Today we’d like to introduce you to Nat Borchers.
Hi Nat, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I played professional soccer for 14 years, starting in Colorado and finishing my career with the Portland Timbers, with stops at four teams across two countries along the way. I won two championships and was named to the MLS Best XI. Back in 2005, I bought my first house, and that’s really where the real estate bug started. I got curious about how property worked, started learning, and once my playing career wound down I dove into it full time. That grew into Back Line Real Estate, now about a $20M portfolio, 92 units across industrial flex, self-storage, office, retail, and more. 45th Parallel is one of the properties I’m most proud of, a 70,000 square foot building with 69 tenants, and it’s been a huge part of how I learned to run buildings well and build real relationships with tenants.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Honestly, no, and I think that’s a good thing to be upfront about. Transitioning from a 14-year pro career into real estate meant learning an entirely new game from scratch. I didn’t grow up in this industry, so early on I had to figure out financing, operations, and how to actually run a building, often by making mistakes and correcting course.
As the portfolio grew, so did the complexity. At one point I was running Back Line Real Estate alongside The Forge project and a couple of event spaces, and I found myself spread thin across a lot of moving pieces: tenants, staff, bookings, operations. It taught me a ton, but it also taught me that bigger isn’t always better. Over the last while I’ve been intentional about simplifying, editing my portfolio down to properties like 45th Parallel that are well-run and lower-touch, so I can actually be present for the parts of life that matter most to me, especially my family.
So it hasn’t been smooth, but every bump taught me something I use today in how I run Back Line and how I think about buildings like 45th Parallel.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Back Line Real Estate is a commercial real estate portfolio built around a simple idea: buy well, operate better. We own about $20M in assets across 92 units, spanning industrial flex, self-storage, office, retail, manufacturing, and assembly space. What we specialize in is finding properties with real operational upside, buildings where hands-on management and thoughtful ownership can meaningfully improve how they run and how they perform.
45th Parallel is a great example of that philosophy in action. It’s a 70,000 square foot multi-tenant building with 69 tenants, and it’s become known as a well-run, responsive property where tenants actually feel like partners, not just line items on a rent roll.
What sets us apart is that I’m not a passive investor. I built a team, and early on I defined nine core cultural beliefs that guide how we operate, because how we treat tenants and run buildings matters as much to me as the returns. We genuinely enjoy this work: finding the right properties, solving the operational puzzles that come with owning them, and building real relationships with the people who lease from us.
What I’m most proud of, brand-wise, is that reputation. People know Back Line as a group that does what it says it will, shows up, and treats tenants with respect. That’s not something you can fake, and it’s the thing I’d want readers to take away most: when you work with us, you’re working with people who actually care about getting it right.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I love best about Portland is the natural beauty that’s always right there. You’re never far from a hike, a river, or the mountains, and having spent so many years here during my playing career, this city and the wider valley became home in a way that runs pretty deep. There’s also a genuine creativity and independent spirit here that I’ve always appreciated, whether it’s in food, culture, or the way people build businesses.
What’s tougher is watching some of the challenges the city has faced, homelessness, downtown vacancy, the slower pace of recovery in some areas. It’s hard to see a place you love go through a rough stretch, but it also makes me appreciate what’s happening in places like Salem, where I’ve been building. Downtown Salem, with projects like The Forge and buildings like 45th Parallel, has a real energy and momentum right now, and being part of that revitalization has been one of the most rewarding parts of this chapter for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://backlinerealestate.com
- Instagram: @natborchers
- Facebook: @natborchers
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natborchers
- Twitter: @natborchers
