About Carla
Hi I’m Carla. I’m a consumer expert. I’ve worked in consumer sales for my entire life and understand the psychology of what drives purchasing. If I’m selling your home, I help you prioritize what to work on before listing, market the heck out of it when it hits the market, and sell your home quickly and profitably once we receive an offer.
If you’re a buyer I’ll help you see through staging and pretty fixtures to make sure the home checks all your boxes — or help you imagine what it could become, if you find something with a lot of potential. I will never try to just sell you a house . I’m always following your lead. We work at your pace, not mine. That means sometimes we find something as quickly as 2 weeks and sometimes it takes months or longer.
I moved to Portland in 1999 and quickly realized that Portland is my place. If you live here you know. If you don’t you’re definitely missing out. I’m truly a die hard Oregonian and I know Portland like the back of my hand.
When I’m not working, I’m checking out the amazing food and drink scene, reading a novel (shout out to all the English majors!), hiking, camping, or playing in the river with my husband and two kids.
Carla Mink
Real Estate Broker
Licensed in the State of Oregon
office: 503.238.7617 x209
cell phone: 503.317.1302
fax: 503.234.9511
Words From Carla’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!”
“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.”
“Carla is absolutely amazing! I’m a first time home buyer and Carla walked me through the whole process and helped me understand what exactly was going on, and made me feel comfortable going through all the motions. She has a knack for knowing exactly what you are looking for in a home, and getting you into it. I now have an amazing place in a neighborhood I love. You can’t go wrong with Carla!”
“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!”
“Robbie and Carla helped us navigate a challenging seller’s market and land an amazing home in our favorite neighborhood. Their attention to detail during the viewing and knowledge of pricing trends in Northeast Portland gave us confidence in our offer and an advantage over the competition. Robbie worked with us closely from inspections to closing and made sure we were well prepared throughout the process. Portland’s Alternative Realtors were recommended to me by a satisfied client and we would certainly do the same!”
“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!”
“Carla really understands the market in Portland. I had a different realtor before I hired Carla and the property did not receive a single offer in over four months. After hiring Carla, she rebranded the entire property, had it back on the market within 2-3 weeks and after we listed, I had 4 offers in three days. She truly did an exceptional job from the first interview all the way through to the day it closed. I would highly recommend her for your realty needs.”
“Carla gave us great advice and was always available for a valuable brainstorm whenever we needed her. I highly recommend her!!”
“I had the privilege of working with Carla on two transactions, and I couldn’t have had better representation. First and foremost, Carla listens to her clients and the advice she offers is consistent with their wants and needs. At the outset, Carla described her philosophy and approach as client-focused – her primary goal is to act on your behalf and help guide you in the direction you want to take. True to form, Carla laid out a plan for me based on my wish list and timeline. She created detailed tracking spreadsheets for me and asked how I wanted to engage. Did I want to be involved in every detail, or be more hands off? How frequently and in what form did I want communications? What were the things I considered non-negotiable? Her considerate and thoughtful planning set the tone for our interaction, which was maintained through the transactions. Because one of my transactions was lengthy (by no fault of Carla), I had a lot of time to observe her work style. Carla is skilled at negotiating and a strong advocate for her clients. Even in tense situations, Carla is calm, respectful, and kind. I found that while quick on her feet, Carla is not reactive; she carefully thinks things through and gathers information so she can give you an informed perspective. And she offered creative solutions to challenges – things I never would have come up with on my own. There are a lot of other positives that would turn this review into a novel. I highly recommend Carla and her team at Portland Alternative – they made the buying and selling process a great experience.”
“Carla Mink is an absolute Rockstar. She absolutely knows her stuff, and worked tirelessly to get our deal done right and done fast. I highly recommend her.”
“Carla is an outstanding realtor. She used to own and run a local boutique in Portland and it really shows. Customization and service are her absolute strengths as a realtor. She is always thinking about the exactly right fit for her clients and, once the process becomes more formal, is always at least two steps ahead of what needs to be done next in order to meet deadlines and get the best value. From the first conversation we had with Carla about moving from our condo to a single family home, we were immediately a team of three. Throughout the process she checked in with us regularly and seamlessly tailored her suggestions to our desires. In the time of Covid 19 she was always incredibly conscientious about wearing masks, having hand sanitizer, observing social distancing etc. She was such a delight to work with that we quickly found and purchased an absolute gem of a home at a very reasonable price. She was in fact so good that she is now helping us sell our condo!”
“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!!”
“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.”
