THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510270071
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARCIA MANGUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 149 lines
THERE'S AN EXCLUSIVE new club in Virginia Beach. Only six couples belong, and any wannabees have to submit an application, be approved by the members, pay a fee and agree to abide by the ``10 commandments.''
This club doesn't discriminate based on race, age, sex or creed. But it does require a sense of humor and an interest in keeping up the neighborhood.
Officially known as The Pressure Washer Partnership of Practically Perfect People, it's a group of neighbors and friends who got together last spring to jointly buy and share ownership of a pressure washer, used for cleaning dirt and mold off of bricks, siding, patios and decks.
Now that we're well out of the consumptive, own-it-all '80s decade and into the conservative, cocooning '90s, homeowners are looking for alternatives. The retail market caught on early with a burgeoning business in rentals for home and garden tools and equipment.
Now there's a new twist on the old idea of borrowing a saw or a drill from the guy next door. For Carol Pariser, necessity was the mother of invention.
``Our deck was looking pretty grungy,'' Pariser recalls. ``I looked into renting a power washer, and it cost about 80 bucks a day. I said to my husband, `It would be great to buy one with a group, because you only use it about once a year.' ''
Pariser talked to several of her Kempsville neighbors who agreed it was a good idea. One night four couples got together, formed a partnership and ``made an agreement, sort of as a joke.''
Pariser scribbled down the rules, jokingly known as ``The Ten Commandments,'' even though there are 14. They range from the biblical - ``Thou shalt not lie'' - to the legalistic - ``Indemnification clause: all partners will indemnify others from injury or death.''
Indeed, there is a lawyer in the group, along with doctors, a retired Navy captain, a social worker, an accountant, a guidance counselor and others. Not all of the neighbors knew each other well before the alliance, but now the partnership has become somewhat of a social thing, Pariser says, and it provides a means of staying in touch with the neighbors, even though the Parisers have since moved to King's Grant and several other couples have moved to new neighborhoods.
Not all neighbors are as organized in their arrangements, but similar deals are taking place throughout Hampton Roads. There's the Norfolk retiree who no longer needs his extension ladder so he lets his Larchmont neighbors use it. And the couple who inherited a ``community property lawn mower'' when they bought their house in Norfolk's Riverview section.
But for some, the act of sharing has become deliberate, well-defined and very workable.
Larry Adler, a member of the Pressure Washer Partnership, says he previously bought a lawn vacuum with some Larkspur neighbors. ``It's always worked out well,'' he recalled. With the lawn vacuum, ``I ended up being the sole owner, because everyone else moved - that was the best deal yet.''
He doesn't understand why more neighbors don't try it, because he thinks joint ownership would also work for such things as chain saws and mulchers, which rent for about $35 an hour. ``With two uses, you're even,'' he said.
The pressure washer, which was purchased just after Memorial Day for a little more than $1,000, cost each couple about $175. They figured if they planned to rent a washer for two days, they'd break even.
``We assembled it, so we decided we got first dibs on it,'' Pariser said. ``In the beginning, everyone wanted it, and we were negotiating.''
Now it's gone around at least once to everyone's house. Adler has used it to clean his deck and his house and said scheduling wasn't difficult. ``You never use it but so often - maybe once a year. With 52 weeks in the year, it's not a problem.''
Those who've tried joint ownership cite several advantages:
You don't have to lay out a lot of capital on your own.
You don't have to store all the tools and equipment at your house.
Unlike with rentals, you can use the tool at your convenience; you don't have to reserve it in advance, block out the time for use and gamble on the weather.
You know the quality and condition of the equipment.
``When you rent one, you never know what you're going to get, but when you have one like this of your own, you know what you have,'' says pressure washer partner Bobb Lewis. ``The whole system is working out great.''
To ensure the system continues to work, a copy of the ``commandments'' always stays with the power washer when it travels from house to house.
``Rule number one is you're not allowed to lend, because it just puts extra wear and tear on it,'' Pariser says. ``But we did say if someone wanted to buy in, they could submit an application and the partnership would consider it.''
The rules also address such practicalities as repairs, oil changes and partnership rights in the event of divorce.
Things weren't nearly so formal when Marty and Natalie Kaszubowski moved to their home on 40th Street in Norfolk's Riverview section seven years ago.
``When we bought the house, the sellers said, `We're going to give you the lawn mower, but it's community property - we just store it,' '' Natalie Kaszubowski recalls. ``We thought that was great, because we didn't have to come up with the capital.''
The Kaszubowskis never did know who bought the mower or how the arrangement originated, but they've continued the tradition. For five years, they shared the mower with neighbors next door and across the street - until one of the neighbors moved and the mower broke down.
``It had broken down periodically before, but the man across the street was a real good mechanic and kept fixing it,'' Natalie says. After the mower died, Natalie researched buying a new one, and the Kaszubowskis were prepared to buy one on their own.
But George Leoboldt, the neighbor across the street, wanted to pitch in - so now the new mower is community property.
``It works because we all feel about lawns the same way,'' Natalie says. ``We're the last ones (in the neighborhood) to mow our yards. It might be different if someone was really in a lawn frenzy and had to have everything perfectly trimmed, but, hey, we don't care about that - as long as our neighbors don't turn us in.''
The Riverview neighbors have no formal agreements - Leoboldt just has a key to his neighbor's garage. ``When the mower is out of gas, whoever needs it fills it,'' Natalie says.
They also have no provisions for what happens if someone moves away. Natalie predicts: ``What'll probably happen is, if he moves, it'll still be in our garage, and if we move, it'll still be in our garage, and whoever buys our house, we'll tell them it's in there and, if you're comfortable with (the arrangement), you can have it. And if you're not, we'll probably give it to him.''
In an even less formal arrangement, Natalie says they share some tools and equipment with one of her co-workers who lives a couple of blocks away. ``They just come over and use ours and we use theirs,'' she explains. ``We have keys to each others' houses. They use our hedge trimmers from time to time and we use their sander.''
Homer R. Hoffman made a similar open-ended offer to his Larchmont neighbors. Hoffman no longer needed his huge extension ladder and had no place to store it, so he asked a neighbor to keep it and let any of the neighbors use it.
``He's very nice about letting other people use his things, so he just left it out there for other people who wanted one and needed one,'' says neighbor Stephanie Gordon.
Whether neighbors approach it from the traditional borrowing approach or draw up a more formal agreement, those who've tried it are sold.
``Carol Pariser told me they're working on trying to get a group together to buy a thatcher for next year,'' Adler says. ``I suggested a rototiller cause I need one of those.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
The pressure washer partners, from left to right, are: Dennis and
Suzanne Gruelle, Nancy and David Embree, Carol and David Pariser and
Ronna and Larry Adler. Pulling the starter is Bobb Lewis. Not
pictured are Marge Lewis and Irving and Randy Pike.
Graphic
``10'' Commandments of tool trading
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB