After nearly 70 years selling real estate in Pacific Beach, the winning business philosophy of Charlie Blane remains as familiar as it is straightforward.
“Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you,” replied the 92-year-old pioneering PB Realtor, a self-professed “farm boy” originally from Tennessee whose father was a sharecropper.
When asked what accounts for his long-term success, Blane replied: “You’ve got to treat people kind, do what’s right, and work, work, and keep on working. I try to do that.”
Blane’s daughter, Tanya, who helps him out with property management, said her dad has a well-deserved reputation for honesty. “One of his properties was flooded once and the tenant, a condo owner, was nervous about dealing with the insurance company and the repair crew,” she noted adding, “They were told, ‘Don’t worry, Charlie Blane’s got a good reputation. Charlie is an honest man and it will get paid for. So go ahead and get everything done. I’ve heard that, time and again, from many different people. And that’s probably part of his success – that he hasn’t burned bridges.”
A couple of Blane’s longtime friends and business associates, Bill Philips and Patti DeHart agreed that his integrity is the gold standard in the local real estate industry. “We go back a long way, even before I went to work with him,” said Philips, a 96-year-old retired Realtor. “He’s always had a good reputation and a good character. I learned a lot from him in the way he operated. He never got excited. He was very upfront, and a very good agent. He was always looking out for the client, making sure they got the best deal they could.”
Added Philips of Blane: “He was kind of easygoing and easy to work with, and yet, he really was keeping his eye on you. He had a way of just handling each person a little differently. He always wanted to do the right thing. We figured, if you do the right thing – you have fewer problems down the road.”
DeHart, now retired, worked with Blane as an employee of Allison McCloskey Escrow Co. “We did a lot of business together, I used to see Charlie almost every single day,” DeHart said adding, “Charlie sold just about all of the beach and I would do most of his escrows. He was just a great guy and would bring us lunch and was very appreciative of what we did.”
Of all Blane’s admirable traits, DeHart said the one that impresses her the most is his ability to be a walking encyclopedia of local real estate. “Charlie knows ‘all’ the real estate he bought and sold in that beach for people,” she pointed out. “You can give him an address, and he’ll say, ‘I sold that place in 1956 for X amount of dollars.’ And he still has all his index cards that have all that information. He’s incredible.”
There is one other thing that sticks out in DeHart’s memory about Blane: his loyalty and love for Pacific Beach Kiwanis Club Division 21.“He joined the club back in the 1950s and it was Vern Taylor who got Charlie into the club. Then Charlie got me to join, and we still do that today. He goes every single week. The only time he ever misses meetings is when he is gone on a trip.”
Vernon Taylor (1915-2006) whose parents were early PB pioneers, was a renowned real estate developer who owned most of Pacific Beach west of Cass Street. Taylor, his wife Mary, and his sister, Erma Taylor O’Brien, provided the funds for the purchase of land and the building of the Earl and Birdie Taylor Library at 4275 Cass St.
Blane treasures the relationship he had with Taylor. “Vern Taylor was why I was successful because he recommended me to a lot of people when I needed to be recommended and make sales,” Blane said.
Blane was in the Navy and moved to San Diego after his service, opening his first real estate office at 4401 Cass St in 1961. He said people today wouldn’t have recognized PB back then.
“It was a cow pasture,” Blane said. “Grand Avenue was paved from the ocean to here (Ingraham), but it was a dirt road east (to the freeway). Garnet was paved all the way (to the freeway) but at the Target and Vons shopping center today, all that was vacant land. It was cow pasture with goats and hogs in the 1950s, and got developed in the 1960s.”
Regarding his personal longevity, Blane noted he comes from a long-lived family. “A lot of them lived to be close to 100,” he said adding he has a cousin in Kentucky who is 102. “The reason I’m in good health is that I run and walk twice a day. I still play golf.”
Blane is also a devoted parishioner at La Jolla Presbyterian Church where he was an usher for years. He recalled that Richard Nixon when he was president and had a home north of Del Mar, went to a church service at La Jolla Presbyterian once. Blane said Nixon was helicoptered into La Jolla High School in order to attend.
“I’ve been here a long time and real estate has been good to me,” Blane said.
CHARLIE BLANE REAL ESTATE
Where: 1621 Grand Ave. (above Wendy’s).
Contact: 858-274-3737.
