Meet Brendan Gail | San Diego Realtor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brendan Gail and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brendan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The real reason deep down in my soul is that I didn’t want to look back on my life and say ‘what if’. My Mom started and ran her own business. My Dad works in commercial real estate (100% commission). Inherently there’s always been this spark of entrepreneurial spirit in me. If I succeeded or failed, it was going to be on me. I always thought I could run a business but I didn’t want to let my fear keep me from trying. I knew the only thing I would regret looking back was if I never tried to do it.

I worked a desk job in sports for 10 years and climbed the ladder. I found the work less fulfilling as I moved up EXCEPT for a part of my job that required me to go out and sell sponsorship. During one of my last years our biggest sponsor wasn’t committed for the next season. As hard as it was for me, I walked into their office and ‘in so many words’ said what’s it going to take to get you on board. We shook on a deal in their break room. I’m certain we wouldn’t have hit our budget if I didn’t take the initiative to go in unannounced and make it happen. That experience fired me up.

My next job in distribution sales checked more of my boxes. But I found that it took so much logistical work with my team to fulfill the promises I had made to my customer. I felt stuck by that conundrum because the team didn’t report to me.

The only thing that lit my fire was striking out on my own but I wasn’t sure what that was going to be. I batted many ideas around including real estate. But the one thing that changed everything was I found out my wife was pregnant with our 1st child. She told me she didn’t want to bring our son home to this apartment we were living in. So we started our journey to buy our house with Rick Solo…he would help us find our home.

In this time, I realized that not all Realtors feel like a car salesman (sorry!). It felt like our good friend was guiding us. THAT was the type of relationship I wanted to have with my future clients. I joined the team at VS Real Estate a couple months later and they rest they say…is history.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
One of things that sets me apart is that I have the heart of a teacher. I really enjoy teaching my clients about the biggest purchase they’re (likely) ever going to make. I get the opportunity to come into families’ lives at such a critical junction and shepherd them through this intense period. I have to earn that type of trust and I really take that to heart. I’m all in on their journey and it feels like I’m part of the family by the time closing day comes around.

My process is different. If time allows, I insist on doing an initial consultation with my clients. It’s an important part of the process for many reasons. I know lots of buyers/sellers want to get right to it and start looking at homes. Think about it, when you go to the doctor or meet with an attorney, they don’t just go to work without understanding the whole picture. That’s the same for me when I work with my clients. Moving is a big deal and the reason behind the move is really critical to know and understand. Understanding the motives and potentially uncovering some unknowns may change the course of action. I have two signature processes that go through everything step by step. One is for First Time Home Buyers and one is specifically for existing homeowners who want to buy and sell their current home. I think personally, I am genuine, authentic, and passionate about what home ownership can do for my clients. It’s hard to accomplish, but it’s a huge step toward building wealth and moving toward financial freedom.

I don’t think you can work in this field without a spirit of optimism, understanding that the next opportunity will unlock another chance to make an impact. I just want the world to know that working in this field has always been about service. My whole life revolves around serving others. It’s where I feel most at home and most fulfilled. The wins of getting an offer accepted, negotiating a request for repairs or finding a solution to a problem that threatens to kill a deal. I lost 4 of the most important people in the world to me in a span of 6 years. I found a way to pick myself up, lead by example, and do it with a smile. I love life, I love to help people, and I love to laugh. Let’s grab a cup of coffee. I want to hear your story.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love the ocean and the beach so I would always recommend anyone coming to visit to spend time there. If the Padres were in season I would definitely take my friend down to Petco to catch a game. The Zoo/Safari Park are are also great options, but it would depend on their preference since as a local with 4 kids we’re there often. I think a visit to Coronado might be in order as well, considering it’s such a unique place and offers beautiful views of downtown San Diego. Every neighborhood has enough unique qualities to fill an entire week, so I would definitely show my visitors lots of different areas and hopefully soak up some sunshine.

As far as specific spots, if budget wasn’t an issue these are some of the most incredible restaurants I’ve ever been to: Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad, Born and Raised in Little Italy, and Marine Room in La Jolla.

An underrated brunch spot with amazing food and an incredible atmosphere: Queenstown in Little Italy

Other more casual but incredible lunch/dinner spots: Tres Cuatro Milpas, Herb and Wood, The Crack Shack, The Taco Stand, Blue Water Seafood, Pizza Port, Rocky’s Pub (Burgers), Bronx Pizza, and OB Noodle House.

Notable Coffee spots: Better Buzz in Hillcrest, James Coffee Co. in Little Italy, Holsem Coffee in North Park, Dark Horse Coffee in Golden Hill, Birdrock in Del Mar, Queenstage Coffee house in Encinitas.

Favorite Breweries: Ballast Point, Alesmith, Pure Project, and Societe. Also Second Chance since it’s kid friendly and close to my house!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Talk about an impossible question to answer. I don’t think I’d be where I am today without so many kind souls along the way. I’ve had incredible mentors in all facets of business and school. I’ve had friends who picked me up off the ground in the toughest of times. My family has always been incredibly supportive and believed in me more than I believed in myself. My wife is my literal sounding board, I hardly do anything without bouncing the idea off of her. She wears so many hats it’s difficult to put into words. If I had to pick one person, I’d pick my Mom. My Mom passed away in October 2011 having survived various forms of cancer for the better part of 17 years. As parents do, she had lessons she would say repeatedly throughout my childhood. I don’t know what was more impactful, the words or the actions, but I suspect it was the latter.

Everything she taught my brother, sister and I was built on the foundation of grit. I believe the best definition of grit is ‘Passion + Perseverance’ (Angela Duckworth). I don’t know anyone who had more grit than her. She was so incredibly authentic and genuine in everything she did (notice I didn’t say easy). She brought passion and excitement to everything. She was my biggest cheerleader, even during her final days. She understood me like no one else on the planet. One of the biggest gifts you can receive in life is to be understood. I always felt understood by her. She gave that gift to me.

I watched her fight cancer 3 different times. I watched her lose her hair and become so sick from chemo she could barely talk. I watched her smile through the pain and find something positive out of every situation. I watched her, terminally ill, receive the news that my Stepdad took his own life. That did not break her spirit. As far as I’m concerned, nothing did. She always found a way to pick herself up, pull herself together, take a deep breath, smile and put one foot in front of the other. That example inspires me daily.

I’ll conclude with this – one time I had a friend over and she asked us to break down boxes for recycling. She was never shy to assign tasks to friends, as she believed steadfastly in the value of hard work. As we went to work, she stopped us to show us the best way to do it. It didn’t phase me, but my friend said, “Is she serious? This is trash, why does she care?” It mattered because she wanted to show us the right way to do it. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, how you do anything is how you do everything. That applied in my house growing up. You did it right, or you didn’t bother doing it at all.

Website: www.bgailhomes.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bgailhomes/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendangail/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brendan.gail.5/