The Portugal News (TPN): When did your real estate career begin?

Billy Nash (BN): I started in real estate 10 years ago, and I quickly became one of the top brokers in the United States within the first two years. I look at each individual family as if I am almost like a matchmaker for properties. I think it has a lot to do with my 22 years working with ultra-high net worth individuals and families, because I have always been a relationship guy.

TPN: What is Passport Properties about?

BN: I hosted another show about five years ago, and it was called Selling Mega Mansions and they saw that I had beautiful properties for sale, and they asked me to go on the show and I had a lot of fun doing it.

However, over the last three or four years, in my opinion, reality real estate television totally lost its way. They turned it into something like soap operas, very dramatic, all this fake drama, scripted episodes, fights over money, commissions, costumes that look like people are going to Halloween parades. Then, I thought to myself, there is so much more to real estate and no one is really talking about the soul of property.

This way me and my marketing team for my real estate business started to think that I had to go out and make a show, deciding not to follow the traditional way. I want to be creative and build a show around that passion for the property's soul and the people around it.

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TPN: Why did you decide to film a show in Lisbon?

BN: My wife and I, last year, when we were filming in Marrakesh, we had to take a TAP flight back over into Lisbon. And we got a text from Delta Airlines, because we were leaving from Portugal back to Miami, and we were told that our flight was delayed. Thus, we decided to stay in Lisbon.

This was when I really got to dig into the community and realise how much I loved it and I said that Lisbon is going to be on my radar when recording the new show.

TPN: Can you describe the production of the episode?

BN: We spent time in Lisbon, and we also went out to Cascais and spent some time there. We spent time in Sintra looking at an amazing property that is on the market now.

I got to spend time in the TimeOut Market with the woman who was responsible for helping to build that out.

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Besides the real estate, we really dug into the Portuguese culture. Explore the cuisine, the sounds. I also talked with two architects who are refurbishing and doing amazing things in the Lisbon market.

TPN: Where can people watch the show?

BN: The show will be screened during the Cannes MIPCOM, in France, in October, where it will be showcased. Plus, I want the show to land in the proper distribution network. This way, the territories we are working and signing a deal with a company that has relationships with all of the streamers, all of the TV networks around the world. We are giving them exclusive global rights to sell the show.

TPN: Can you talk about your team?

BN: Leland Sandberg is a huge part of the show, executive producer, and showrunner. My wife is also a great part of the show, but not on the camera, but she is making sure everybody signs releases.

We are doing everything the way a production company would, with all the dots being checked.

Robert Patterson, who is our sound guy, worked on 200 television shows. Giantommaso, an excellent camera guy, very creative and an excellent producer.

We also have Leanne, our lead editor and Sheila McCormick, an Emmy Award Winner, my line producer back in the United States, keeping all the logistics going.

TPN: What is the main goal of Passport Properties?

BN: Passport Properties was created not just to showcase beautiful properties, but to showcase beautiful people. And I think that is super important, and when I say beautiful people, I do not mean physically beautiful.

Author

Deeply in love with music and with a guilty pleasure in criminal cases, Bruno G. Santos decided to study Journalism and Communication, hoping to combine both passions into writing. The journalist is also a passionate traveller who likes to write about other cultures and discover the various hidden gems from Portugal and the world. Press card: 8463. 

Bruno G. Santos