Diaz and Vincelli Join Better Homes and Garden Real Estate Wilkins & Associates

Stroudsburg – Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates hired two Salespersons for their Bushkill and Stroudsburg offices respectively. 

Christian Diaz joined the Bushkill sales team and will work from that office.  Diaz, an August 2014 graduate of the Pocono Real Estate Academy took all the required courses, passed the State exam and has been issued a Pennsylvania Salespersons’ license. 

Diaz lives in East Stroudsburg with his wife, Jesenia, who is currently attending real estate school and after completing the required course and passing the exam and both will work together as a team.  The Diaz’s are bilingual with their second language being Spanish.  Diaz is originally from Queens, New York, where he was successfully employed as a rental agent for an independent broker.  Earlier in his career, Diaz owned and managed delicatessens and small supermarkets prior to his working in the real estate industry.  In the past, Diaz has volunteered as a Cub Scout Leader.  Said Diaz, “I very much look forward to being part of our Pocono Community and was very much drawn to the Wilkins team because of their commitment to their neighborhoods.”

Said Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO, “Christian is definitely the kind of Realtor that we want.  When a gentleman dresses up in a suit and tie for a 7:00 p.m. interview, along with his wife who will work as his administrative assistant, you’ve got to know that we want those type persons representing us with buyers and sellers and that they’re serious about being successful.”  Diaz was recruited by Lynn Wilklow, Sales Manager of the Bushkill office.

Kelley Vincelli, Salesperson, has joined the company and will work as a fulltime Realtor in their Stroudsburg office.  Prior to joining Better Homes and Gardens, Vincelli was employed by Keller Williams.  Said Christine A. Wilkins, Exec V.P./GM, who recruited Vincelli, “This young lady wants a strong and dedicated management team to offer support, which the Better Homes and Gardens brand does.  Furthermore, Kelley is eager to form her career in an office environment that’s very conducive to offering one-on-one and online training and insight to move her up to the next level of service.”  The Wilkins organization prides themselves on offering in-depth training to new and seasoned Realtors and coaching to new recruits.

Prior to real estate, Vincelli worked six years at Staples where she dealt with the general public on a daily basis.  While always enjoying real estate, Kelley completed the required courses online in 2013-2014 and after passing the required examination, received her real estate license in early September 2014.   Kelley is a 2007 graduate of Freedom High School.  Vincelli then attended Northampton County Community College completing courses in General Studies, Criminal Justice, Journalism and Psychology.

Said Vincelli, “I love the Better Homes and Gardens’ Mission Statement where they say, ‘we love what we do and do what we love’; that’s me.  I love real estate and now can do what I love.”

Both Realtors will shadow and be mentored by other fulltime Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates agents.  Both Realtors will also be invited to attend the free of charge online classes offered by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Corporate in the Greenhouse.

Said Thomas R. Wilkins, “You couldn’t pick a better time to get into the Real Estate business.  The market has definitely picked up.  Sales (rentals and sales) have no place to go but up.  The banks are beginning to loosen their credit requirements, the rental market remains extremely strong—and I must make note that today’s tenant will be tomorrow’s buyer—in my mind, there’s no better place to learn real estate than with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.  The number of sales tools that we offer for buyers and sellers, and the support we give to agents to educate themselves in the latest technology, how to proactively list and sell real estate in this type of the market and to be young enough to make real estate your career for the next 20 years, just simply cannot be any better than with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates.  Today is the perfect time to mold your future.”

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates employs over 50 Realtors and expect that number to grow to 90+ Realtors and Assoc Brokers over the next 18 - 24 months.  With 4 offices now in the Pocono Mountains including Milford, Bushkill, Stroudsburg and Mt. Pocono, the Wilkins organization is looking to further expand their offices to include upper Lehigh Valley, Wayne County area, Lake Wallenpaupack and Scranton areas. 

All offices are open 7 days a week and BHG can be viewed online at www.wilkins1.com.  In early December, Wilkins will launch their new website at www.BHGwilkins.com .  The new website is “the friendliest site in real estate featuring the friendliest search for real estate”.

Jennifer Amantea Receives Associate Broker's License

Mt. Pocono – Jennifer Lynn Amantea, Realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates has been issued an Associate Broker’s license by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Amantea, successfully took all of the required real estate courses and passed the required Broker’s examination.  Said Amantea, “This has been a goal of mine for the past 2 years.  It makes me proud to say that I’m now an Associate Broker.”

Said Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates, “On a personal note, I am very proud that Jen has her Associate Broker’s license.  She’s worked hard for this and she deserves it.  On a professional note, the success that Jen has seen as a Realtor is only going to sky-rocket as an Associate Broker.  You heard it here first!”.

Amantea has been with the Better Homes and Gardens brand for almost 3 years.  Throughout her career, she has been a Top Ten Salesperson with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates, a multi-award winning Realtor and a Top Producer of the Mt. Pocono office.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates have four offices in the Pocono Mountains.  All offices are open 7 days a week.  Visit them on line at www.wilkins1.com or on Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BHGWilkins.

National Recognition awarded to the Carl Maurer Team

Parsippany, NJ - The Carl Maurer Team, under the direction of Carl Maurer, Assoc Broker with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates, was awarded the Emerald Elite Award by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, LLC for having the highest level of Gross Commission Income earned and for handling the most Unit Volume of any other BHG team.  Both categories are based brand-wide, meaning all of the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate offices were included.

Joan Barton, Client Services Manager for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, LLC made the announcement at the 2013 Fusion Convention held in Las Vegas on February 5^th at the Aria Resort & Casino.  Although The Carl Maurer Team was not in attendance, the announcement was made in front of the 400+ Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate brokers, managers and agents.

Said Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO, “These are two very distinguished awards that The Carl Maurer Team received.  The Emerald Elite designation in units, Carl Maurer came in #1 out of all of the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate franchises.  His team alone had more units than any other broker.  Maurer was one of 12 teams that won Emerald Elite status in Gross Commissions Earned.”

The Carl Maurer Team is comprised of Carl Maurer, Assoc Broker, and leader of the Team; Dennis Farrelly, Realtor, the team member who locks up and secures the hundreds of foreclosures the Team handles all throughout Northeast Pennsylvania; and Caryn Centini, Realtor who acts as the buying agent for the Team and processes the hundreds of buyer inquiries the team receives on a monthly basis.

Said Carl Maurer, Leader, “The real asset of our Team is Donna Sorrentino who is Personal Assistant to The Carl Maurer Team and me personally.”  “Donna handles finances for The Carl Maurer Team which includes payments to vendors, who fix up the properties, utility companies while the property is being marketed, handling all the homeowner associations and keeping an eye on us.” Maurer chuckled.

In addition to Maurer’s awards won at the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate national level, for 2012 Maurer has consistently been a #1 producer in the Pocono Mountains Association of REALTORS as well.  Maurer, with a sales volume of $16+ million also closed 199 units in 2012.  Said Wilkins, “You have to imagine the pipeline that Carl has at any one given time; he typically has more going at one time than the top 3 Realtors have simply because of the volume that his team handles.” 

The Carl Maurer Team sells foreclosures on behalf of a number of lenders including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two best known.  The Team which was started approximately 8 years ago has grown to the point that they now one of the top producing teams in Northeast Pennsylvania when it comes to selling foreclosed properties.  The Team handles homeowner sales as well.

The Carl Maurer Team can be found on www.wilkins1.com and work from the Bushkill office.  The Bushkill office is open 7 days a week.  If you would like to receive their free HotSheet which emails you all of the foreclosures in realtime, please email Maurer at cmaurer@wilkins1.com .

For 10th Year Straight, Maurer Wins Top Gun Award

Bushkill – Carl Maurer, Associate Broker was presented with the Top Salesperson Award at the annual 2012 Awards Brunch held at Skytop Lodge. 

Maurer, leader and founder of “The Carl Maurer Team” has won this award for the past 10 years.  Members of the Maurer team include Dennis Farrelly, Realtor; Donna Sorrentino, Personal  Assistant to Carl Maurer; and Caryn Centini, Realtor.  Between them, “The Carl Maurer Team” is one of the most highly respected and successful REO teams in northeast Pennsylvania.

Said Christine A. Scrofano-Wilkins, Gen Mgr, “Carl’s team is set up like a well oiled machine.  Their listings are well taken care of and their contact with the buyers, sellers and potential investors is second to none.”

Centini, the newest member of the team, also was awarded “Rookie of the Year—2012”.

From Left to Right: Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO; Carl Maurer AB; Debbie Maurer; Christine Scrofano-Wilkins, EVP.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates operate 3 offices throughout the Pocono Mountains.  All offices are open 7 days a week and you can visit them online at www.wilkins1.com or please "Like" their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BHGWilkins.

Skillman awarded Wilkins & Associates Realtor of the Year for 2012

Gouldsboro - Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates presented the “Salesperson of the Year” award to Kathleen Skillman, Associate Broker. 

Skillman has been with the Wilkins organization for 6 years.  Skillman was a driving force when the Company operated a retail office just outside Eagle Lake, an upscale RV community located just outside the village of Gouldsboro.

Said Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO, “Skillman comes to the table as the ‘Realtor of tomorrow’.  What I mean by that is she’s a hybrid agent and works her business almost strictly through the internet.  Her online marketing is second to none and excels in customer service quality traits.”

Although Skillman works from the Mt. Pocono office, her primary trade area is the North Pocono School District area.  Skillman handles a number of primary, residential home sales as well as vacation homes from nearby Big Bass Lake community.

Skillman has won numerous Sales awards from the Company and is expected to win more in the future.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates operate 3 offices throughout the Pocono Mountains.  All offices are open 7 days a week and you can visit them online at www.willkins1.com or please "Like" their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BHGWilkins.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Announces Top 10 in Sales for 2012

Skytop  - At the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates Annual Awards brunch held this year at Skytop Lodge, the Top 10 in Sales were awarded their plaques by Christine A. Scrofano-Wilkins, Gen Manager and Master of Ceremony.  Annually, the Company acknowledges those Salespersons who generated the most income in residential sales.

For 2012, those honorees were Carl Maurer, Associate Broker and head of “The Carl Maurer Team”, working from the Bushkill office; Dennis Farrelly, Realtor and member of “The Carl Maurer Team”; James Martin, Realtor and the 3rd member of “The Carl Maurer Team”, working from both the Bushkill and Stroudsburg offices; Kathy Skillman, Associate Broker who handles the North Pocono region for the company including Lake Wallenpaupack, Gouldsboro, Moscow and as far north as Pocono Springs Resort.

Other winners were Nicole Murray, Realtor from the Bushkill office, who last year received “Realtor of the Year” award from the Poc Mts Assoc of REALTORS; Jennifer Amantea, Realtor, in the Mt Pocono office and the newest member to the Top 10 in Sales, Sonia Kern, Realtor, from the Stroudsburg office.

Other award winners were Jeffrey Serowick, Realtor from the Stroudsburg office with the most referral sales in addition to the Top 10; Kathleen Kazimi, Sr Sales Assoc, from the Stroudsburg office; and Charles McQuillan, Realtor, from the Bushkill office.

These top 10 Realtors showed that the real estate market in the Poconos remains strong and at the end of any given year, those Realtors who work hard and focus on their online marketing and customer service will have a good year.

In 2013, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates is celebrating their 25^th year in business.  The company was founded by Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO with 3 persons in Mt. Pocono and expanded into the leader that they are today.

According to the Pocono Mountains Association of REALTORS MLS system, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates was No. 1 in the number of units sold by company with 8.15%.  This was for closed residential sales in the four school districts (Mt. Pocono, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley & East Stroudsburg) located in Monroe and lower Pike County.  The next closest real estate office was REMAX Results with 5.58%, Keller Williams with 4.51% and the rest were 3% and under.

In total dollar volume, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates ranked No. 2 with 5.79% behind Keller Williams at 5.83%.  All told, the PMAR MLS data showed that the 2012 selling season, when compared to 2011, was only down by 2%.  The total number of units sold was up 16%, the sold volume up 10% and the average sale price down 5%.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates can be found online at www.wilkins1.com .

From left to right: Nicole Murray, James Martin, Carl Maurer, Sonia Kern, Jennifer Lynn-Amantea, Kathy Skillman, Charles McQuillan, Dennis Farrelly, Thomas R Wilkins, and Christine Scrofano-Wilkins.

Scrofano-Wilkins Advances to General Manager of Better Homes and Gardens Wilkins & Associates

Stroudsburg - At the August Supervisors meeting, Thomas R. Wilkins, President and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates, as well as other Wilkins entities, announced with great pleasure that Christine A. Scrofano-Wilkins would immediately assume the title of Executive Vice President/General Manager of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates.

Scrofano-Wilkins in her capacity as General Manager, will continue with day to day operations of the Real Estate company as a whole and will concentrate on adding new salespersons to the company, expanding the Independent Family of Home Buying Services, assist in the marketing and provide assistance to the Managers--Patricia Blank-Toombs, Vice President/Sales Manager and Dennis Mooney, Vice President/Associate Broker, Sales Manager.

Patricia Blank-Toombs will be responsible for the Mount Pocono office and Dennis Mooney will be responsible for the day to day operations of the Park Avenue and Bushkill offices. Scrofano-Wilkins will be responsible for overseeing all of the offices.

Scrofano-Wilkins has been in the real estate business for over 20 years and with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate for 11 years. Prior to that, she worked at Penn Mountain Realty where she ran the Vacation Rental Department, Rental Department and Sales Department.

Scrofano-Wilkins was nominated as one of the Top 25 Women in Business--Northeast Pennsylvania, 2012 and has won numerous awards as a Salesperson and Associate Broker in the Wilkins organization. Currently, she is a member of the Stroud Township Planning Commission and member of the Rotary Club of the Stroudsburgs.