How did you decide to pursue the career that you are working in today? 
I’m not really sure I had an option!  I am third generation in real estate.  I did Sports Marketing for 15 years and then my Mom asked me who would take over her real estate business when she retires.  (As if she is really going to retire EVER! 😊)

What is the most important thing you want people to know about your business?  
Our business is loyalty based.  We work really hard for our clients, as we know our future business relies on referrals and repeat clients. Everyone needs an advocate to work on their behalf in real estate.

What is an important lesson you have learned?
What goes around comes around.

Who has inspired you in your life (either professionally or personally)?
My Mother who was inspired by my Grandmother and her Aunts, who were all Real Estate Agents in their time.  My 2 great aunts were 2 of the first women brokers in the state of OR in North Portland and in male dominated commercial real estate. (When women weren’t supposed to be working.)

What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop? 
As owners of both our real estate (Chris Balmes Properties LLC) and property management (Pilot Property Management LLC) companies we are able to adapt our services to our clients needs.  We now service our clients with residential & commercial real estate, as well as property management in both Oregon & Washington.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
The best friend I ever had was my Basset Hound, Calibur, that I lost a few years ago, but he often sends me signs that he still watches over me.

What about your business keeps you up at night? 
In order to service our clients we work 7 days a week and can often be found writing and/or negotiating offers late at night or early mornings.  Many a time I have been found to check my email to see if a response has been sent by a client or Broker.

What have you accomplished that you are proud of?
The Portland Business Journal has named us Women of Influence nominee, Top Minority Owner Business, Top Women-Owned Business, Repeat Top Real Estate Firm Nominee. We are a recognized as a National and State of Oregon registered Women/Minority Owned business.  Our company is also a HUD certified, which means we can list and write offers on HUD owned properties.  We are very involved in our community.  Each year we collect barrels of donations for the Food Bank, serve for Meals on Wheels, host a Giving Tree in our office for the holidays and sponsor our local sports teams.

Click here to learn more about Lisa Balmes PC, e-PRO and Pilot Property Management, LLC