When Dana Logan speaks of her childhood, she uses words like, wonderful, peaceful and idyllic. “We were the Cleaver’s,” she jokes. “It was fantastic.” Growing up in a small town in Oregon, Dana worked alongside her father, mother and two brothers in her father’s general contracting business. “Mom did the books and my brothers and I did the work. It was cheap manual labor!” But, though life was good, it was also fairly unchallenging. In that traditional environment, girls did girl’s work and boys did boy’s work, and Dana’s household was no different. “I was always told that there were things I couldn’t do because I was a girl, but at the same time I wanted to do so much more.” Sandwiched between her two brothers, Dana watched as they had the opportunity to build and create, while she cleaned up. Ironically, as adults, only Dana remains in the construction industry.

Now, Dana runs Dana Logan Realty as well as her own development, Specialized Investment Properties and her construction company, View-Point Construction. She is well respected and highly successful - her office has been ranked in the top 1% nationally and locally for closed real estate transactions for the past five years. But she didn’t start out at the top. “In the beginning I was just really trying to figure out a way to make it in the industry,” she laughs. Life changes had taken her from Oregon, to Alaska, then to Hawaii and back to the Vancouver area where she began working at John L. Scott. She was just barely making ends meet when a real estate agent from Portland representing an out of state developer needed a local REALTOR® with contacts in the building industry. Dana fit the bill and her broker recommended her for the job. “The REALTOR® pretty much gave me free reign to sell as many lots as I could and I just dove into it.” At about the same time, Dana’s mother was diagnosed with leukemia. “I took my laptop, my cell phone and my printer and I moved into her hospital room with her,” she recalls. “I wanted to be there for her.”

But, she did something else as well. “I took over my dad’s business, because as my mom got sicker he stepped up as her primary caretaker.” Dana secured a line of credit, took over the finances and began to build houses in his name. In the first year we sold four houses and I realized that this was the perfect way to merge my real estate sales with my knowledge of developing and construction. I really enjoy the creative outlet that comes naturally with designing & building a new home. I realized that I couldn’t be as successful as just a REALTOR® because I am so hands on.” Now, Dana’s gift to the building industry is that as a REALTOR^®, she can help guide her clients step by step through the process, using her background and experience to help keep them insulated. It is a process that works well for her clients and for the builders that she works with.

While Dana had primarily worked from home, John L Scott requested that she begin working with all clients in their corporate location just off Mill Plain. “It just didn’t work for me. It wasn’t feasible that I meet at the office every time I needed to meet with a client,” she says. Dana began looking at office space of her own, much to the consternation of the company. “I left for Bellevue, Washington for three months, and took my brokerage classes as quickly as I could.” In between all of that, Dana also continued to serve her clients by driving back to town mid week and weekends – handling paperwork and holding open houses. Her determination paid off shortly after obtaining her broker’s license, Dana opened her Mill Plain office and started Dana Logan Realty.

Dana owns and operates a small construction company named, Viewpoint Construction, Inc.; two small family run businesses, specializing in new construction and land acquisition, with a strong listing presence in Clark County. Dana’s daughter Nicole is her personal assistant and marketing director. “We all work very well together,” says Dana. “Nicole is an extremely talented and loyal assistant. Dana Logan Realty recently moved into a beautiful, 1906 farm house on Mill Plain Boulevard. They spent six months renovating the building and converted the home into office space. The remodel is a testament to Dana’s creativity and eye for the details. Lovingly recreated with four offices, a kitchen and an inviting reception area, “it’s really striking,” she says. “We are surrounded on all sides by commercial development and right in the center is this house that has been left standing. Our offices are comfortable and warm and it is really the heart of where we do business.”

And Dana? Dana Logan has exactly what it takes to be a successful real estate broker – a commitment to offering her clients a smooth, professional transaction a superior product. “It may sound odd, but as a woman, I know what it takes to make a house a home. And having been in the industry from childhood, I know quality.” From conceptual design to move-in, Dana works closely with each and every client to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as it possibly can. Her clients can rest assured that Dana Logan’s builders will stand behind their work as well. “I make it a point to work with builders who are as committed to my customers as I am. I work with a core group of builders who are dependable and reputable.”

Dana’s team also includes Jenifer Walton, an escrow officer with Fidelity National Title and Karen Wright a loan officer with Community Financial. “I have worked exclusively with Jenifer from my first transaction more than 10 years ago,” says Dana. “Jenifer is extremely professional and very good at what she does. “Karen,” she adds, “specializes in new construction. She speaks the language and she knows the process inside and out. It makes the transaction infinitely easier. With such a solid team behind me, every body stays informed and the information flows.”

In addition to surrounding herself with such a dynamic team, Dana believes that the secret to her success is in constant communication. By staying in contact with her clients from the initial meeting through the final walk-through, misunderstandings are minimized and relationships are formed. “I pride myself on being able to interpret what it is that the buyer wants, and then helping to create it,” she says. “The building process can be a long one and there are always peaks and valleys emotionally so I do what I can to ensure that the working relationship is as good as it can be.” As a result, Dana’s clients often become life long friends. “This process is an intimate one, and you can’t go through it together and not become friends. It is my hope that each client we work with that opts to brave the venture of building a new home, has a pleasant enough experience that once the process is complete and they pull into the driveway that their minds are filled with the enjoyable process that they endured for six months.”

After her mother lost her battle to leukemia in 2002, Dana realized just how precious life is. “We were just about to pour foundation on a Parade home the day she died and it was a really powerful time in my life,” she shares. “When she was first diagnosed in 1999 it was a really tough time and I just wasn’t ready for her to go. When she died I was just so grateful that she we had three more precious years with her.” And though family has always been very important to Dana, her time is now more deliberate and appreciated. Life at Dana’s home includes working in her beautiful 9,000 SF garden as well as horseback riding, hiking and kayaking. “We’re really very much outdoors people and we spend as much time together as we can.” Dana has two daughters and a son in law. She just became a grandmother! Jacob Michael is the newest addition, weighing in at just over 9 lbs. Nicole, Dana’s oldest daughter married the love of her life last year, John. They thought it would be great to make Dana a grandmother right away…so on their honeymoon they went right to work…9 months later giving birth to the newest love of her life, Jacob. Stop by the office and you just might sneak a peak! Dana is mother to 14 year old Chantel, who has a love of her own. “Chantel would rather be on a horse than anywhere else in the world. The love of her life is a 10 year old gelding named Beamer.”

Dana Logan understands that building or purchasing a new home is one of the most important undertakings in the lives of her clients. With creativity, passion and a commitment to quality, she has made it her mission to make it a positive experience. “When my clients walk into their home I want them to have good feelings associated with the process,” she says. “These people are more than our customers, they are our friends, and friends should be treated well.”