Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates Teams up with trendmls.com

King of Prussia - Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates has joined trendmls.com, an MLS network of more than 28,000 real estate professionals in the Philadelphia and surrounding metropolitan regions.  TREND is an industry leader in MLS services, focusing their products and services on the needs of their members and striving to deliver high-quality, innovative personal and fast service.

The deal for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates to join has been in the making since May 2009.  Effective February 10, 2010, trendmls.com began receiving all of the MLS listings from the Wilkins’ Stroudsburg office.

Said Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO,  “What this does is give us a very big advantage in getting our listings to over 28,000 Realtors and Brokers out of the Philadelphia and surrounding 10+ county area with no further clerical work or inputting on our end.”  Wilkins along with Pocono Mountain Lake Real Estate is being used as test Brokers over the next month.  After that time, the services will be offered for a fee of $552.00 annually to other offices.

Dave Davis, Corporate Relations Executive for TREND and Wilkins worked together in developing the TREND Broker Listing Import program.  It is different than just data-sharing between the brokers via an IDX listing.

“Broker Listing Import, or BLI, allows us to electronically import an entire office’s inventory directly from their primary MLS.  In this case, we are pleased to announce that we are now importing the listings from Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates and Pocono Mountain Lake Real Estate who belong to the Pocono Mountains Association of REALTORS®”. said Davis.

Because BLI will present listings through their entire life cycle, both on- and off-market listings are included in the program.  End result, you will have access to a broader and more inclusive listing database in TREND.

This program and the model that it’s designed after will be used with other MLS systems to further expand the territory that TREND services.  Currently they service Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates was the first one to spearhead this two year process in the making.

Selling homes since 1988, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates services the entire Pocono Mountains, North Pocono/Moscow area, historic Milford and all towns in between. Better Homes and Gardens Realtors handle listing, rentals and sales of primary, vacation and starter homes, as well as estate and farm properties. Buyer services include first and second home buyers, relocation buyers and transferees. They have two offices in the Pocono Mountains.  All offices are open 7 days a week.  Visit Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates online at www.wilkins1.com.

Greater Pocono Home Show Brings in Spring

[Stroudsburg, PA – March 3, 2011] – Analysts have recently shown that home improvement spending will climb at a double-digit pace through the first half of 2011, which can be directly attributed to the fact that American homeowners are more active, financially savvy, and cost-conscious than ever. As a result, the Pocono Builder’s Association’s annual Home Show is anticipated to be the biggest in over 10 years, thanks to the surge of homeowners seeking out energy efficiency, landscaping and home remodeling. Builders, plumbers, electricians, design professionals and kitchen and bathroom specialists will all be exhibiting the newest products and services.

“The event, designed for homeowners in all stages of home decorating, remodeling and landscaping, includes hundreds of exhibits with merchandise, product demonstrations and sample interior and exterior options,” said Akantha Susko of True North Advertising & Marketing. “With a combination of new products and expert advice from the pros, this annual Home Show inspires homeowners with countless ideas on how to enhance their home’s comfort and functionality, as well as its aesthetic appeal and overall value.”

The Pocono Home Show is the Pocono’s only building and home renovation expo, having been staged annually for over a decade. No other event attracts the same number of quality visitors and exhibitors interested in businesses that serve the Poconos and surrounding areas. This year’s Title Sponsors include Bathfitters, the Real Estate Book of the Poconos, and F/J Hess & Sons Plumbing, Heating and A/C.

The show will be held at the Koehler Field House at East Stroudsburg University March 12th – 13th, 2011. Admission is free, and children’s activities, including the Home Depot Kids Workshop, are available.

Hours for this year’s event are as follows:

March 12th, Saturday -10am to 7pm

March 13th, Sunday – 11am to 5pm

The show is held in by the Pocono Builders Association, which is dedicated to the collective creation of value for its members. For more information, visit wwww.PoconoHomeShow.com or call the Pocono Builders Association at 570-421-9009.

About True North Advertising & Marketing

True North Advertising & Marketing produces and manages many successful marketing projects in the area such as the Greater Pocono Home Show at ESU, True North Maps’ Carbon County Map, Monroe County Map (coming 2011) and Senior Style Magazine. They are also closely affiliated with the Real Estate Book of the Poconos, the Pocono Where To Book and Golfing Guide.

About the Pocono Builders Association

Pocono Builders Association is dedicated to the collective creation of value for its members. The Pocono BA is the unified voice of the Pocono Mountain’s building industry. The organization promotes economic development while respecting the environment and community. To find out more about the PBA visit www.PoconoBuilders.org. For more information on exhibiting or attending the Pocono Home Show email info@PoconoHomeShow.com.

MCNAIR JOINS BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS REAL ESTATE

Bushkill – Monica McNair joined Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates Bushkill office as a fulltime Realtor. Originally from New York City, McNair has lived in the Poconos for the past 6 years and resides in Country Club of the Poconos.

McNair is a 2002 graduate of the Pocono Real Estate Academy and prior to joining the Wilkins organization McNair was with Real Living Real Estate.

Said Christine Scrofano, V.P./Associate Broker, “Monica was in management at Roosevelt Hospital for 20 years and her customer service skills are very good.” “With hands-on training, I’m convinced that she will be successful in the real estate field.”

Scrofano is Manager of the Bushkill office.

Selling Homes Since 1988, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates services the entire Pocono Mountains, North Pocono/Moscow area, historic Milford and all towns in between. Better Homes and Gardens Realtors handle listing, rentals and sales of primary, vacation and starter homes, as well as estate and farm properties. Buyer services include first and second home buyers, relocation buyers and transferees. Visit Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates on line at www.wilkins1.com

SCARSELLA JOINS BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS REAL ESTATE

Stroudsburg – Joseph Scarsella joined Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates as a member of their Sales Department. Scarsella has, for the past 30 years, owned his own home contracting business and for the last 5 years has been involved in commercial construction.

Scarsella was recruited by Dennis Mooney, Associate Broker of the Stroudsburg office.

Scarsella lives in Sciota, is a member of the Pocono Mountains Chamber of Commerce and the Pennsylvania Builders Association.

Selling Homes Since 1988, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates services the entire Pocono Mountains, North Pocono/Moscow area, historic Milford and all towns in between. Better Homes and Gardens Realtors handle listing, rentals and sales of primary, vacation and starter homes, as well as estate and farm properties. Buyer services include first and second home buyers, relocation buyers and transferees. Visit Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates on line at www.wilkins1.com

CENTURY 21 UNLIMITED REAL ESTATE WELCOMES THOMAS A. BROWN

Tannersville, PA (Grassroots Newswire) February 22, 2011 — CENTURY 21 UNLIMITED REAL ESTATE is pleased to announce Thomas A. Brown has joined its firm as a sales associate.  He will specialize in Residential property sales in the Pocono Mountain area.

“We are pleased to have Tom join our team,” said John Fox, owner of Century 21 UNLIMITED REAL ESTATE. “It’s an exciting time to be with the CENTURY 21 System and real estate in general.  As we increase our market presence in the Pocono Mountains agents like Tom help us provide invaluable expertise to both buyers and sellers.”

Brown just successfully completed extensive training and licensing through PSI.

Jeffrey Siglin, broker, added,  “We believe training supports growth and professional excellence in the real estate industry.  Performance-based training is necessary to assure that CENTURY 21 associates maintain their competitive edge and offer the best service possible to their clients. Tom’s current experience coupled with the training he will now have available through CENTURY 21 will allow him offer unparalleled service.”

Thomas Brown has been married for 27 years and has 2 daughters, 1 grand daughter and 1 grandchild on the way. He has over 27 years experience in home remolding and construction. He has worked on both commercial and residential construction projects and brings that experience to residential sales. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau and the NYC Carpenter Union.

About Century 21 UNLIMITED REAL ESTATE

CENTURY 21 UNLIMITED REAL ESTATE provides outstanding real estate services to the Pocono Mountain region of Pennsylvania, including the mountain villages. Our award winning offices in both Tannersville and Mountainhome are staffed with licensed Realtors. CENTURY 21 UNLIMITED REAL ESTATE is part of a network of over 140,000 professionals who take pride in what they do and specialize in providing a variety of superior real estate services to local communities around the world.

© 2011 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. CENTURY 21® Is A Registered Trademark Licensed To Century 21 Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each CENTURY 21 Office is Independently Owned and Operated.

WILKINS ATTENDS FUSION 2011- A 1ST IN LAS VEGAS

Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates attended FUSION–2011, the first ever Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate® national convention held February 9 – 11, 2011 at the Aria Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Of particular interest was the fact Wilkins & Associates was the first company to join Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate® when Realogy publicly announced the licensing agreement with Meredith Publishing in July of 2008.  Wilkins also attended the formal announcement of the BHG brand in San Francisco at the 2008 Inman Convention.

The FUSION–2011 Convention featured a number of nationally recognized motivational speakers as well as industry leaders including Brad Inman, founder of Inman News, one of the most successful online Real Estate magazines in the industry.  Other speakers included Alex Perriello, President and CEO of the Realogy Franchise Group; Tom Ferry, author of Life By Design and the Key to Success through a Balanced Lifestyle; “Building your Business Online” featuring Dustin Luther, Gahlord Dewald and Jeff Turner; Rapid Fire, My 10 Favorite Online Listing Tools; Stefan Swanepoel a well-known professional speaker about the 2011 market trends.

The most popular speaker was Up Close with Brad Inman a live interview by Brad Inman conducted by Sherry Chris, President and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.  There were a number of other speakers, panel discussions and videos during the two day event.

On Wednesday, February 9, by invitation only, Wilkins had the privilege of touring Zappos.com, one of today’s hottest online shopping stores.  Zappos was started by Tony Hsieh, who came up with the idea of starting an online shoe store because he could not find his size/color in stock.  Friends and family invested $150,000 to get them started.  Their unique style of business and cult-type atmosphere for their employees is something that will change the face of online retail forever.  Everyone who attended received Tony Hsieh’s #1 New York Times bestseller Delivering Happiness–a Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose.

Said Wilkins “One of the highpoints of the convention was the announcement that Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate® is expanding into the luxury, urban and commercial markets with the creation of three new brand tiers.”

The first announcement was Elegant Properties by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate® which is BHG’s luxury offering.  Properties and homes of exceptional quality that are priced at $750,000 or above or priced at the top 10 percent of residential properties in a market place will qualify.

The Elegant Properties division will have their own identity including a new logo and a full suite of sophisticated marketing and sales materials including its own micro-site hosted by the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate® main website.

Next was Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate® Urban Properties which will offer a fresh modern expression of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate® brand design to meet the unique needs of residential listings in city center locations.

Last will be BHGRE Commercial which will enable its Brokers and Agents to represent non-residential listings in their local market.  The program enables listings online to include office, vacant land, retail, farms, shopping centers, five-plus family homes, hospitality and special purpose properties to be a part of the commercial program.  This will greatly expand the Agents lead generation and revenue generation opportunities.  BHGRE Commercial will have its own identity and a full suite of materials for Brokers and Agents.

Wilkins owns the local Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate office with the corporate office located at 304 Park Avenue, Stroudsburg and two retail offices, the first in Stroudsburg and the second in Bushkill.  Prior to the slow-down of the real estate market, the Wilkins organization had 14 real estate offices.  Said Wilkins “Once the market starts to turn, you’ll see us starting to expand again.  Right now we only have plans to reopen in the Mount Pocono area which hopefully we should be doing over the next couple of months.”

Selling homes since 1988, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates services the entire Pocono Mountains, North Pocono/Moscow area, historic Milford and all towns in between. Better Homes and Gardens Realtors handle listing, rentals and sales of primary, vacation and starter homes, as well as estate and farm properties. Buyer services include first and second home buyers, relocation buyers and transferees. Visit Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates on line at www.wilkins1.com

James Martin Named Realtor of The Month

BUSHKILL: James Martin has received the Realtor of the Month award from Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins and Associates for the month of January, 2011.

Martin primarily works out of the firms’ Bushkill location and has worked with the company since July of 2006. Due to his production in 2010, James will not only finish in the “Presidents Top Ten” of the organization, but will also be acknowledged with a franchise award from the corporate office in Parsippany, NJ. The firms’ President, Dominick J. Sacci says, “Jimmy truly sets the bar for unit production and how to use time efficiently. Last year, he closed the most rental units in our firm, and now that he has joined the Carl Maurer Team, he will realize an increase in production via our bank foreclosure account(s). I don’t know if Jimmy even has any idea what his sales production will be like when all of the tenants that he is providing services to, purchase homes in the coming years. He is setting himself up for some very rewarding years in our industry”.

The Realtor of the Month acknowledgment is awarded to Realtors® based on their commitment to the Real Estate Industry as a career and the firm as a whole. Along with sales production, the Realtor® of the Month is primarily measured by their approach and mind set of on the industry, their attitude and dealings with clients/customers, and their TEAMWORK ethic.

They are also considered based on opportunity time, sales meeting attendance, onsite and on-line training participation, lead generation involvement, overall adherence to the policy and guidelines of the firm, and usage of the tools supplied by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Corporate.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates services the entire Pocono Mountains, North Pocono/Moscow area, historic Milford and all towns in between. Better Homes and Gardens Realtors handle listing, rentals and sales of primary, vacation and starter homes, as well as estate and farm properties. Buyer services include first and second home buyers, relocation buyers and transferees. Visit Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates on line at http://wilkins1.com/blog/

Maurer Team Takes Top Award at Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates

Bushkill – Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates announced Friday that the Carl Maurer Team was number one in the company in sales for 2010.  The announcement was made by Dominick J. Sacci, President, in an interview at the Corporate office.

The Carl Maurer Team consists of Carl Maurer, Assoc Broker, Dennis Farrelly, Realtor, James Martin, newest member of the team and Donna Sorrentino, Maurer’s licensed Administrative Assistant.  Collectively, they handle over 15 banks, various lenders and REO companies including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in listing and selling foreclosed properties.

Said Carl Maurer, “While the market is still a bit depressed, we were pleased with our overall numbers for the year.”  Maurer has been with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates since 1998 when he joined the company as a Realtor.  Maurer comes from New Jersey where he’d been in the bank and REO business for 20 years.

The Carl Maurer Team closed or sold over $14.7 million in real estate for 2010. Their closed sales figures do not include rentals which also are handled by The Carl Maurer Team through James Martin.

The Carl Maurer Team has been located at the Bushkill office for the past 5 years and just recently expanded to add Martin as a Buyer’s Broker.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates services the entire Pocono Mountains, North Pocono/Moscow area, historic Milford and all towns in between. Better Homes and Gardens Realtors handle listing, rentals and sales of primary, vacation and starter homes, as well as estate and farm properties. Buyer services include first and second home buyers, relocation buyers and transferees. Visit Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates on line at www.wilkins1.com

2010 Top 10 In Sales Announced At Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates

Stroudsburg – Dominick J. Sacci, Pres of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates announced Wednesday the “Top 10″ Agents for 2010.

The “Top 10″ Agents include Sylwia Sacci, Realtor, Carl Maurer, Assoc Broker and Dennis Farrelly, Realtor of the Carl Maurer Team, Tina D’Amato, Realtor, Kathleen Kazimi, Senior Sales Assoc, Nicole Murray, Realtor, Michael Meilinger, Realtor, Loretta Taormina, Assoc Broker, James Martin, Realtor, Donna Steo, Realtor and Todd Hallman, Realtor.

Of the “Top 10″, six are new agents that were not there last year.  “What this shows is that for those Realtors who are willing to stick it out, a spot in the Top 10 is always possible.” said Sacci.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates services the entire Pocono Mountains, North Pocono/Moscow area, historic Milford and all towns in between. Better Homes and Gardens Realtors handle listing, rentals and sales of primary, vacation and starter homes, as well as estate and farm properties. Buyer services include first and second home buyers, relocation buyers and transferees. Visit Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates on line at  www.wilkins1.com

POCONO REALTOR EXPANDS RELOCATION SERVICES

Stroudsburg – Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates announced the continued expansion of their fulltime Relocation Department located at the 304 Park Avenue office.

The Wilkins organization remains a member of Employers’ Resource Council (ERC) and was chosen again by Cartus, the premier provider of global mobility management located in Connecticut. Said, Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO, “To be chosen by Cartus to provide their customers and clients workforce mobility throughout the Northeast Pennsylvania region is an honor.”  Cartus is a Relocation company that only allows certain Brokers to participate in their relocation services which include corporate moves, Affinity services and government services worldwide. This is the third year that Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates has been chosen by Cartus to represent them in Northeast Pennsylvania.

ERC, located in Ohio, is a worldwide relocation network of the top real estate Brokers in the United States.  Member Brokers handle corporate, broker to broker and Fortune 500 moves through brokers who have joined their network.  Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates has been a member of ERC for the past 7 years.

In addition to relocation services, the department will also focus on outgoing referrals and will re-promote their Commission Rebate Program whereby a person sells their home in the Poconos and then has up to 18 months to relocate to another area and purchase a home.  When they do, a portion of their commission charged in the sale of their Pocono home is credited to their new purchase.  “Our commission rebate program was very successful at the height of the market.  When the housing industry slowed down, it wasn’t used as much.  We’re hoping it will be used extensively in 2011.” said Dominick J. Sacci, President of the Wilkins organization.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates offices are located in Stroudsburg and Bushkill.  The fulltime Relocation Department is under the direction of Jessica Miller, Director of Support Services and day to day referrals are handled by
Toni Jones. Visit them on line at www.wilkins1.com

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