Happy Valentine stories

Darlings, As you know, Valentine’sDay is this month’s Hallmark holiday, which means I must share some real-estate romance with you. VickiWafer (relocation director, SF Props) and RustyWafer (assoc. broker, SF Props) have a long history of their paths crossing long before they started working at Santa Fe Properties in 1988. Love Bugs, even though Vicki met Rusty when she was six and he was 16, nothing crystalized until Vicki was 19.

That summer, she was managing her dad’s DerWienerschnitzel, theWorld’s Largest Hot Dog place located at Cerrillos and Rufina (where Tortilla Flats is today). On an August afternoon, she had to call on Rusty for a ride downtown. When she slid into the passenger seat of his gleaming Mercedes, she looked at him and thought, “Uh-huh, this is the man for me.” Remember, Sugar Pops, she was 19, Rusty was a sophisticated Realtor of 29, and theMercedeswas spotless. They started dating. She told a friend, “If he doesn’t ask me to marry him by March, I’m moving back to Arizona.” She never moved back. This year they’ll be celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary. Butter Beans, he still drives a Mercedes (newer model, of course), and she still loves him (more than his car).

It’s never too late to “tie the knot.” Pam Wickiser and Bob Dunn (both Realtors at Bob Dunn Real Estate) will celebrate Valentine’s Day not only as sweethearts this year, but as a married couple. Finally, Chickadees, after 34 years of being together, they dusted off the marriage license they’d gotten two years ago (apparently, marriage licenses don’t have an expiration date) and did it. They had a quiet ceremony at home, then a weeklong honeymoon in Rome followed by their nephew’s destination wedding in Puglia. Sigh! Every bit as romantic as AudreyHepburn andGregory Peck in Roman Holiday. Sugar Lumps, Pam and Bob met through real estate, they dated while working in separate offices, they lived together while partnering in the same offices, and I think they are the only couple to have the distinction of each having been Realtor of the Year.

So, my darlings, here’s my advice to you. If you are a Realtor, then always date a Realtor, because no one else will understand when you cancel lunch at the last minute, or when you jump up and leave in the middle of dinner with no explanation— all because your client called.

Since it’s still early in the year, and change is the one constant we can count on, I’ve had questions about various and sundry matters pertinent to our real-estate community in 2019. Here are the questions I’ve answered so far.

1. Will Rey Post (Sotheby’s) continue his popular radio show, All Things Real Estate? (Listen every Sunday noon-2 on KTRC or stream anytime on SantaFe.com). After all, Honey Buns, this year marks the show’s 10th anniversary, so I asked Rey, “Aren’t you getting tired?” Hardly. Not only will he continue, but Rey is expanding coverage to Taos. On Feb. 17, the “This Is Us”— oh, no, I mean the “This Is Taos” series will launch a two-hour remote broadcast of ATRE. Rey’s idea is to “offer a number of attractions that aid in the growing national and international interest in Santa Fe, Taos, and other regional destinations.” Pumpkins, I find Rey’s show full of useful and entertaining content. Plus you gotta love his radio voice.

2. Will reverse mortgages continue to be popular in 2019? John Ruybalid says yes, so much so that he is now the loan officer and branch manager of American Advisors Group, the top lender in the American reverse-mortgage industry. Buttercups, I think we can safely say that John, having done reverse mortgages for years, is the top loan officer in the Santa Fe reverse mortgage industry today.

3. Will Darlene Streit (Sotheby’s) and her crew surpass the $141 million in closings they achieved in 2018? That’s a tall order (makes me tired just thinking about it), but Darlene is ready for the challenge. Sweethearts, her husband, Tommy Gardner (Santa Fe Commercial Real Estate) never even blinks when she jumps up and leaves in the middle of dinner with no explanation.

My heart hurts when I end today’s news with a sad farewell to our old and trusted friend, Fred Barrett. So many of us not only remember Fred, but we worked with him, either at Coldwell Banker TrailsWest or Santa Fe Properties. Fred was a standup guy and a consummate Realtor, kind, helpful and always readywith a story or two; maybe even more if it came to a complimentary story about his wife, Georgia, or his two daughters. Everybody who knew Fred agrees: you’d have to look long and hard to find a better human being. Fred was 79. But no matter howold a person is when he departs this earth, when you like someone, it’s always too soon. I liked Fred and it was definitely too soon.

So long, Sweetpeas. Until next time... Oakley

Oakley Talbott can be reached at merrilypierson@me.com