Stroudsburg – Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates, NEPA Management Associates and Pennsylvania First Settlement Services announced promotions within the organization.
At Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates, Dennis A. Mooney, V.P./Assoc Broker has been promoted to the position of Senior Vice President. Mooney, in his new position, will answer directly to Christine A. Wilkins, Exec V.P./General Manager. Mooney will be responsible for overseeing all the Wilkins’ offices while primarily handling the business affairs of Bushkill, Stroudsburg and Mt. Pocono offices. Mooney, a local to the Pocono Mountains, will be an integral part the day-to-day operations of the offices.
Said Christine A. Wilkins, Exec V.P./Gen Mgr, “Dennis is also our primary Recruiter for the company and as we expand further to the north and south, will be the person a potential Agent will first interface with. I also depend on Dennis to, not necessarily train, but assist the new agents as they learn how to list, sell, rent and prepare paperwork for all those tasks—Dennis is great with that.”
Wilkins further stated, “Dennis will assist me in making sure that all the offices run smoothly. We have done a fantastic job in consolidating our Central Processing for new listings, existing listings and, of course, pending sales. Prior to this each individual office was “free-standing”. After this transition, everyone will see how smoothly the new internet based company will operate.”
William “Bill” J. Schutte, Assoc Broker in the Milford office, has been promoted to Vice President. Schutte in his new position will handle recruiting in Pike, Wayne and Monroe counties. While still being a Top Producing Realtor with the company, Schutte will concentrate on bringing new talent into the company which will include the hiring of new and experienced agents. While his primary concentration will be in the Pike County and Lake Wallenpaupack regions, Schutte will also be responsible for assisting Dennis Mooney in the Monroe county real estate offices.
Said Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO, “Bill has been with the company for a while now and he is like a sponge when it comes to learning new things. I so much enjoy working with Bill. I think his biggest asset is his wanting other people to move up in the company, feel good about themselves and succeed. That’s the sign of a real Manager. Now, throw in the fact that Bill is one of the best Salespersons I’ve ever met, it’s simply a formula for success.”
The Wilkins organization intends to handle all aspects of a listing and a sale via the internet through the corporate office. The branch offices and the Managers, along with their assistants, will concentrate more on maintaining good relationships with the Realtors and customers. Soon, the company will employ an Executive Assistant to round out the Senior Management team.
At NEPA Management Associates, our Property Management company, Christina Serpico, Senior Property Manager, has been promoted to the position of Vice President, Senior Property Manager. Serpico, who has been with the company for 14 years, handles a portfolio of properties under her own control. Recently the position of Administrative Assistant/Property Management was added to assist Serpico in her department’s day-to-day operations. Serpico will maintain the Associations that she currently handles as well as assist Thomas R. Wilkins in developing new business.
Said Wilkins, “Christina has always been my right hand person. To acknowledge her position in the company as a Vice President was a unanimous decision. What I am most excited about is that Christina will be involved in marketing to new customers and clients in our office and that alone will close to double our business over the next 18 months.”
“These are not our internal projections; this is what the industry is saying our business will look like in 18 months. One of our largest competitors closed their doors through unfortunate circumstances, which leaves a very big gap in property management companies servicing Northeast Pennsylvania including the Lehigh Valley area.” said Wilkins.
Wilkins also stated, “We’re planning a very big move which we will announce over the next several weeks into the Better Homes and Gardens Pocono Campus. The move will double the size of what we have now.
Said Christine A. Wilkins, General Manager, “Within the next several months, we will be approaching our 2015 goal of hiring new people who we will train one by one and one-on-one to become our professional sales team. We are so very proud of the Agents that we recruit and then train to be Salespersons—it’s definitely the way we become and maintain our #1 status as a leading Broker in the Pocono real estate market. But it doesn’t stop there…as we expand further into the Lehigh Valley and to the north further into the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre areas, we want everyone to know that we listen to the market, react to the market and give the market what it is that they’re asking for.”
Wilkins, who has operated the company for the last 26 years, successfully downsized the company from 14 offices to 2 offices during the recent recession. After successfully maintaining their status throughout the down-turn in the real estate market, all the companies are poised to capitalize on the turning of the Pocono real estate market.
All Wilkins offices are open 7 days a week. Visit them online at www.BHGwilkins.com; www.nepamgmt.com and www.pennsylvaniafirstsettlement.com.
