Dean Genova

Mount Pocono - Dean Genova has joined the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates organization as a Salesperson in the Mt. Pocono office.

Genova is a graduate of the Vintage Real Estate Academy. In early 2011 Genova took the required real estate courses and passed the PA State examination to be licensed as a Salesperson.

Genova will work under the direction of Christine A. Scrofano, Sen VP from the 102 Pocono Blvd office and was recruited by Dennis Mooney, Associate Broker/Sales Manager. Genova will also attend Fast Start, Wilkins’ personalized, free in-house training course designed to teach you all you want or need to know about listing and selling residential real estate.

In addition to real estate, Genova completed his tour of duty with the Marine Corp, reached the designation of Eagle Scout and continues to be a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America.

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 three 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.

Doris Grant

Mount Pocono – Doris Grant, Salesperson, has joined the sales team at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates in their brand new Mt. Pocono office. BHG is located at 102 Pocono Boulevard on the main street.

Grant has lived in the Poconos for the past 18 years and is originally from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. She resides in Swiftwater.

Grant was recruited by Dennis Mooney, V.P./Associate Broker with the Wilkins organization.

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 three 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.

Melanie Melnick

Stroudsburg – Melanie Melnick, Realtor, has joined Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates as a Salesperson in their Stroudsburg office. Melnick took the required courses and passed the examination to receive her Pennsylvania Salesperson’s license. Melnick attended the Pocono Real Estate Academy.

Over the years, Melnick has accumulated 20 plus years experience in sales, primarily in the food industry, most of which were in management positions.

Said Dennis Mooney, Company Recruiter, “Melanie scored extremely high in the Simulator test that we ask all our new perspective agents to take. It’s a service we subscribe to and the Simulator really gives us an assessment into the applicant’s sales skills, assessing their knowledge and also a personality assessment illustrating the prospects’ characteristics as compared to successful real estate agents.”

The Wilkins organization also has free in-house training that covers such areas as Listings, the Agreement of Sale, Rentals, Internet Marketing and other one-on-one courses to teach conduct and salesmanship.

Melnick is originally from Long Island, New York, lives in Blue Mountain Lake Estates and has lived in the Poconos for the past 6+ years.

Melnick was recruited by Dennis Mooney, Vice President/Associate Broker.

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. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates have three 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.

Ginger Walsh

Ginger Walsh has received the Realtor of the Month award from Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins and Associates for the month of July, 2011.

Walsh works out of the firms’ Stroudsburg and new Mt. Pocono location(s) and has worked with the company for the last 5 years. The firms’ President, Dominick J. Sacci says, “Ginger is a great person to work with. She is honest, hard working, and has an enhanced knowledge of the real estate industry. She is involved in her community and is always there to lend a helping hand to a coworker. Anyone in need of real estate services can rest easy when they are working with Ginger on their transaction.”

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 www.wilkins1.com.

BUSHKILL – Matthew Jacobson, Realtor ®, has joined Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates as a Licensed Salesperson in the Bushkill Office.

In 1998 Jacobson received a Business Admin, Finance, and Real Estate Degree from Ohio State University. In addition Jacobson was honored with the Neil M. Klatskin Memorial and the Scarlet and Grey Scholarship at Ohio State.

Before getting his Real Estate license Matthew worked as a Mental Health Associate, Algebra Teacher, and a Credit Analyst. Jacobson specialized in everything from working 1-on-1 with patients, teacher and substitute teacher from grades K-12, and preparing loan offerings.

Jacobson, a resident in Bushkill, is a single father and a volunteer concert usher at the Bethel Woods Center for Performing Arts. Jacobson was recruited by Matthew Rubin, Realtor ®, and hired by Dennis Mooney, Vice Pres/Assoc Broker. Matthew will be working out of the Bushkill office under the supervision of Christine Scrofano, Sr. Vice Pres/Assoc Broker. Scrofano said, “I am very pleased to have Matt working for us out of Bushkill, I know he will be a great new addition to my Sales team” Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates offices are open 7 Days a week.

Recently the Wilkins organization opened a third office in Mt Pocono at 102 Pocono Blvd

By DAVID STREITFELD and MEGAN THEE-BRENAN

Owning a house remains central to Americans’ sense of well-being, even as many doubt their home is a good investment after a punishing recession.

Nearly nine in 10 Americans say homeownership is an important part of the American dream, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. And they are keen on making sure it stays that way, for themselves and everyone else.

Support for helping people in financial distress over housing is higher than support for helping those without a job for many months.

Forty-five percent of the respondents say the government should be doing more to improve the housing market, while 16 percent say it should be doing less. On the politically contentious issue of direct financial assistance to those having trouble paying their mortgages, slightly more than half of those polled, 53 percent, say the government should help. And almost no one favors discontinuing the mortgage tax deduction, a prized middle-class benefit that has been featured on some budget-cutting proposals.

President Obama, who has been criticized for both doing too much to help the housing market and for not doing enough, was given poor marks. Only 36 percent of those polled approve of what Mr. Obama has done, while 45 percent disapprove.

In assessing blame for the housing crash, people are increasingly seeing financial institutions as the central culprit. Amid the swirl of recent disclosures about banks following improper and illegal procedures in pursuing foreclosures, 42 percent blame lenders, while 29 percent blame regulators. When the question was asked in early 2008, as the crisis was still building, the numbers were reversed, with 40 percent blaming regulators and 28 percent blaming lenders. Only a handful of respondents at either moment blamed the borrowers themselves for taking loans they could not afford.

“I believe the financial institutions willingly and knowingly allowed people to apply and receive credit at a rate higher than they could afford and this has degraded our economy,” said Steven Goode, an environmental health manager in Las Vegas, in a follow-up interview.

Making an offer for a house, something often done in past generations with little apprehension, is now riddled with worry. Only 49 percent call it a safe investment, while 45 percent feel it is risky. In a market where prices are consistently dropping, there is no easy exit.

“For the average person, it might not be a good idea today to buy,” said another respondent, Beth Lovcy of Troutdale, Ore., who bought a year ago. The value has already shrunk, but Mrs. Lovcy is unfazed. “It works out better financially than renting now because we can claim the interest on the mortgage.”

As the housing market slumped over the last few years with a speed and magnitude not seen since the Great Depression, aspects of homeownership have been debated as never before. There are tough questions about the role the government should take. These include how much of a down payment lenders should demand, whether lenders should be restrictive or expansive in granting new loans, how much assistance to give those on the verge of foreclosure, and whether real estate will ever again be the retirement savings vehicle it once was.

While the debate has been loud, there was little evidence of people’s views that went beyond the anecdotal. This poll offers a window onto widespread opinions at a critical juncture.

Before the crash, housing was widely deemed one of the safest possible investments. Few experts thought there was the possibility of a nationwide downturn. But after it happened, the effects were widespread and painful.

Diane Sherrell, a substitute teacher in North Carolina who retired on disability, traded up to a bigger house four years ago to accommodate an adopted son. “It’s been very difficult since then and we’re barely making it,” she said.

Half of those surveyed say the market’s continuing downward spiral has affected their long-term plans. One in five people say the crisis has prevented them from moving to another city or taking a different job. Nearly one-quarter of homeowners say their home is now worth less than what they owe on their mortgage, a condition known as being underwater. Families in this predicament are much more prone to foreclosure if they suffer job losses or other setbacks.

Over all, people are bleaker about the economic outlook than those surveyed in October. While most still think the current downturn is temporary, those saying it is permanent rose to 39 percent, up from 28 percent.

In the last two years, the stock market has recovered strongly while house prices have gone sideways at best. Yet those polled dismissed stocks as a long-term savings vehicle in favor of a savings or money market account (22 percent), a house (26 percent) or a 401K or individual retirement account (41 percent).

Who should be helped to buy is another contentious issue. Whether buyers need to come up with a 20 percent down payment — the standard for decades, but beyond the reach of many families now — is hotly debated. Fifty-eight percent of respondents say lenders should require this, while 36 percent say they should not.

People who cannot pay their mortgage are foreclosed upon. If they can pay but feel that doing so is pointless on a property that has lost so much of its value, it is called strategic default. While two-thirds of Americans say strategic default is not justified, 28 percent think that it is.

When houses are abandoned for any reason, it causes trouble for the neighbors. Three-quarters of those surveyed say foreclosures are a problem in their communities.

“Our home is worth much less now because houses are foreclosing around us,” said William Mack, an assembly line worker in Taylor, Mich.

Beyond all these ills, however, a persistent belief endures that the market will eventually improve and housing will regain its traditional importance.

Donna Boyd, a transportation supervisor in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, acknowledged “it might take a long time” for property values to go back up.

“But I don’t think I’m throwing my money away,” she said in a follow-up interview. “I rented for years when I was younger, and I just don’t like the idea of putting money in someone else’s pocket for something I will never own.”

The nationwide telephone poll was conducted June 24-28 with 979 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for all adults.

Maryann Napoli

Bushkill – Maryann Napoli, Realtor, has joined the Sales Department at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates in their Bushkill office.  Napoli will work under the direction of Christine A. Scrofano, Senior V.P./Assoc Broker and will concentrate efforts in the southern Pike County region of the Pocono Mountains.

Napoli was a Realtor in Sussex County for 9 years and in March of 2011 received her Pennsylvania Real Estate Salesperson’s license.  Napoli has lived in Dingmans Ferry for the past 2.5 years.

Said Scrofano, Sr V.P., “I’m excited to have Mary Ann handle the Route 739 and south corridor.  There’s a lot of real estate being transacted in developments such as Pocono Ranchlands, Pocono Mtn Lake Estates, Wild Acres and others.  She’s a natural to do well in that area.”

Napoli has been involved in sales for a number of years which includes not only real estate but auto and advertising sales as well.

Napoli was recruited by Dennis A. Mooney, V.P./Assoc Broker/Sales Manager.

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 and are scheduled to open up a Mt. Pocono office in mid to late June at 102 Pocono Blvd.  All offices are open 7 days a week.  Visit Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates online at www.wilkins1.com

Matthew J. Rubin

Stroudsburg – Matthew J. Rubin, Realtor, has joined Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates as a Salesperson in their 304 Park Avenue office.

In 2010, Rubin took the required courses and passed the State examination to receive his Real Estate license. Prior to joining Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates, Rubin was employed at Keller Williams Real Estate.

Originally from Brooklyn, Rubin and his wife have lived in the Poconos for the past 12 years.  Prior to real estate, Rubin spent 20+ years in the stage and theater district in New York City.  Rubin worked on a number of productions, Broadway shows and television series before retiring and becoming a full-time Realtor.

Rubin’s motto is to “always give back to the community where you live”; and to that end, he has been a part of “Help Family Promise”, he volunteered for “Run for the Red”, was a participant in Stroudsburg’s “Clean the Town” and every Friday, donates his time to Pocono Medical Center.

Rubin has a unique perspective in that every sale he makes he gives a small portion of his commission to the charity of the buyer’s or renters’ choice.

Rubin will be located in the Stroudsburg office and will mentor with Christine A. Scrofano, Senior Vice Pres. who recruited Rubin.  Rubin plans to take part in the new program by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate corporate which hosts a “Welcome to the Greenhouse” series of classes online, Pod-casts and seminars to understand more about the marketing materials offered by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate®. Rubin also is a candidate for “FAST TRACK” a newly set of classes designed by Wilkins that was designed for those agents that are hired that already have experience and a book of business.

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 and is scheduled to open up a Mt. Pocono office in mid to late June at 102 Pocono Blvd.  All offices are open 7 days a week.  Visit Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates online at www.wilkins1.com

Judi A. Moniz

Stroudsburg - Judi A. Moniz, Associate Broker with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates has earned the title of “Realtor of the Month” according to Dominick J. Sacci, President.
Moniz, who recently received her Associate Broker’s license, has been with the Wilkins organization for 17 years. During her tenure with the company, Moniz has won numerous awards and has been recognized for accomplishments not only within the company but the services she provides in the community as well.
Said Dominick J. Sacci, President, “I have known and worked with Judi my entire real estate career. We transacted real estate 16 years ago out of our Mt. Pocono location. I am very proud of my friend and coworker. I was very happy to receive unanimous support when we chose Judi as our Realtor of the Month”.
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 listings, 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.