| By Judy
Merritt Fifteen realtors representing three real estate offices in Park Rapids made short work of painting the house and garage of Wayne Tooker, the new owner of the house on the corner of Pleasant street across from the Nevis School. Tooker and his wife bought the house in January and Tooker, who is a carpenter by trade, said he has been remodeling it ever since. When he received the phone call from the Greater Lakes Association of Realtors, who told him they wanted to paint his house he was very surprised. “Out of the blue they just gave me a call and asked me if I wanted my house painted,” Tooker said. “I told them, ‘yeah, that’s great.’” The realtors who changed the house and garage from a green to grey in three hours flat last Wednesday represented Coldwell Banker Clack & Dennis Real Estate, Re/Max First Choice and Preferred Properties of Park Rapids. Most of the realtors agreed that the change from computer and desks to paint brushes and rollers in the sun was a good break. “It’s a pleasant break,” Doug Cheney from Coldwell Banker said. Mike Meade from ReMax/First Choice said he was “working on his tan.” Leila Johnson from Preferred Properties was questioning whether she was too old for all the reaching and bending she was doing. “I’m stiff and sore already,” she said. “But it’s good for me.” T.J. Simon from Coldwell Banker, on the other hand thought it was an easy job. “There’s nothing to it, really,” he said. “It’s gone quick. We had enough people.” Viny VanRoekel of Preferred Properties was pleased with the finished result. “What a difference,” she said. “It’s awesome.” This is the first time the Greater Lakes Association has had a “paint a house day” in this area. They have painted houses in the Brainerd area in the past. The criteria for choosing which house to paint was relatively simple. “We just chose a house that really needs to be painted,” said Justin Clack from Coldwell Banker. The house was sold to Tooker by Kelly Johnson of Coldwell Banker, who suggested that it would be a good house to paint. While the realtors were painting that morning a couple of the neighbors stopped by to and commented to Tooker on how good the house looked. “I like living here. People are friendly,” Tooker said. “I even know my neighbors.” Tooker said he lived in an apartment for two years in bigger town before buying the house in Nevis and didn’t get to know any of his neighbors during that time. By noon the painting crew was adding the finishing touches and cleaning up. “I’m surprised at how fast it went,” Tooker said. “Wow.” |