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When asked what accounts for his long-term success, Blane replied: \u201cYou\u2019ve got to treat people kind, do what\u2019s right, and work, work, and keep on working. I try to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blane\u2019s daughter, Tanya, who helps him out with property management, said her dad has a well-deserved reputation for honesty. \u201cOne of his properties was flooded once and the tenant, a condo owner, was nervous about dealing with the insurance company and the repair crew,\u201d she noted adding, \u201cThey were told, \u2018Don\u2019t worry, Charlie Blane\u2019s got a good reputation. Charlie is an honest man and it will get paid for. So go ahead and get everything done. I\u2019ve heard that, time and again, from many different people. And that\u2019s probably part of his success \u2013 that he hasn\u2019t burned bridges.\u201d<\/p>\n
A couple of Blane\u2019s longtime friends and business associates, Bill Philips and Patti DeHart agreed that his integrity is the gold standard in the local real estate industry. \u201cWe go back a long way, even before I went to work with him,\u201d said Philips, a 96-year-old retired Realtor. \u201cHe\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Philips of Blane: \u201cHe 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 \u2013 you have fewer problems down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeHart, now retired, worked with Blane as an employee of Allison McCloskey Escrow Co. \u201cWe did a lot of business together, I used to see Charlie almost every single day,\u201d DeHart said adding, \u201cCharlie 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of all Blane\u2019s admirable traits, DeHart said the one that impresses her the most is his ability to be a walking encyclopedia of local real estate. \u201cCharlie knows \u2018all\u2019 the real estate he bought and sold in that beach for people,\u201d she pointed out. \u201cYou can give him an address, and he\u2019ll say, \u2018I sold that place in 1956 for X amount of dollars.\u2019 And he still has all his index cards that have all that information. He\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n There is one other thing that sticks out in DeHart\u2019s memory about Blane: his loyalty and love for Pacific Beach Kiwanis Club Division 21.\u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Blane treasures the relationship he had with Taylor. \u201cVern Taylor was why I was successful because he recommended me to a lot of people when I needed to be recommended and make sales,\u201d Blane said.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t have recognized PB back then.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a cow pasture,\u201d Blane said. \u201cGrand 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Regarding his personal longevity, Blane noted he comes from a long-lived family. \u201cA lot of them lived to be close to 100,\u201d he said adding he has a cousin in Kentucky who is 102. \u201cThe reason I\u2019m in good health is that I run and walk twice a day. I still play golf.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been here a long time and real estate has been good to me,\u201d Blane said.<\/p>\n CHARLIE BLANE REAL ESTATE<\/p>\n Where: 1621 Grand Ave. (above Wendy\u2019s).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.sdnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20230314204318\/Charlie-in-Navy-300x210.jpg\")