About Me

My name is Bern McGovern, and I am a Realtor here in San Diego, CA.

I pride myself on not being your typical real estate agent. That’s why I focus my business on being your guide through the complex San Diego Real Estate market rather than just a “salesperson’. I take each transaction personally and take a vested interest in what my clients really want when buying or selling a home. I also have the unique ability from my previous career in television production to showcase a home through the use of beautiful images, aerial drone photo’s & videos, 3d Tours and aggressive online marketing campaigns while also showcasing what the community has to offer.

As local Real Estate agent in San Diego I like to think that being a part of the community is a job requirement.

I probably take it a little farther then most real estate agents you’ll meet which is why I started my blog offthe56.com. I actually make it the focus of my business by interviewing local businesses, teachers, community leaders and even girl scouts! I believe my job is as much about showcasing the community as it is about selling homes. You won’t find anyone that knows more about the communities that I live in and work in and that is something I am very proud of.

It would mean the world to me to help you navigate this beautiful city that I call home.

CA DRE: 01905334

“Just closed yesterday on a condo sale with Bern and I cannot say enough about his skills, his service and willingness to do what it takes to get the maximum value from a home sale.”

Rich C.

SAN DIEGO NEIGHBORHOOD TOURS

Del Sur & 4s Ranch

Carmel Valley

Rancho Penasquitos

What people are saying!

Rich C.

Just closed yesterday on a condo sale with Bern and I cannot say enough about his skills, his service and willingness to do what it takes to get the maximum value from a home sale. I interviewed several agents and stumbled upon Bern on Yelp. What I liked about Bern as that he’s down to earth and comfortable to deal with and clearly skilled at the modern art of marketing a property. The greatest part of my sale, was that Bern recommended a sales price substantially higher than the other agents I talked to and then even more amazing, we got that price. Most agents look at just “closed” transactions but he poked around and found a pending unit not yet closed, pending at a much higher price than other comps and used that “comp” to justify a record price for similar units in the project. Bern is truly full service. He supplied awesome vendors to do needed rehab on the place at great prices pre-listing and literally drove to my office 4 or 5 times to pick up paperwork or facilitate signing docs, etc that truly made this thing a breeze. I had total confidence in letting him handle it and when a decision would arise he would explain both sides but would support any call I made. Always a text away, I now personally know why Bern gets the glowing reviews that he does. I highly recommend him for any sale or purchase. Go Bern!

Rich C.

We finally closed escrow on our first house and we couldn’t have done it without Bern! My husband and I are so lucky to have met Bern while house hunting on the Westside. Our first impression of him was great-not cheesy or pushy like many of the other real estate agents we’ve met. And as our home buying journey progressed, our first impression was validated twofold–he’s just a downright honest, likable, trustworthy guy.

Bern was very conscious of staying within our price range and paid close attention to the qualities we were looking for in our first home. He gave us honest feedback about the units we toured and their neighborhoods and showed us the utmost patience during the several months it took us to find the perfect place. He would send us listings of properties on a weekly, sometimes daily basis, to make sure we didn’t miss any opportunities. And when we found properties we were interested in, Bern gave us private showings with enthusiasm and without pushiness. When we finally found our dream home, Bern helped us close the deal. There were 5 other offers on our property, two of them cash deals. We were nervous, but with Bern’s guidance and thoughtful presentation to the seller, they accepted OUR offer!

Overall he is professional, organized and willing to go above and beyond to satisfy his clients. He is a realtor with true integrity and it is no wonder why he has loyal clients and such good rapport with other people in the field.

Not only have my husband and I found our go-to real estate agent, we’ve also made a friend! When we are ready to upgrade to our next property, we will surely be contacting Bern!

Lisa & Roger

My husband and I were renting in Claremont and were getting ready to buy but we were casting a wide net on where we wanted to live. We bounced between Rancho Penasquitos to Carlsbad to Scripps Ranch. On top of that we couldn’t decide if we wanted a “turn-key” home or a fixer-upper. So in short Bern had to narrow our results down from EVERY POSSIBLE HOUSE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY. And he stayed in stride with our ever changing minds.

I had received several referrals for real estate agents due to my job and we had interviewed quite a few agents that range from leaders in the San Diego front to friends-of-friends. In the end we stayed with Bern not only because of his calm yet confident nature, but also because he was not showy. We did not want a car salesman, we wanted someone on our team that we could trust to fight for us and also help us with the leg work.

Due to our work schedules, we couldn’t always go see a property and my husband and I RARELY got to go to a property together so Bern had to accommodate for both circumstances. He had to deal with taking us individually to the same house, but at the same time, deal with both of our VERY DIFFERENT input (every house I liked, my husband didn’t and vice versa… you can see how frustrating this was). Bern focused his efforts on both of our needs to narrowed down our choices from there.

Once we decided on a house, we ran into normal, but frustrating hiccups with: the house, the seller, the loan broker, the renovations etc and Bern did not walk away after the final signing, he continued to work to help us with laying out our plans for renovating the house. We are so thankful we chose Bern and he did not give up on us. Fortunately for us we gained a good friend as well. I HIGHLY recommend using Bern for any of your property needs.

Kristin & Steve A.

My wife and I recently moved to the San Diego area in order to be closer to our kids, and grandkids, and after more than ten months of searching with four different agents , we went to Bern.

We knew that Bern was especial when we went to interview him, and unlike other agents who had asked us to sign an exclusivity contract for 6 months or longer, Bern told us that if any time we were not happy with his services we were welcome to “fire” him!

After working only a few days with Bern, I realized that he is very methodical and always learning about the pulse of the real estate in different geographical areas and times. He has the rare quality of being very patient and at the same time being extremely knowledgeable and detailed oriented.

Bern is also very low-key and likable. These qualities made him very effective during the negotiations to purchase our “dream home”. There were four other offers, but because his amiable relationship with both the seller and his realtor, they ended up choosing our offer!

If you are looking to buy or sell your home, do yourself a favor and hire Bern, he the BEST!

Guillermo P.