments and without a doubt the COVID-19 pandemic is an event that will set a precedence-- whatever that may be-- of how society adapts to a post-pandemic world. As someone who is considered a high health risk, needless to say it has affected my life greatly. As the situation escalated, it became very clear for me and my husband that we needed to leave our shared accommodations and secure a safe place until the current situation resolved. I am originally from Hawaii, but had lived away for the last 13 years prior so understanding the realty market was way over my head. Luckily, I went to high school with Ryan and knew he had assisted several of our classmates to find rentals & homes in the past. When I reached out to him I had honestly expected a quick "How are you? Here's some suggestions to point you in the right direction. Good luck!". Instead, Ryan swooped in like a superhero and took on my case immediately. He was so sympathetic to our situation and reassured us that he would help us find a place. Ryan was unbelievably helpful-- from reaching out to colleagues for leads, running property searches, assisting us in writing cover letters, following up with property managers, to even explaining minutiae details such as the difference between copper and galvanized pipes in older homes. And here's the thing, NOT ONCE did we have to ask him for any of the above, he is just so knowledgeable about his field that he'll take care of you every step of the way. If you can't tell already, I am beyond grateful for everything Ryan has done for us and even while I write this I'm trying my best not to get emotionally gushy. He's not only a professional at what he does, but is passionate about his work and even more so about making his clients happy. Whenever I discussed a property with him he would look beyond the numbers/info on the MLS and really thought about our situation-- How would day to day life look for us there? Did it introduce some hardships we didn't consider? Given the pandemic and all the uncertainties that come with it, Ryan empowered us to not feel as helpless by sharing many resources with us so that we could feel like we were at least making informed decisions and whenever we were in doubt was there to answer our questions-- even taking the occasional panicked text/call from us! He is an ever present sounding board, providing feedback promptly within a day (if not within the hour!), and always full of patience and positivity. Please, please, please do yourself a favor and go with Ryan Oda at Forward Realty! read more

Ryan Oda at Forward Realty recently helped my wife and I with buying our first home, and feel that I can't recommend him highly enough. Firstly, Ryan is hard working. He was always on the look out for new properties to suggest to us, always willing to chat and explain any part of the process, and always so prompt in getting documents together - all important when you're eager to get an offer in on a house! Secondly, Ryan is patient and positive. The market is so competitive it took us a while to be lucky enough to get an offer accepted (10 tries) - Ryan was right there with us the whole time encouraging us to keep going! As new home buyers we found the rollercoaster of excitement, offer and rejection tough to deal with, but Ryan's optimism really helped. Thirdly, Ryan is well connected. He seems to know everybody and hooked us up with a loan consultant, home inspector, and even after we've finished the purchase is making recommendations for renovations and moving. Finally, Ryan is level headed, a quality you don't know you need in your realtor until you need it! When our house buying process ran into problems - the seller was being very difficult to work with - Ryan kept his cool the whole time and never once made a rash decision. He was always laser-focused on the end goal of closing the deal and never let ego get in the way. One final shout-out to the rest of the team at Forward Realty too, especially Austin, Trevor, Aaron and Robin who were also a big help in seeing our purchase through to the end. I won't have any hesitation in working with Ryan again in the future, whether buying or selling! read more

My fiancé and I had the pleasure of working with Ryan Oda. I am thoroughly convinced that he is the reason we had such a quick and easy process! We were first-time homebuyers and knew nothing. If I had a question, day or night, I could text or call Ryan where he happily answered with "How may I be of service?". My biggest pet peeve working with others is a lack of communication or response, which is definitely not something I had to worry about with Ryan! I knew that I could contact him and receive a quick, accurate, and HONEST answer from him. I never felt like he was trying to upsell us or make something seem more glamourous than it actually was or make us purchase something that we weren't 100% comfortable with. We felt confident in our decision and purchase because of Ryan (and we currently love our place!). I have some friends who were also looking at purchasing homes and when I told them how fast and EASY our process was, they wanted to know who our realtor was and how they can get in touch with them. Without hesitation or doubt, I referred Ryan. The thing I liked most about our experience was that we weren't just "a client" or "another email address" to Ryan. I feel this way with some realtors who just stick us on an email list and hope we bite. Ryan treated/treats us like we are family and I cannot express how much of a difference that made in our process. read more

Forward Realty - My fiancé and I (2nd and 3rd from left) at our escrow signing with Ryan Oda (fourth from left). - Real Estate Services Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The entire team at Forward Realty is exceptional. I had the absolute privilege of working with Ryan Oda. Ryan is very well-connected in the community and made the entire search and purchasing process of my first home not just simple, but really enjoyable. He was gracious and never pushy, as I wanted to take my time to find the perfect place. Ryan took the time to understand the specifics of everything I wanted in a home --including the feel I wanted, which is a very difficult concept to understand from a realtor's perspective. Ryan patiently took the time to understand the random details I appreciated in homes to eventually find what I really wanted. I'm so grateful for him and all that he provided me. Trevor Benn continues to wow me in how much he has grown this business to be so much more than a real estate service, but his company truly provides their clients the opportunity to find home. read more

Ryan Oda made sure I found a property that was a good fit for me. He also provided me references to use during the transaction and repair my apartment. He cares about me as a person and is very good about following up. Even after my purchase, I still keep in touch and he is always willing to help in anyway. read more

I cannot speak highly enough of Ryan Oda, 5 stars just aren't enough! He was a guest on a podcast we really enjoy and within the first few minutes of meeting him we knew we'd found our guy. We moved here from the mainland, his deep knowledge of the island and Honolulu were invaluable. He patiently listened as we told him our requirements and nice-to-haves, and he was very gentle when he had to bring us back to earth on some items. Having a large dog really limited our options, but at the end of the day we found a gem of a place in a great neighborhood (that we didn't think we would be able to afford) with everything in our requirements and much more inside of our budget! We were also able to close early which provided perfect timing with minimizing the expense associated with exiting our apartment early. He is super responsive, even to my late night "Hey this isn't urgent and can totally wait but I have yet another random question for you" texts and emails. Not only did he help with the "easy" part of finding our perfect home, but he masterfully resolved a couple of hiccups with our lender, including an unpleasant surprise at the last minute that could have derailed the sale. All in all, we couldn't have been happier working with Ryan. Not only is he excellent at his job but he's also a really nice guy and very genuine. Go Hawks! read more

My fiancée and I are so thankful that Ryan Oda was our real estate agent. As first time home buyers, we knew nothing and he did a great job explaining everything to us at all hours. Though we had our doubts of finding a home at first, he remained patient and continued to give advice and show us properties. Ryan worked tirelessly to get things to work for us and it did. We couldn't be happier for him and all that he did for us. I will forever be thankful for him and will always recommend any home buyers to him because he is awesome. read more

Forward Realty - Real Estate Services Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Our family took a leap of faith, sold everything and arrived in Hawaii in mid-July. Our son, a 20 year resident, took us to meet Trevor and Aaron at Forward Realty. Within minutes, we realized that Forward Realty was a professional, detail-oriented company that would help us find our forever home. Aaron Crawford was so responsive to our needs, our dreams and the reality of the Hawaii real estate market. He guided us to the perfect property and then worked very hard to make sure we were able to close on that property. There were some unexpected problems which Aaron helped us work through with great patience and calm. If it were possible to give more than 5 stars, this company deserves 10! As of Tuesday - a mere 3 months after arriving, we are settled in our forever home thanks to Aaron! read more

I not only have the pleasure of working with Ryan but he was also my personal realtor. His strongest quality is his responsiveness, he doesn't have days off. I think another strong quality is his knowledge as a realtor beyond simply 'knowing your market'. Things you only develop after years of full time experience. You have a sense of security and trust while working with him. He's honest and transparent. He is a strong realtor and was the top producing realtor at Forward Realty just lastI am thankful to have had him as my realtor and I will be working with him again. read more

Ryan Oda helped me with the current sale of my condo in Aiea. He has gone above and beyond in every category you could want in a Realtor. He is extremely responsive even though he just had a newborn come into the world during this process. In fact he literally responded to some questions I had while his wife was in labor!! Of course I told him what are you doing answering at a time like this but just goes to show how dedicated he is to his craft. His calm demeanor and warm personality makes what normally would be a stressful process a seamless one. I can say with full confidence that he will put the client's best interest above his own and will always do what's right regardless of whether it benefits him getting a closed sale or not. Also, doing all this during a global pandemic and me not even living on island is just the cherry on the sundae. If you're looking for someone you can trust to work with you, be patient, and put you in the best possible position to achieve your real estate goals, look no further than Ryan! read more