Meet Brandon
If it weren’t for my family owning a small business, I’m not sure I would have pursued law and real estate in the same way.
I remember my parents having so many questions while growing their business, but they didn't have a way to get those answers easily. You couldn't just go online. If you wanted advice on estate planning for your business or personal property, you had to hire different experts each time, which can add up. I always wondered, "Why can't somebody just do all of those things?"
When I started law school, I set out with the vision to take care of more than one thing for people. As soon as I passed the bar in 2015, I went right into real estate. I founded Smith & Burgoon Realty with Kevin and a private law practice serving families and businesses here in Sacramento. I enjoy wearing a few different hats to streamline services for people who are working to build a future for their families.
My wife Chelsea and I chose to buy a home in the same area I grew up — Roseville, CA. We live here with our two daughters, Crosby and Lucca, and love being near family and friends. And, my family still owns that small business here in Sacramento (Lawn and Order). All these years later, my parents have someone to help answer those questions -- and you do too.
Six Quick Facts About Me
I think one of the best parts about real estate is...
The hustle and bustle of negotiations. Often you'll find us working on deals early in the morning or late at night and on the weekends. It's a big shift from what I do on the law side, where it's a lot of analyzing and being cerebral. Real estate is a lot more active negotiation. It gives me the chance to be out and about, showing and viewing properties.
The first home I bought was a brand new track home, and the agent doubled the deal (that's not always a good thing).
My first home was a brand new build, and I was pretty young. I bought a house for myself and my roommates to live in. The new track home came with incentives to buy, including putting very little money down. I purchased the home and learned a lot in the process. I went through the in-house representative, who was also the selling agent for the home building company. I didn't know it at the time, but he doubled the deal by representing the home building company as the seller and representing me as the buyer. I didn't get some of the other upgrades other home buyers received because he was more incentivized to close the deal. Looking back, I felt very unrepresented in that first transaction.
The upside is that purchase became a great stepping stone to getting the house that my wife and kids now live in.
I love using my law background to help our real estate clients.
As a real estate agent who is also an attorney, I can offer a big picture understanding of the real estate process in relation to other important parts of your life like estate planning and business ownership. I love that I can support many of our real estate clients in protecting their assets for the long run and build something for the next generation. That's what my family and I have done, and that's what I'd like to help others do for their families.
Learn more about my Law Practice here.
One of my favorite things about Sacramento is...
The trees. It's a small thing, but you'd be surprised what a difference established trees make in a city. I like being able to see and enjoy all the beautiful trees throughout Sacramento. You can walk around in the evening and watch the sun setting through this big green canopy above, which I think is kind of cool.
A few spots I like to visit are Midtown and the river. There are a lot of great restaurants in Midtown like Mikuni Sushi and Paesano’s Italian. It's fun to take a drive down there, have dinner, and walk around by the Capitol.
And of course, I love the river because I can fish out there.
Something I wish every buyer knew is...
There's a lot that you can do to enhance your offer — even if you're not coming in with cash or even have the highest offer, per se. You can still do quite a bit to make your offer more attractive to a seller. Kevin and I look at different strategies like how to use contingencies to your advantage. We've also helped buyers understand how to leverage credits, inspections, and deposits.
The second thing I wish buyers thought about early on is estate planning. When buying a home, there's a required form to fill out related to the title. The form essentially asks how you want your property vested. Most agents will tell you it doesn't matter how you own the property or purchase it. The reality is that your title ties into the estate planning side. Most clients say they would like their property to go to their kids. Technically, the box you check (joint tenants, community, properties, etc.) could determine whether or not the property goes to probate.
This is something that I can assist you with through my law practice.
The one piece of real estate advice I'd give my kids is...
The more you can stay put, the more you're going to make on that property. If you try to time everything, you try to get caught up in the ups and downs of the market, you're probably going to get burnt a few times. There are always hidden costs that go into buying and selling houses. So that's why I tell our clients not to get caught up in the highs, lows, and emotions of real estate. Ride it out.
Get in Touch with Me
916-417-4172
bsmith@smithburgoon.com
CA DRE #02014367
