Meet Jonathan Gardner, Senior Sales and Leasing Agent at Vakos Real Estate Services.
What do you love most about what you do?
No two days are the same, and I'm always learning and being challenged.
Was there a person or experience that inspired your career?
Yes, both of my grandfathers had backgrounds involved in real estate. One was a builder then a broker and appraiser, and the other an auctioneer. They both had lives most anyone would trade for, and I thought, who better to emulate?
What does your business do better than anyone else?
Our brokerage and property management business does a tremendous job developing enduring relationships with clients, those that span over long years. As a smaller firm, we must retain those relationships to insure sustainability in transaction volume and income, but also just because it's what we "should" do. We value the relationship and doing what's right over making a dollar, and that usually has mighty returns.
What do you wish you could change?
That we will be more active within the business and charitable communities. We are still growing, and the next steps in that growth will be outreach both in profit and non-profit circles locally and beyond. So less of a wish, and more of a budding plan that needs to come alive.
What do you love to do when you're not in the office?
My favorite hobbies include being active with my two sons Jackson (8) and Harrison (4), coaching the oldest in basketball, and I've been passionate about golf for years even if my scorecards don't match the enthusiasm. I have long played the guitar as a means to disconnect, avidly work out daily, and I'm basically obsessed with major college and pro sports, especially UVA basketball.
Is there anything else you want people to know about you?
My beautiful wife is my foundational pillar, along with my kids. Family means the most to me. In business, I try to extend the same gratitude, thankfulness, care, and humility I give to and take from family, and apply that warmth to my work.
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