JENKINS — Getting closer to a partial retirement, Jenkins resident Dave Endicott knew it was time to rejoin forces with Pat Saunders, a realty broker/owner he used to work with in Mora.
The pair felt Jenkins would be a good community to open a Northern Lights Realty branch.
"We had a couple places we went and looked at in Pequot Lakes and Pine River, and we wanted to be a little bit away from the Brainerd lakes area," Endicott said. "It's partially because there's so many real estate agencies down there.”
Dave and I got together and created Northern Lights Realty, which has been going for 15 years now in Mora.
The pair wanted to create their own niche farther north.
Endicott and Saunders have many years of experience in the real estate industry. Saunders alone has 31 years in the industry, including 29 as a broker and owner.
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He started with Century 21, where the owner eventually offered him the opportunity to buy him out. He ran the place for around 13 years before selling it.
When he was with Century 21, he met Dave and Esther Endicott when they worked with him to find a home. They remained connected through shared friends even after Saunders sold the business.
Buying a home is the most stressful thing a person will go through. It's the biggest expense you'll have in your life most of the time, and we try to make that easier.
"A mutual friend I talked with was a good friend of Pat's from long before, and he was also an appraiser, as well as a teacher, and we used to go to breakfast together every Saturday morning," Endicott said. "Those guys did it for years and years and years. I was a part of it for a few years."
Saunders returned to the industry shortly after, this time as an independent broker under the name Saunders and Associates. Endicott, seeking another source of income on top of his teaching salary, got into the industry at this time.
Once again, Saunders sold his company and took a break from the industry, but he didn't stay away for long before his former agents came to him.
"So the agents said, ‘Pat, we need a place to go,’" Saunders said. "And Dave and I got together and created Northern Lights Realty, which has been going for 15 years now in Mora."
"I was needing a break from teaching, kind of ready to do something different," Endicott said. "Honestly, I was making more money selling real estate than I was teaching at that point."
Of course, when Endicott relocated to the Brainerd lakes area he left the office to continue his work in education. But that wasn't fated to be the end of his real estate career.
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"I'm getting ready to retire — well, sort of pseudo retire is what I call it — at the end of May from my position at Central Lakes College and jump into this real estate thing full time," Endicott said.
Saunders and Endicott hope to make a mark among other lakes area real estate agents as an independent shop.
"We're not corporate. We're very personable," Endicott said. "We're a mom and pop shop, or a pop and pop shop in this case."
Their past experience helps.
"We have a lot of knowledge, a lot of years, great agents, and just a really clean, honest operation," Saunders said. "I'll be honest, that's always been our thing."
Saunders' operation has won him accolades in the past. Northern Lights Realty in Mora has survived market crashes and has grown significantly.
We're not corporate. We're very personable. We're a mom and pop shop, or a pop and pop shop in this case.
"In Mora, we're the largest in the county and the surrounding area," Saunders said.
Their biggest goal is to make their buyers feel comfortable.
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"Buying a home is the most stressful thing a person will go through," Saunders said. "It's the biggest expense you'll have in your life most of the time, and we try to make that easier. We really do. We understand where they're coming from."
In January, the pair started a lease of the former Blue Moon Appliance and Liquidation space next to Jenkins Speedway and Northland Off Sale Liquors on the north end of Jenkins on the east side of Highway 371.
The doors opened officially in March.
There will be an open house celebrating the new office April 22. They are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.
They work with residential, land and commercial sales, making them a one-stop shop.
Travis Grimler is a staff writer for the Pineandlakes Echo Journal weekly newspaper in Pequot Lakes/Pine River. He may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com.
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