Jesse Brossa

See the big picture. There is so much to the business, but it comes down to being able to see the big picture for your clients. What is it they want? Where is it? How do they get there? When will they get there? I spend a lot of time getting to know my clients so I can find out answers to those things and then we can wrap it back up and say “This is what looks right, this is where we’re going and this is how we’re going to get there.” When you can do that, you take a lot of the unknowns out of the process and that makes it a much better journey. There is still plenty of excitement along the way, but at least you can see it coming.

 

What gets you excited and makes you passionate about this incredible industry?

You know what gets me up in the morning every day? This crazy amazing real estate business and everything it brings with it. I love my emails – I get to write people. I love my phone – I get to talk to people. I love the houses I get to see – funky ones, chic ones and beachy ones. The drive to and from work over well-paved roads in nice neighborhoods. The opportunity to serve amazing people. To see them get excited. To cheer them up when things look dire. To see the tables turn in our favor. I love the next turn down that road that reveals the new view. Seeing families and fortunes grow. I love the marketing part. Working with my partners. My photographer. My managers. My company. I am so grateful for all of this.

I get excited about meeting my next clients. The people I haven’t met yet. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not a serial dater – I love the clients I have and am going to serve them for life, but I get excited to meet new people, hear their stories, hear where they want to be in five or ten years and then walk part of that journey with them. Buying and selling real estate is intense, it’s intimate, it’s exciting – that’s heady stuff. Count me in.

 

What do you love most about being a Realtor® in Orange County?

Real estate in Orange County is supreme. It’s big, it’s beautiful and I get to work with the best clients in the business.

Everyone I meet wants to be here – you have to want to be here because it is not an inexpensive place to be. You have to work for it. But the truth is – yeah – people from all over the world want to be here and that is pretty cool; I get to dream with them when we work together. 

I had a client from Arizona who has been buying and selling homes here for years ask me “Jesse – does the ocean still amaze you or do you not see it anymore?” I laughed out loud and said “Are you kidding me? It’s held its sway over me from day one; I am bound to it. I am made from it. Cut my arm and a starfish will drop out… the Pacific is metaphor for the Universe; the beach the edge of our understanding. It is truly awe-inspiring.” She said “Oh, thank goodness… I was worried I would stop loving it someday…” 

No, ma’am; you won’t stop loving it.

 

What are some notable achievements you have made throughout your real estate career?

The people I’ve come to know – clients and agents alike – they are the measure of my success.

At every price point, from the entry-level condo to the sprawling coastal estate, the real estate transaction is generally the largest financial transaction anyone will ever make in their life. It’s risky and there is always a lot on the line so to be brought in by clients to be a part of that journey – that’s the stuff. That’s a supreme honor and I take it very seriously.

I’ve had the pleasure of mentoring new agents and seeing them grow into battle-hardened professionals.

 

What advice would you give a client who is buying and/or selling a home?

For anyone out there getting ready to buy or sell a home, here’s my advice - ask your agent a lot of questions, and when you run out of questions, just keep asking them what comes next?

Your agent should be able to help you visualize the journey from start to finish. If they can’t paint you a mental picture of a satisfied you at the end of your mission - if they can’t do that - keep looking for someone who can. You need to know where you’re going and you need someone who can help get you there.

Be wary of the tech solution in real estate. There is so much emphasis on turning real estate into a tech- & step-driven process and for the same reason there are still fine chefs cooking and not robots, real estate is a human-oriented, human-piloted profession. There is so much nuance to the journey; people buying and selling homes deserve keen insight at every step.

How do you give back to your community?

I serve as an elected Director on the Laguna Board of REALTORS®, chair the Board’s Gov’t Affairs committee, and will be President of the Board in 2025. Those positions keep me at the forefront of local and state issues that impact private property rights and issues that directly affect the profession of real estate. I’m grateful to be able to work with colleagues, clients and friends and keep them up on laws and issues that affect us and advocate for positive change along the way.

Here's what I’ve learned – it’s people just like you and me working to make the world better. If you think it is someone else, maybe think again and try your hand at volunteering, or attending a city council meeting… good governance requires passionate people. You won’t be able to do all of it, but you absolutely can move the needle in a positive way just by showing up. You’ll see!

What do you love to do when you aren't working?

When I’m not working, I’m all family, all the time. That means dinner every day with the fam, spontaneous beach days, walking the dog in the sage-covered hills, teaching the kids about novel topics, watching them play water polo six days a week, big dinners with friends – we like to cook. Actually, my wife likes to cook and I like to eat. Hahahaha.

But – in the midst of all that, I spend whatever free minutes I can find drawing, painting and photographing the world around me. Life is a constant inspiration to me – the ocean, the architecture, the places my kids play, the trees that lean over the fences looking for more sunshine, the trails that wander off over the horizon… yes, ma’am, that’s where you can find me.

 

What's one thing your clients may not know about you?

One thing my clients probably don’t know about me is I have a most epic record collection that I’ve been building for over 20 years… Yes – I was that geek in Goodwill and at the swap meet digging for vinyl before it was cool (again). You want to stomp and shake to funky Afrobeat from Lagos? Got that. You want to get down to the roots reggae vibes of Kingston? See me! Sugary siren sounds of 70’s New York disco callin’ your name? Oooo! Let’s get down tonight! 

Music is my way of connecting with a big, big world. Man, what a beautiful planet we have.

PS - those old records you have? You don't want them anymore. I'll come pick them up for you and give them a nice new home. ;)