S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

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Biography

Brandon Sanders’ life completely changed when he broke his back. As a college senior at Baylor University, Brandon broke his back during an amateur golf tournament. Brandon’s life was, at the time, very much focused on golf. He picked up a club for the first time at age 10. After going to a summer golf camp with a friend, the golf pro recognized Brandon’s raw talent and offered him a free summer membership in exchange for hard work and lots of practice. Brandon took the deal. The game of golf made sense to Brandon: golf is a mental game. It requires physical ability, which Brandon naturally had in spades, but the real challenge was being consistent, persistent, and focused. Brandon poured every ounce of his focus into his game, and it paid off. He was a nationally ranked player by the time he was 15 years old and was recruited by 39 different colleges and universities. The opportunity at Baylor University stood out to him, and Brandon committed. Baylor’s golf team was ready for a revamp. Prior to Brandon and his teammates joining, the team was nationally ranked around 140th. By Brandon’s sophomore year, they were in the top 25 teams in the nation. Brandon himself was powerful: he won the Big 12 Conference his senior year, and he shared the Big 12 low-round record with Charles Howell. Brandon was named an All Big 12 Conference Player in both his junior and senior years.

The path forward seemed obvious: Brandon was going to finish his remaining nine credit hours in the fall semester in a fifth year at Baylor and then transition to becoming a professional player. But Brandon’s plan was bulldozed. In the summer prior to his graduation, he broke his back in the middle qualifier round of an amateur tournament. He had caddied for Jimmy Walker in the US Open the week before, and he noticed that his back was sore. Then, during his own tournament, Brandon swung his club and dropped straight to the ground. He had broken his back—and everything he had planned crumbled.

But, if there was one word to describe Brandon, it is persistence. An experience like that would derail some people for years, maybe even forever—but not Brandon. He went back to Baylor as an assistant golf coach while he received medical care for his back. It took four years for Brandon to swing a club again. The shift in his plans opened up new paths for Brandon’s life. He was forced to divert from his professional golf career, but he approached other opportunities with his characteristic persistence.

Brandon grew up in San Angelo, Texas. He learned a lot about pivoting in a career and adding value to whatever position he had from his father. Brandon’s dad was in the oil industry. When that industry was rocked, his father shifted between banking and real estate. Brandon learned how to work from the bottom to the top: he started working with his father by doing maintenance work at the apartment complexes his father managed. Eventually, Brandon managed them, too, and carried on the family business.

In 2003, Brandon pivoted again. This time, it was both personally and professionally. Brandon married his childhood sweetheart, Alisen. The couple had been together for most of their lives since they started dating in the 7th grade. It was one of two “happily ever afters” for Brandon. The second started when Steve Eustis, owner of Steve Eustis, Co. Realtors, approached Brandon about joining his commercial and investment properties firm. Brandon agreed, and he made the move to commercial real estate.

Since 2003, Brandon has been learning and excelling in the commercial real estate industry. He holds the CCIM designation with affiliation through the North and Central Texas CCIM chapters. His expertise includes all areas of commercial brokerage, leasing, 1031 exchanges, problem-solving/value-added opportunity, commercial property management, and counseling.

Brandon’s approach to work is making sure he is consistently adding value to both property and relationships. In the properties side, he will find buildings and units that have been mistreated or mismanaged, fix them, and sell them. On the relationships side, Brandon continues to work in his own community. He is an approved Instructor for the State of Texas and has drafted several education courses. He finds value in sharing knowledge and information to others, whether this is through the educational courses he is teaching or the youth teams he coaches.

Brandon and Alisen have four boys, ranging in ages from 4 to 13 years old. In his role as a family man, Brandon has coached over 27 different teams, including soccer, basketball, football, little league baseball, and baseball travel teams. Brandon likes to stay active and completed the Spartan Trifecta in 2019. The Spartan Trifecta consists of the following:

• One Spartan Sprint of 3 miles and 20 obstacles
• One Spartan Super of 8 miles and 25 obstacles
• One Spartan Blast of 13 miles and 30 obstacles

In 2020, Brandon received his black belt in tae kwon do. One of the fun things the family puts together each year is a Christmas card. If you have not seen this card, you are missing out!

Today, Brandon is both a broker and an investor with Steve Eustis, Co. Realtors. He served on the Executive Committee of the Society as president in 2018 and the president of the S.E.C. Education Foundation in 2019. Over his career, he has closed more than 350 transactions valued above $250,000,000 and is involved in multiple TICs, LLCs, or LPs as an owner.

One of Brandon’s goals is to continue building wealth for people and helping them make money. Another goal, and maybe the most important driver for his life, is making sure he is giving back to others in the same way that others have given to him.