2025 Aloha ‘Aina REALTOR® Award Winner
Established in 1998, the Aloha ʻĀina REALTOR® Awards Program™ recognizes exemplary professionals who, guided by this ideal, demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism and exceptional client service, as recognized by the public. Nominations come directly from those whose lives have been positively impacted by their REALTOR®.
2025 Aloha ‘Āina REALTOR® Awards Program™ nomination
It is my privilege and pleasure to nominate Tracy Yamato for the 2025 Aloha Aina Realtor Award. No realtor has been burdened with such an ominous task as selling my family home on Maunalani Heights.
A little background to explain the difficulty involved. First off, the family home was built in 1939 and had not been renovated and/or updated. When my brother passed away on February 6, 2025 due to the complications of a severe stroke he had suffered, my sister (lives in Texas) and I (primarily reside in Idaho) were left with the job of listing and selling our family home. During the two weeks my husband and I were in Hawaii we relied and heavily leaned on Tracy for his advice, expertise and compassion. Tracy took on the required and necessary jobs of finding a Junk Haul company, termite inspection and treatment, appraisal, and major landscaping problems which amounted to taming the jungle atmosphere. Finding a licensed and insured landscaping company ready and willing was no easy task. He also needed to secure 3 encroachment agreements and deal with the neighbor directly below our home to gain permission to trim his extensive row of bamboo to roof height so the beautiful view of Diamond Head could be restored which was a mighty feat in and of itself.
There was also an existing mango tree on the above mentioned neighbor's property blocking the view of Waikiki and Tracy even spent some of his own money out of pocket to "tangle the mango" to help secure the best possible overall view from our property. We won't even talk about the $$$ he personally spent to have a drone company shoot the most fantastic video of our property and the surrounding area highlighting the magnificent view.
As if all this wasn't enough, Tracy also spent countless time and hours dealing with the City & County Building and Permit Departments. One of the major obstacles with my home was that it turned out to be one of only two homes on all of Maunalani Heights that had been built over a storm drain. This previously unknown problem had caused flooding in the basement over the years during heavy rains. It was determined that all the pipes would need to be re-routed and 4 additional water catchment ponds would have to be built. An extremely daunting and very expensive fix. There were many times I was beyond discouraged but with each hurdle encountered Tracy kept me gong with 3 little words "Keep The Faith". Our trust and reliance on Tracy proved to be the winning formula for selling my family home. Without his positive attitude, perseverance and follow through on every detail involved in marketing and selling the home we would have been in limbo land indefinitely. I cannot stress strongly enough how much extra time, effort and money of Tracy's was spent in our behalf to get the home looking its very best and being presentable and appealing to a prospective buyer.
The majority of the "hard work" was done while my sister and I lived comfortably away from the scene. Tracy was in constant communication with me each and every step of the way. I am personally forever in Tracy's debt for his earnestness, honesty, professionalism and positive attitude despite set back after set back. Tracy has been involved in Hawaii real estate for over 30 years and I can assure the Board my family home was by far the most challenging and difficult sale encountered in his career.
TRACY YAMATO absolutely, positively, hands down should be highly and favorably considered as a WINNER for the 2025 Aloha Aina Realtor Award. I sincerely hope this nomination will have positive results and grant Tracy the respect and recognition he so deserves for going far, far, far above and beyond!
Mahalo, Linda Cunningham
2025 Aloha ‘Āina REALTOR® Awards Program™ Winner
Tracy Yamato (R) is one of only eleven 2025 Aloha ‘Āina REALTOR® Awards Program™ winners, recognized for their dedication to going above and beyond in serving their clients to help them achieve their homeownership goals.
Established in 1998, the Aloha ʻĀina REALTOR® Awards Program™ recognizes exemplary professionals who, guided by this ideal, demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism and exceptional client service, as recognized by the public. Nominations come directly from those whose lives have been positively impacted by their REALTOR®.
2025 Aloha ‘Āina REALTOR® Awards Program™ nomination Letter
It is my privilege and pleasure to nominate Tracy Yamato for the 2025 Aloha Aina Realtor Award. No realtor has been burdened with such an ominous task as selling my family home on Maunalani Heights.
A little background to explain the difficulty involved. First off, the family home was built in 1939 and had not been renovated and/or updated. When my brother passed away on February 6, 2025 due to the complications of a severe stroke he had suffered, my sister (lives in Texas) and I (primarily reside in Idaho) were left with the job of listing and selling our family home. During the two weeks my husband and I were in Hawaii we relied and heavily leaned on Tracy for his advice, expertise and compassion. Tracy took on the required and necessary jobs of finding a Junk Haul company, termite inspection and treatment, appraisal, and major landscaping problems which amounted to taming the jungle atmosphere. Finding a licensed and insured landscaping company ready and willing was no easy task. He also needed to secure 3 encroachment agreements and deal with the neighbor directly below our home to gain permission to trim his extensive row of bamboo to roof height so the beautiful view of Diamond Head could be restored which was a mighty feat in and of itself.
There was also an existing mango tree on the above mentioned neighbor's property blocking the view of Waikiki and Tracy even spent some of his own money out of pocket to "tangle the mango" to help secure the best possible overall view from our property. We won't even talk about the $$$ he personally spent to have a drone company shoot the most fantastic video of our property and the surrounding area highlighting the magnificent view.
As if all this wasn't enough, Tracy also spent countless time and hours dealing with the City & County Building and Permit Departments. One of the major obstacles with my home was that it turned out to be one of only two homes on all of Maunalani Heights that had been built over a storm drain. This previously unknown problem had caused flooding in the basement over the years during heavy rains. It was determined that all the pipes would need to be re-routed and 4 additional water catchment ponds would have to be built. An extremely daunting and very expensive fix. There were many times I was beyond discouraged but with each hurdle encountered Tracy kept me gong with 3 little words "Keep The Faith". Our trust and reliance on Tracy proved to be the winning formula for selling my family home. Without his positive attitude, perseverance and follow through on every detail involved in marketing and selling the home we would have been in limbo land indefinitely. I cannot stress strongly enough how much extra time, effort and money of Tracy's was spent in our behalf to get the home looking its very best and being presentable and appealing to a prospective buyer.
The majority of the "hard work" was done while my sister and I lived comfortably away from the scene. Tracy was in constant communication with me each and every step of the way. I am personally forever in Tracy's debt for his earnestness, honesty, professionalism and positive attitude despite set back after set back. Tracy has been involved in Hawaii real estate for over 30 years and I can assure the Board my family home was by far the most challenging and difficult sale encountered in his career.
TRACY YAMATO absolutely, positively, hands down should be highly and favorably considered as a WINNER for the 2025 Aloha Aina Realtor Award. I sincerely hope this nomination will have positive results and grant Tracy the respect and recognition he so deserves for going far, far, far above and beyond!
Mahalo, Linda Cunningham