Nina Sachse is a realtor with the Rhodes Group (Compass). In 2000, she moved to Dallas to attend SMU, where she wore the Mustang’s red and blue colors, at first as a member of the school’s diving program and then its cheerleading squad. Crimson is a cooler shade of red and when paired with blue, you get the colors of the University of Kansas (KU), where her husband, Decker Sachse (a Tulsa native) received his bachelor’s degree before landing in Dallas for work (he is an attorney). The two met here at a clothing store in the West Village almost 13 years ago. Nina was working there as a buyer and Decker (who goes by “Deck”) was shopping for a KU t-shirt. He later proposed to her in that same t-shirt and the two were married in Chicago in 2009, almost 3 years after their first date which happened in the Windy City, at Lollapalooza where one of Deck’s music clients was performing. Nina’s path to real estate was a natural one. Growing up in a small town in central Illinois (Peoria), everyone knew her mother, Mary Ann Knell, who continually had a top producing team and was a leader in the real estate industry. Nina lost her mother to cancer in 2014, just about a month before their son Sam (now 8) was born. Her mother’s successful real estate career in Illinois left a lasting impression on Nina. “Real estate was her world, and so it became our world too”. Deck, who has his own law firm (Sachse Law) represents clients in the music industry and in commercial real estate. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like the fields of music and real estate would intersect, but if you’ve ever been to a music festival or attended a show at a historic music venue, you can begin to imagine how they might fit together. He also writes and records his own music, which like his practice, varies in feel, nodding to his two favorite musical styles – bossa nova (he
releases songs under the name “Mission to the Sea”) and 80’s new wave (released under the moniker “Paper Cups”). Rose (a 5th grader at McCulloch Intermediate School) was the couple’s first child, followed by Sam, now a 3rd grader at Lamplighter. In the summers, the Sachses head to northern Michigan, where Deck’s family has been going to escape the Texas heat since the 1930s, gathering in a cottage on Little Traverse Bay. “We’re so lucky to have a place where we know we can always go, see family, and make some amazing memories, and now, our kids are getting to an age where we can take them elsewhere, so we look forward to seeing more unfamiliar places,” says Deck. Maybe they’ll start with a trip to the Italian Peninsula to explore Nina’s Sicilian roots. Their house on Abbott Avenue, which they bought in 2011, sits right on the Katy Trail, so when Nina’s not working, she likes to run. She has also dedicated over a decade to volunteering for the Cattle Baron’s Ball, a long-running event (celebrating 50 years) that raises funds for the American Cancer Society. As the couple’s family grew, they decided it was time to expand the footprint of their house, so they began renovations in 2020. With the help of SmithDish architecture, Hocker Design, SR Hughes, Robert Hopson Construction Group, and Bonick Landscape, their home has been transformed (yet still looks from the street like the same little cottage) and is their favorite place to be together.