About Us & Our History

Better Home and Gardens Real Estate – Wilkins & Associates

A National name with a Local reputation is a full service residential, commercial and relocation real estate company.

Our office handles listings, sales, and rentals of primary, vacation and investment homes, farms, vacant land, acreage and commercial properties, all available for lease or for sale. Wilkins & Associates also handles incoming and outgoing referrals through our staff full-time relocation department. All of our Realtors are computer savvy with an emphasis on customer service and our Realtors offer Buyer Broker services. In addition to handling the sales, rentals and leasing of residential and commercial properties and relocation services, WARE, Inc. has six other affiliations or subsidiaries.

Our 6 Affiliations / Subsidiaries

NEPA Management Associates, Inc. (NEPA)

A fully integrated and computerized subsidiary that handles professional property management including residential, apartments, multi-family, property owner associations, community complexes, townhome communities, retirement villages and asset own (REO) real estate and businesses. Certain principles of NEPA specialize in detailed real estate consulting, tax appeals (both residential and commercial), Act 319 submissions and expert witness testimony. Wilkins & Associates also specializes in divorce sales should a client need such services. Additional services include handyman type maintenance, repairs, housekeeping, snowplowing, landscaping, lawn maintenance and bookkeeping services. “Free” quotes and references are available by request.

Independent Family of Home Buying Services

A service unique to Wilkins & Associates and offers “one stop shopping” as well as numerous discounts at local businesses for Buyers who purchase their home through Wilkins & Associates. Buyer services include Mortgage financing through our in-house network of Mortgage Coordinators, Title, Closing or Attorney services through their title and settlement companies and Homeowners insurance through the area’s most reputable insurance companies. Together, these “one stop shopping” services are collectively referred to as the Wilkins & Associates “independent family of home buying services”.

Relocation Department

In early 2005, Wilkins & Associates opened a full- time relocation department to handle the growing needs of customers and clients. Throughout the company’s nationwide network of cooperating brokers, families, when selling through Wilkins & Associates earn commission rebate dollars to help them buy their new home whether it is across town or across the country. Wilkins & Associates covers and has been chosen by a number of well-known relocation companies to assist their buyers in relocating to Northeast Pennsylvania and the Pocono Mountains. Collectively, the Relocation Department and Central Processing are supervised by the Broker and Associate Broker. The Relocation Department is expected to grow over 200% in the next 10 years.

Insurance

Insurance, while not owned by Wilkins & Associates, is a proud member of Wilkins & Associates Independent Family of Homebuying Services. Today, we can proudly say that over 100 customers have purchased their insurance through our abelite relationships with local insurance companies. And why…..its all about customer service.

Pennsylvania First Settlement Services (PA 1st) and Attorney Services

“Where service comes first”, PA 1st is a Title and Settlement Services company and is a member of the Wilkins & Associates Independent Family of Homebuying Services and offers Title Insurance and Settlement Services. All Title is insured by First American Corporation (FAF), one of the most reputable Title Insurance Carriers in the United States. PA 1st was primarily developed to handle residential and commercial sales throughout the Pocono Mountains but today handles numerous accounts from a variety of Brokers, Investors and Mortgage Companies across Pennsylvania and all Northeast PA. While PA 1st is not owned by WARE, the service they provide is what keeps us there.

Financing and Mortgages

All our loan officers know our Realtors and they know their products and to say they will “roll out a red carpet” for all our buyers is an understatement. Whether you are looking for a Conventional, FHA or VA Mortgages – no problem. We know the Brokers and the loan officers to get the job done. Having mortgage and financing partners to say in the business is a huge asset of Wilkins & Associates Real Estate. All of our mortgage and financing companies know our agents and their products.

Our History

June 15, 1988

Wilkins & Associates, Inc. is born

Wilkins & Associates, Inc was founded with a sales force of three people in Mount Pocono by Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO, who still you can meet in the office. Today, Wilkins is joined by his wife and partner Christine A. Wilkins, Broker, President, General Manager and a mom. Christine was named The Top 40 Women in Business by the Northeast Business Journal. Christine, alone with Tom run the day to day operations of Wilkins & Associates.
Operating in a receding Pocono economy, the sales department grew to over 110 Sales Associates in eight offices (2006). In 2000 and 2001 Wilkins & Associates was named Number 1 Real Estate agency in Northeast Pennsylvania by the Northeast Business Journal. Today, Wilkins & Associates continues to be a local owned Broker. The major factor that helped the firm grow was an assertive and unique marketing plan, geared to general real estate. Wilkins & Associates, as well as their other divisions’ marketing plans are established and implemented under the supervision of the Broker and Management Team Members.

Early in 1989

NEPA Appraisal Services

NEPA Appraisal Services was added as well as NEPA Management Services, Inc. to accent and compliment the real estate sales department. NEPA Appraisal Services grew to become one of the most respected appraisal companies in Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1997, Wilkins sold NEPA Appraisal Services to two (2) key personnel in that department. NEPA Management Services, Inc. remains a growing subsidiary and today is one the largest management companies in the Poconos. The department has services in the Lehigh Valley area. NEPA currently handles over twenty (20) community associations in five (5) counties and provides professional consultation services and operations for a variety of clients.

Mid – 1995

Short Term Rental

In short, it was the “old Airbnb”. During that time, they had over 125 homes and Townhomes available for rent for the weekend, week or seasonally including check-in sites in Bushkill, Tannersville and Mount Pocono offices. The growth of this department exceeded 600% in just three (3) years. The department was closed due to a very active real estate market in which Wilkins & Associates sold a majority of those short-term homes. The vacation market was replaced by primary home buyers and in 2005 the department was closed. A revised short-term department was reopened in late 2008, under the supervision of NEPA Management. They began by targeting corporate accounts in furnished units in high-end communities such as Lake Naomi, Buck Hill and the Lake Wallenpaupack areas. In addition, the company specialized in Pocono Family reunions. Today, while Wilkins & Associates is not handling Airbnb’s, they do have a plan to reenter that field in a future date.

Mid & Late 2005

Offices 7 & 8 Open

In mid-2005, the company opened their 7th office in Milford and in late 2005, their 8th office in Mountainhome which opened service to the Skytop and Buck Hill areas which included buying Premier Realty, a local company in the Mountainhome area. Then in 2006, the Tannersville office was merged with Stroudsburg and the Mount Pocono office, Milford merged with Dingmans Ferry and in a new North Pocono office located in between Moscow and Gouldsboro was opened in early 2008. Recently in 2022, all of their offices merged into 1 office which is now the BHG Business Campus located at 7164 Route 209, Stroudsburg, PA.

Early 2008

Better Homes & Garden

In July of 2008, Wilkins & Associates, Inc. became a local company with a national name by becoming the first affiliate of the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Franchise. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate is a brand name owned by Anywhere. Combined, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates with its other affiliates have grown over 950% in the past 30 years to become one of the largest privately owned, locally real estate companies in the region.

2023 – Present

2023 & Currently

In 2023, Wilkins & Associates has one convenient Poconos office to better serve the community. The corporate offices are at 7164 Route 209 Stroudsburg, PA 18360. Remotely and online, Wilkins & Associates is open for you 24/7. The Corporate office is open five (5) days a week and together with their full-time Realtors ready to better serve you. Wilkins & Associates is proud to be an online paperless company whose expertise in that area is credited to Christine A. Wilkins.

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