About Sally
For nearly 20 years, Sally has watched Portland shed it’s reputation as Seattle’s younger cousin and grow into a big-girl city complete with her own unique neighborhoods, culture, and eccentricities. After moving here in 1999, Sally settled in Northeast Portland and quickly became an integral part of the ever-growing east side. From opening a clothing boutique on North Mississippi Street to managing family investment properties in NE Portland, she continues to be passionate about building and engaging in her own community.
With over a decade of experience in the local apparel industry, Sally is using her keen eye for design and love for real estate to help her friends and neighbors say yes to the address. She is known for her passion for people and ability to build strong relationships. Sally genuinely understands that this experience is about so much more than purchasing a house, and her primary goal is to find you a place that feels like home.
When she’s not rocking in the real estate world, you can probably find Sally swimming in rivers, walking her dogs around Fernhill Park, or planning her next road trip or Island adventure.
Sally Schwartz
Real Estate Broker
Licensed in the State of Oregon
office: 503.238.7617 x 205
cell phone: 503.319.2617
fax: 503.234.9511
Words From Sally’s Clients:
“I admit I actually considered the possibility that realtors might be unnecessary in a seller’s market like we are experiencing right now…I stand corrected. Our final sale price far exceeded any estimate that I had in mind when we put our house on the market, and I give all the credit to our amazing realtors. Carla and Sally helped us understand what we should prioritize before putting the house on the market which helped use streamline our projects to a list that was actually manageable. They connected us with professionals that helped us with all of that. And finally, when it came time to price the house, they new the magic number that would help to bring in the final price that far exceeded our expectations. We are so glad we chose Carla and Sally as our realtors! You couldn’t ask for a better pairing!”
“Carla and Sally are a powerhouse team. They prepared us well with a list of tasks to complete to update our house for the upcoming sale. We followed their list to the letter, then they staged our house with their incredible design skills and voila – our house sold for (drumroll please) $100,000 over the asking price. That is not a typo. The transaction was smooth and they managed the details for us making our job as easy as it could be. I highly recommend working with these two. They are a rockstar real estate duo. When you do work with them, listen to their suggestions and let them lead. They know their stuff!!”
“Working with Carla and Sally was amazing. They were both professional, knowledgeable and tenacious. Choosing to buy a home in the summer of 2021 was a challenge but working with Carla and Sally made the process as easy as it could be and they expertly guided us through the ups and downs and helped us avoid some potential disasters. We’re so happy with the home we ended up in and couldn’t have made it happen without Carla and Sally’s help.”
“As first-time homebuyers, working with Sally and Carla was a dream come true. Not only did they explain everything to us in ways we could understand, but they connected us with an incredible team of other real estate professionals who helped us navigate the incredibly volatile 2021 market in a way that got us into our dream house AT ASKING in under two months from the time we started looking…with all our contingencies intact. All in all, they were incredibly supportive, fastidious, responsive, and kind–honestly, after working with this team, I wouldn’t even consider making a purchase like this without one or both of them at my side.”
“I had the pleasure of working with Sally and Carla to sell my first home and I cannot say enough good things about my time with the two of them. Sally and Carla made the entire process incredibly easy; they were always on top of the work, scheduling, paperwork, and in general went above and beyond to help me sell the house. They clearly laid out the process and timelines in the beginning and their honest opinions helped me get a great price for the house and on a timeframe that worked well for my schedule. I was selling the house from out of town and both of them were incredibly accommodating with additional work that fell on them since I was several states away. They were just wonderful. No question – you should work with these two.”
“Working with Carla and Sally was the best real estate experience ever! They clearly prioritize their clients and make it a personal and enjoyable experience. Highly recommended!”
From the beginning, Carla provided excellent advice. When we toyed with selling directly to someone to avoid the whole process of showing the house, she was gracious in the discussion yet confidently stated that doing so would not bring the best value to us.
Once we geared up for the listing, Carla brought Sally onto the team, and they made a great duo to guide us through the myriad of decisions to be made. We chose to bring in contractors to address a few repairs before the listing, and they had helpful recommendations for that and even helped nudge a few contractors to get the results we needed. They worked as a true team with us throughout the process, which resulted in an excellent group of offers and a relatively smooth path to closing.
We definitely recommend Carla and Sally!
“Colleen and Sally were our realtors during the purchase of our first home, and they were really great. They were always responsive and helpful, took care of scheduling all the professionals to come for quotes during the negotiation time, they really helped us a lot. Thank you 🙂
“I just recently sold my Portland home, and I had the pleasure to work with Sally Schwartz and Colleen Glaab. They are truly the best in the business in my personal opinion. Back in April of last year I sent a message to Colleen about what the process of selling my home would be. At this time I still was not quite ready to sell my home but Colleen was so nice and helpful. She sent me detailed information and a step by step process for how my house would sell. It really helped make the decision to finally sell. I reached back out to Colleen in December and she was quick to respond and get the process started for me. Then in January Sally came onboard to help with the sale of my home. Sally is truly amazing. She held my hand through everything and that is something I truly needed. It is scary to sell a home but Sally reassured me and walked me through the process step by step. Whenever I needed something she was quick to respond and very helpful. Both Sally and Colleen are amazing and very knowledgeable. I couldn’t have sold my house without them. I can’t recommend them enough. Thank you for helping make my dreams come true!”
“We moved to Portland from California, so it was especially important that we worked with a well-connected realtor who could walk us through the process even from afar. We ended up connecting with Sally Schwartz and we are so lucky we did. In August we came up to Portland for a week and she blocked it off just for us so we could see 3-4 houses a day. She has a wealth of knowledge not just when it comes to neighborhoods but also potential costs of repairs and the routine yearly costs of upkeep. She makes sure you’re thinking of the total costs to maintain a home and not simply the list price. She also kept us in check about downsides should we ever need to sell. Ultimately, she was able to help us close on a house in SW Portland for under asking AND negotiate us a new roof and water heater as part of the deal. Throughout the process she was extremely easy to reach and had impeccable follow-through at every stage. Even after closing, she’s been a fantastic resource to us as we navigate home-ownership for the first time, more than willing to field our silly questions and point us in the right direction. We’ve been so impressed with Sally, and we couldn’t think of her more highly after experiencing the dedication she shows her clients.”
“We chose Sally to be our real estate broker, and I don’t think I could have found a better fit for our needs. Sally was very kind, professional, thoughtful, and attentive throughout the process. She really went above and beyond my expectations. She was very knowledgeable, friendly, and communicated reliably and clearly throughout the process. She was able to help us find what we wanted, help us understand each step of the process, and assist when needed with any questions we had. I cannot recommend Sally highly enough, she is both a great real estate broker, and an awesome human being. I would trust her again for our real estate needs without reservation. Thank you Portland’s Alternative Realtors, and Thank you Sally!”
“Sally Schwartz was my realtor for my recent home purchase and she made the whole transaction fun and stress free. She is very responsive and accommodating, plus she has immense knowledge of Portland and the surrounding areas. She’s also hilarious and will keep you laughing!! She’s honest and straight forward and helped me get exactly what I wanted!”
“Working with Sally Schwarz at Portland’s Alternative Inc., Realtors has been nothing short of a great experience. She is exceptionally user-friendly, and has a ton of integrity. Her background in real estate and design are a huge plus. But wait, there’s more; we were able to get our dream house, because of the relationships she has in the Portland area.”
“Sally Schwartz is an amazing human and an even better real estate agent. She has a wonderful sense of humor, is kind, informative, and made every step of the home buying process as simple and as easy as she could make it. My partner and I were first-time buyers, and we quickly felt overwhelmed by the massive amount of time and energy that goes into the buying process. Sally was quick to help in any way that she could. Our time searching for homes fell right before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We were out-of-towners, and our dream home just happened to pop up mid-May. After Sally masked and gloved up to give us a virtual tour of the home, we soon realized that this was our home. We made the 14-hour drive to Portland after two months of quarantining in Los Angeles. Had our offer accepted. And are now just a few short days away from move-in. Because of Sally we now own our dream home. Trust me when I say, Sally Schwartz is second to none when it comes to a reliable, kind, hard-working, and knowledgeable agent. Thank you for everything. We couldn’t be more happy. Sally’s email reads, “May the Schwartz be with you,” and we wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
“Sally at Portland Alternative Realty recently helped us sell our home in NE Portland in one would call an up and coming neighborhood. She helped us navigate the current market, made recommendations that made sense for our property and hosted two successful weekends of open houses during the busy summer season. All her efforts lead to numerous offers and then ultimately a quick and painless closing experience. Sally is professional, outgoing, easy to work with and I can not recommend her enough!”
“Sally Schwartz at Portland’s Alternative Realtors recently helped us sell our home in NE Portland. Sally had our home sold in no time flat. It was obvious throughout the whole process that she had our interests in mind and wasn’t seeing us as a monetary transaction. Very personal and professional. I am currently recommending her to anyone I know looking to buy or sell in Portland. Thanks Sally!”
“I ended up choosing to work with Sally to buy my first home based on her reviews and her genuine communication skills. I ended up thanking my lucky stars that I did because I struggle to imagine a more auspicious home buying process than the one we went through together. When it came time to seek the assistance of others it was apparent that Sally had amassed quite the all-star team of professionals. There was nothing I could throw at her that she couldn’t handle in spades. We had a short closing date and she got a highly sought after inspector lined up in record time but that was just the beginning. Due to her unrelenting perseverance and negotiation skills, she was able to get an incredible amount of concessions in the form of repairs. No easy task, considering contractors these days are booked out for months in advance and this was right in the middle of the winter holiday season. Like everything else, she made it happen in the most perfect way while sending me the encouragement and assurance I needed. Sally is patient, honest, empathetic, meticulous and just a great person in general and I would recommend her if you are looking to work with a realtor that you can trust to do the best job imaginable and truly be on your side. She went from being a total stranger to, in a few short weeks, being not only my realtor for life, but a person who’s friendship I now cherish greatly.”
“Sally Schwartz at Portland Alternative Realtors came highly recommended by my coworker and I was very happy with the entire experience of buying my first condo! She is professional, thorough, and fun to home hunt with. She answered every question that came up and I felt like I had the support I needed during this exciting time. She made the inspection and closing process a breeze. Whether it was my first or fifth time buying or selling a home, I’ll want Sally on my team!”
“I worked with Sally Schwartz to sell my home in NE PDX. It was a very emotional sale for me as I loved my house and did not want to move. Sally was so compassionate and thoughtful with me through the selling/moving process. We ended up having an open house 4 weekends in a row and I truly felt supported and like Sally was on my side every step of the way. I NEVER felt like a $ sign to her which can happen at times as selling a house is so stressful. I have bought and sold several houses and this was by far the best experience I have every had. Thank you so much Sally!!!”
“Working with Sally was amazing! She helped me sell one of my rental properties and the process couldn’t have gone smoother. Not only did she have great suggestions on projects to tackle to make the home more desirable but she also lined up all of the contractors to do the work. After she did thorough research of the neighborhood to help me determine a listing price, my house went pending within two weeks and for over asking. Plus she was a pro on dealing with the negotiations of the counter offer. I basically just had to sit back and watch it all happen. Sally really does go above and beyond. You should definitely use the Schwartz!”
I worked with Sally Schwartz and she was amazing. Super knowledgeable and committed to helping me find my dream home.
She made the process a delight and has been incredible even after the sale was completed.
“Sally Schwartz was our realtor. From the beginning, my spouse and I found her to be engaged, hard-working, accessible and knowledgeable. She always had time for us and we always felt like we were her first priority. As a first-time home buyer who went into the process with a fair (or maybe even huge) amount of distrust and cynicism, I feel fortunate to have been connected with Sally, who made all those feeling dissipate and who made the process actually fun. In the end, we bought a home that we absolutely love in a neighborhood (Kenton) that we absolutely love. I can’t imagine that we could have done it and felt as good as we do about our decision without Sally. Not only is she good at her job, but she is a good human being, and I can’t recommend her too highly!”
“Sally was our realtor and she was the best I could ask for. She listened very carefully about what we were looking for and made us feel very comfortable through out the whole process. (First time buyers) Made us NOT rushed into anything and we felt that always she was there for us when we needed. Could ask any questions comfortably though they could be stupid. LOVED her attitude!! She is the BEST!”
“Sally Schwartz is beyond awesome.
I love my new home and Sally Schwartz, Portland’s Alternative Realtors, made it all happen – without a glitch.
As a first-time buyer (with a full time job and lots of travel on my calendar) I needed help. And guidance. And patience. Sally instinctively understood my needs, uncertainties, and overall personality when we first met to look at a couple of places on the market.
She always listened. This alone was amazing. Sally recommended really good honest people – who she worked with and knew – for the inspection, financing, closing, and whatever else had to be done. It was pretty effortless, well, for me. Maybe not for her, but she was always calm, cheerful and sincerely excited to be helping me.
My agenda was buying a place; Sally’s agenda was walking with me through the deeply personal process of finding my home. And she did it all without a glitch.
Thank you Sally and Portland’s Alternative Realtors!
The Schwartz is with me.”
“Words are not enough to express my gratitude for having Sally Schwartz as my realtor. She went above and beyond to find the perfect house for me. As I currently live in Texas I had no knowledge of who to get bids from for work I needed done on my new house. Sally not only contacted numerous contractors for me for bids but she also met with them at the house. She took all the apprehension out of relocating to a new state by staying in constant contact with me and walking me thru the home buying process. If I ever move again I would not hesitate to use Sally.”
“Carla and Sally were great and helped us navigate the market as newcomers to Portland. Would highly recommend!”
“Let’s be clear, selling a house is no fun… Unless you work with Sally and Carla. They made the confusing clear and the complex simple.
The best part of working with them is they kept it real in terms of what I had to do and what I should do without creating too much overhead.
To be sure I will be working with them again in the future.”
“Carla and Sally were great to work with when they sold our house. We contacted them months before we were ready to sell. They provided us with the support, information and assistance we needed without ever pushing us to move a little faster. We had a list of things that we thought should be done to make the house more sellable. They were especially helpful in whittling down the list to just those items that would most likely make a difference to prospective buyers and they helped us find contractors or get the information needed for the jobs we wanted to do ourselves. They not only gave us the space to decide what to do and when to do it, but they provided us with the information needed so we could understand our options and make decisions we were comfortable with. When it came time to sell, they organized a three-day weekend to show our home to dozens of potential buyers. At the end of those three days, they had three offers – all of them were really more generous than our most optimistic hopes. Our home was really “for sale” for just three days! Choosing Carla and Sally to sell our home worked out great. Thank you both!”
“Sally and Carla are the only team you need in the Portland real estate world. From the moment we met them, they welcomed us with a professional but caring manner that made us feel like they were out for our best interest and wanted to know what would fit us best. Within a few hours they understood what we wanted but also could guide us in the availability and logistics that we never considered. They had an uncanny ability to predict our questions and offer solutions to the home we wanted. Their vast knowledge of home buying as well as their connections with everything from financing to yard maintenance made it an incredible breeze. Without them, my family and I would never have been able to buy a home in the timeline we did. They have the perfect balance to create client-led but agent-guided experience. They are kind, fun and experienced. We full heartedly recommend them. They are without parallel!!”
“We used Portland’s Alternative Inc., Realtor for our first time home buying experience and the value of Carla, Sally, and Pat cannot be overstated. They are an amazing team, well rounded, well informed group of people who value the human behind the purchase. You will not be disappointed going with them for your home buying needs.”
“Carla and Sally helped guide my family during our first home buying experience and set the bar very high. Besides being very knowledgeable in their craft and with the local area, one of my favorite aspects of their dynamic was how personable they were. They did a great job at making the experience feel more comfortable and less stressful. I will certainly recommend them for others (already have) and will return for future purchases! Thank you again for everything.”
“Sally and Carla are an exceptional team! We mostly worked with Sally, but when we did work with Carla she was a joy to be around and beyond knowledgeable about the various neighborhoods and homes in Portland.
Sally is the most generous, kind, thoughtful person I know! She literally put her body on the line without even telling us to get us a good deal on our new home. The seller (and their agent) did not make it easy, but Sally fought for us, HARD! She was honest and transparent every step of the way and made herself available basically 24/7, even when we wanted to see the same house for the third time. 🙂
Sally has truly become a friend and we are grateful to have her be part of our lives.
If you are looking for a reliable realtor, who will be honest with you and fight for you to get the best deal and the safest house for you, your belongings and your loved ones, look no further, Carla and Sally are the real deal. THE DREAM TEAM in every way.
Hire them, you won’t regret it! If I could give them every star in the sky I would! They are truly incredible.”
“Carla Mink and Sally Schwartz are the only people you will want or need when buying a home in Portland. We worked mainly with Carla, though. Carla is a fabulous human being who is able to combine her varied business skills for sizing up clients/ sellers/properties/neighborhoods/offers with a terrific sense of humor and compassion which helps when she needs to shift into part-time psychologist. Her depth of knowledge of “all things Portland,” and the real estate market locally and nationally is unmatched. She is savvy when it comes to submitting bids on homes and her contact list for service providers seems to be unlimited. She is a connector in the best sense of the word. Above all, every step of the process of buying a home in this interstate move was always well-informed, documented, confirmed and conducted with the highest level of integrity. We absolutely would buy (or sell) a home again with Carla Mink and Sally Schwartz and would encourage all others to do the same.”