Karen Sherrill Joins Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Assocations

Mount Pocono – Dennis Mooney, V.P./Sales Manager, Company Recruiter, announced the hiring of Karen A. Sherrill to the position of Salesperson for the Mount Pocono office.

Sherrill, who currently resides in Albrightsville, is originally from Yardley, PA and has lived in the Poconos for the last 6 years.

Since 1997, Sherrill has been involved in the real estate industry as an investor and then, along with her husband, a Real Estate Agent with Better Properties Real Estate in the state of Washington.

Currently, Sherrill is a website publisher and affiliate marketer, volunteering her time as Webmaster for the Penn Kidder Library and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Sherrill is also the Youth Choir Director and a Sunday school teacher.

Mooney said, “Karen is a self-motivated and team player. Her detailed attention to work and her customer service skills will certainly assist her in becoming a top-producer with the Better Homes and Gardens brand.”

Sherrill is a graduate of East Stroudsburg University, attending between 1983 and 1987. Sherrill holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts/Theater/Acting and Directing.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates have three offices in the Pocono region and are scheduled to open their 4th office in Milford, PA. The opening is planned for mid-April 2014. Under the leadership of Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO, the company celebrated their 25th year in business. You can visit them online at www.wilkins1.com on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BHGWilkins and on Linkedin atwww.linkedin.com/in/thomasrwilkins. All offices are open 7 days per week.

Evans Hired as New Sales Manager of NEPA / Wilkins & Associates PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Stroudsburg – Amy L. Evans has been hired by NEPA Management and Wilkins & Associates—PROPERTY MANAGEMENT for the position of Sales Manager, Long Term and Vacation Rental Department.  The announcement came from Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO.

Evans, prior to joining the Wilkins organization, worked for The Frederick Group, Ltd. in Allentown from 2005 – 2014.  In her position, Evans was responsible for scheduling appointments, processing listings and sales, maintaining company files and assisting over 80 residential and commercial Realtors and their clients.

Evans holds a Pennsylvania Real Estate Salespersons license.

Prior, Evans was employed by the Nazareth National Bank and Trust Company as an Administrative Assistant in the Commercial Loan Division as well as a Commercial Real Estate Processor for Wise Financial Group.

Said Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO, “Our Management Department, particularly with long term rentals and vacation rentals, is a big part of our company.  We’re excited to have Amy as a part of our team.  Her length of tenure with The Frederick Group was of particular interest to us.  This is a part of our business that we expect to expand over the next several years and consider Evans the person to do it for us.”

Evans, as a part of her day to day responsibilities, will handle the long-term rentals of which the Wilkins organization handles approximately 150 units.  In addition to that, she will oversee the marketing to new investment properties as well as handling the maintenance, rent collection, disbursement of rent and ensure that tenants renew their leases as well as pay their rent in a timely manner.  Evans will answer to Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO.

Said Wilkins, “In addition, our Vacation Rental Department is going to be renovated during the seasonal down-time of March through June.  By renovating, I mean we have a new business model that we’re going to introduce which has to do with the time-share business.”  Recently, Wilkins was involved in the selling of 49 townhome units at Northslope II.  The Wilkins organization also manages that community.

Wilkins has been involved in Property Management for the past 25 years under the names NEPA Management Associates and Wilkins & Associates—PROPERTY MANAGEMENT.

The Management company will also be celebrating their newest branch office at the Historic Water Wheel in Milford, Pennsylvania.  That office is scheduled to open mid-April, 2014.

25 Years of flexibility, service, can-do attitude

By Melinda Rizzo

Special for Lehigh Valley Business

Customer service, attention to detail, a can-do attitude toward clients and willingness to offer a flexible menu of tailored services are among the reasons Wilkins and Associates Property Management is celebrating its silver business anniversary this year.

Thomas Wilkins, CEO of Wilkins & Associates Property Management, Wilkins & Associates Commercial Brokers, WACB Property Management (formerly NEPA Management) based in Stroudsburg, said this basic recipe has built long-term relationships with clients, as well as forged new territory when a client needs change.

WACB Property Management also offers related business services to clients, such as real estate tax appeals and tax consultation, according to Wilkins.

“I still have the first contract we took 25 years ago,” Wilkins said of this year’s quarter-century anniversary.

According to Wilkins, the privately owned, property management firm offers a three-tiered menu of services including financial (book-keeping and record keeping), business administration services and operations and facilities maintenance and management.

“Our clients can pick and choose either one, two or all three of the services we offer for their property management needs,” Wilkins said.

Wilkins & Associates offers property management services for residential, multi-family, commercial, property owner’s associations, condo-townhouse and investment properties throughout northeastern Pennsylvania, including throughout Monroe and Pike counties.

Wilkins & Associates also is a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate firm, offering residential, commercial and relocation real estate services.

OPTIONS FOR CLIENTS

The property management arm of Wilkins & Associates offers accounting and financial management, leasing and rental services, asset-controlled real estate and operation services.

According to Wilkins, offering various options to clients means addressing needs rather than forcing them into a one-size-fits-all box.

Clients include residential communities with townhouses and condominiums, banks, hotel/motels, third-party investor properties, corporate property investments and time share communities.

“The biggest challenge with managing time shares, which is a specialty market, is the (number) of owners, furnished units and the in-and-out exchanges on the property,” Wilkins said.

DEVELOPING A BOND AND TRUST

Kathryn Harper-Johnson, president of Northslope II in East Stroudsburg, said having one firm represent all facets of property management for the community’s private homes and “quarter-share” units made practical sense.

“It helps to have one contact, and work with one company for all the various things involved in taking care of our community. It just stream-lines things rather than dealing with four or five different companies,” Harper-Johnson said.

According to Harper-Johnson, the continuity of regularly seeing the same professionals is an added bonus.

“You develop a bond and a (strong) trust with the people managing the property for you,” Harper-Johnson said.

Harper-Johnson said Wilkins & Associates takes care of it all: from bookkeeping and financial planning to facilities, administrative duties and landscape management contracting including snow and trash removal and landscaping.

LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS

Not all clients have the same needs.

Jeffrey Weichel, treasurer of Stones Throw Property Owners Association, a residential community in East Stroudsburg, said bookkeeping and fiscal management are the only services for which they are contract with Wilkins & Associates.

“After doing our own books for several years, we decided to delegate those duties,” Weichel said of the all-volunteer board managing the homeowners association.

Stones Throw is a 119-home community, and Wilkins & Associates handles maintenance fees, member monthly dues and late notices.

Wilkins said business contract terms typically run three years, and he’s dedicated to establishing long-term relationships with clients.

“The majority of our clients are with us for the long haul,” Wilkins said.

The Wilkins & Associates Property Management Office is open 7 days a week. You can visit them online at www.nepamgmt.com.