Dick & Melinda Skogerson Even turning 70 hasn't slowed this hard-working couple
Dick and Melinda Skogerson enjoy leisure time on their backyard patio just off the Columbia River.
The entire Skogerson family, including five children and 11 grandchildren, met at Sun River near Bend, Oregon for Thanksgiving for five days last year. It was one of Dick and Melinda’s few non-working vacations, one of the few times they didn’t touch their laptops.
DESERT AIRE — When Desert Aire Realtors Dick and Melinda Skogerson met at a Bellevue restaurant in 1983 it was love at first sight.
The business meeting quickly turned personal and the rest is history. Merging families and careers created unique opportunities for both, and a new life began.
Dick and Melinda were driven business owners and dedicated parents. So, the match was perfect.
“Meeting a man who encouraged me to be all that I could be was refreshing and exciting,” Melinda said. “I looked straight into his soul and, within seconds, and I knew he was the only one for me.”
“It was magic, and we both knew it, but better yet,” Dick added, “it still is.”
Working together in real estate for all these years has prepared the Skogersons for a future of forevers. Retirement is not an option due to the downturn in 2008 when their portfolio was destroyed. But, the couple noted, millions were affected in the same way.
“We were blessed to have an ongoing career that wasn’t dictated by age,” Melinda said. “Seventy is the new 50. Just ask all the 70 year olds who are still working.”
More important, neither Dick nor Melinda would know what to do if they didn’t have a “have to” each day. They love what they do and enjoy it every day.
“Retirement is just a word that means I’ve left one opportunity for another but, for us, it’s a continuation of what we love,” Dick said. “Creating options for buyers and sellers, through creative financing and great marketing is fun. Helping people achieve goals and seeing life open up in different ways can be a heart stopper.”
Melinda was a Realtor when she met Dick. She was born into a Seattle real estate family and has been in the business ever since.
“I learned nearly every aspect of the business, from mortgage to camp site development in the 60s, which makes me a pretty seasoned Realtor,” she said.
“I was selling real estate contracts at age 20 and managing my brother’s mortgage company, pretty scary when I think of it,” she added.
Dick was born in California and raised in the U.S. Air Force. His family moved 21 times in 18 years. At Cal-Poly he majored in engineering and developed an interest in aerospace.
That led him to a position of Vice President of Marketing for Certified Aerospace and Devtek Aerospace of Canada, both of which manufactured components for Boeing. His own company was Aircraft Repair Technology.
Licensed since 1983, Dick has always had a hand in the couple’s portfolio transactions. It’s always good to have a license, he said. When the opportunity arises you can always work on deals.
Both Skogersons are or were highly regarded in their career fields. Dick was the Executive Director of the trade organization Washington Aerospace Alliance. He is also chairman of the Desert Aire Airport Commission and continues to serve on the Shopping Center’s Board of Directors.
Melinda is currently the lead arbitrator for the Northwest Multiple Listing Association. She is Past President of the Independent Brokers Association, and VP of the National Association of Professional Women, (Bellevue branch).
The Skogersons are brokers with Keller Williams Real Estate. Their business at Desert Aire is located near and to the south of Halbert’s Store.
Melinda started the Skogersons’ Brokerage in Kirkland, and that same company is still a property management company in Desert Aire. They maintain two offices and two homes to service clients on both sides of the mountains.
“It’s a perfect situation,” Melinda said. “I enjoy the drive, and I can shop, sell and spend time with clients, family and friends.”
On those trips Melinda can also attend to business at Esprit Design, a company she started in Seattle. She is a licensed interior designer.
“When designing for clients, it’s imperative to have that Seattle connection for hard materials,” she said.
The Skogersons came to Desert Aire 10 years ago to vacation. Like so many others, it turned into a working vacation. They sensed that Desert Aire was about to explode.
“We came to play golf and, the day we were here, we bought a second home,” Dick recalled. “Melinda said: ‘Maybe we shouldn’t just vacation here, let’s open a second office.’”
The Skogersons do a higher volume by value on the West Side, but they do a higher volume by units here. It takes about 10 properties in Desert Aire to match three on the West Side.
“We help each other on every transaction and on both sides. So I guess you could say we have a third office in our cars,” Melinda said.
The Skogersons use the latest technology available and can create any transaction and get it signed without ever printing a document. Modern technology helps them create business anywhere seamlessly.
As you might imagine, the phones and laptops go wherever the Skogersons go. That includes romantic vacation spots like Maui.
“We worked just like we were here,” Melinda said.
Why not? Real estate is the Skogersons’ shared interest, and it exists everywhere they go.