REALTORS® Association Purchases Pocono Real Estate Academy

Stroudsburg, PA – June 25, 2010 marked a milestone in Poconos real estate education, with the transfer of ownership of the Pocono Real Estate Academy from its founder, Barbara Samet, to the Pocono Mountains Assocation of REALTORS® (PMAR). PMAR members approved the purchase by a comfortable margin, with 64.46 voting in favor vs. 35.54 voting against.

“Purchasing Pocono Real Estate Academy will provide PMAR and its members a tremendous opportunity to expand its educational resources,” says PMAR Association Executive Beverly Hay. From a financial standpoint, Hay notes, the purchase allows PMAR the additional benefit of “collecting non-dues revenue for additional income.”

Samet will stay on as Drector, under the auspices of the PMAR Education Committee and Board of Directors.

A Poconos native, Samet pursued her real estate license “on a whim” in 1977. As a new divorcee, she saw real estate as a way to achieve her financial goals. She later became a broker and earned a B.S. degree in real estate. Armed with those credentials and a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in political science, Samet taught real estate at Northampton Community College. After growing tired of the commute, she decided to open her own school.

Samet received the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission’s approval and mandate to act as school director even before she owned the academy, thanks to her academic background and professional experience. The school opened in 1981.

As a Real Estate Educator who has earned the distinction of membership in the International Real Estate Education Association, Samet estimates that she’s taught real estate education to thousands of students, including the majority of Monroe and Pike county real estate pre-licesees and licensees. Not surprisingly, some of the students she teaches at the academy are familiar faces from her days as a public school teacher.

The academy’s curriculum was established by the Real Estate Commission. Samet sat on the Commission’s education committee and helped to develop both pre-licensing, continuing education and broker courses. There currently are 20 courses offered for broker licensing.

When asked how she feels about the sale of the school to PMAR, Samet says, “I’m thrilled. The association has always been my second home.” Samet is a longtime real estate ethics instructor for PMAR new-agent orientations.

The sale “gives me more of an opportunity to assess the needs of the REALTORS® and the public.” The school, she notes, is not just for REALTORS®. “Anyone who’s interested in getting a license can give us a call.”

The Pocono Mountains Association of REALTORS® (PMAR) is an association committed to the betterment of the real estate professional. PMAR provides support, products, services and education to nearly 900 members in the Monroe County and Pocono Mountain area of Pennsylvania and serves as the primary information resource on housing and real estate trends in the region
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Posted on Web Site August 21, 2010