Meet Our Team
Wally Nikowitz
Founder
Wally graduated with a Bachelor's in Accounting from Northern Illinois University, and went on to become a certified public accountant. Building upon a decade of career success with a national CPA firm, Wally merged his experience in finance, accounting, tax and business with his passion for helping family, friends and neighbors reach the best solutions for their mortgage, real estate and personal finance needs.
With nearly 30 years of exceptional experience serving San Dimas and the surrounding communities, Wally has established himself as the premier mortgage broker in the area. Wally has also worked tirelessly to promote small business within the community through the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce, as well as volunteering countless hours throughout decades of service with the San Dimas Little League and San Dimas Rotary.
In 1998, Wally was voted Citizen of the Year in San Dimas and was recognized by the United States Congress, and has continued to hold that same level of integrity and character.
Mike Wallace, Broker
President
Mike grew up locally in San Dimas, attending Gladstone Elementary School, Lone Hill Middle School, and San Dimas High School before heading north to attend the University of California at Santa Barbara, obtaining a bachelor's degree in Business Economics with an Accounting emphasis. After a decade of success working in public accounting (including "Big 4" management experience) and as the Assistant Controller of a publicly traded company with annual revenues in excess of a billion dollars, Mike turned his career focus to the mortgage, real estate and personal finance fields.
Bringing a wealth of economics, finance, business and accounting experience, Mike's knowledge, expertise and ability to communicate complex transactions in "plain English" provides excellent customer service to our clients. In addition, Mike's education, CPA (inactive), and diverse high-finance and business consulting experience provide a unique set of problem solving skills that are rarely seen in the mortgage and real estate industry.
Mike lives in San Dimas and is very active in the local community, including being the Chairman of the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce, the President-Elect of the San Dimas Rotary, the Vice President of the San Dimas Sheriff's Booster Club, a Board of Director of the San Dimas Little League, and participating as both a sponsor and volunteer at many Bonita Unified School District events and fund raisers. Mike explains his community contributions by saying "I attribute much of my success to the quality education and life experience I received in this community, as well as the supportive environment in which I was raised. I consider it an honor to be in a position to give back to my community and to help others reach their goals."
Joanne Hritz
Real Estate Agent/ Notary
A real Estate professional for more than 30 years, Joanne Hritz is known for integrity, diplomacy and sincerity in every client interaction. She has first and foremost strived to be someone in whom her clientele and colleagues can put their trust, and their faith. Ten years ago, Joanne moved her license to Better Home Financial Inc.
Joanne got into the real estate business after she bought a house using a real estate agent herself. She came to realize that many agents, including hers, lacked the skills and ethics needed by a truly professional agent who looks out for their client’s best interests, and decided to fill that void herself.
Joanne has sold homes as far west as Thousand Oaks and as far east as San Bernardino, giving her an understanding of the market most don’t have. She is an agent that goes above and beyond the average agent to make sure that her client’s transactions are smooth and that their interests are number one. Joanne prides herself on her reputation of working with clients as if they are part of her family or a close friend. With her experience comes exceptional negotiating aptitude and strong communication skills, allowing her to consistently bring her clients the results they’re looking for.
If you are looking for an agent that has your interest as her first priority, then you can trust Joanne! Call (909) 917-2810
Jerome Drossel
Real Estate Agent
With over 17 years of experience in conducting real estate transactions in Southern California and the Central Coast, Jerome Drossel understands the decision making process with buying and selling property as being one of the most important decisions anyone will make.
Jerome is known for establishing a comfortable rapport with clients, listening to their needs, and providing guidance in every step of the transaction process in order to exceed his client’s goals and expectations. In addition, his sharp negotiating skills resolve any of his client’s difficulties during the real estate transaction.
Jerome specializes in residential properties, including single-family homes, condominiums, and even units/income properties. We feel privileged to have him as part of our real estate team here at Better Home Financial.
His contact # is (626) 833-2741, and he's always looking forward to a new client's call!
Bob Cates
Retirement Planner | Loan Originator
Bob attended college locally at Azusa Pacific University receiving a Masters Degree in Education. Serving as a math teacher for over 25 years, Bob became exceptional at taking seemingly complicated concepts and distilling them into easily digestible parts, as well as mastering how to help many different types of people succeed and achieve their goals.
These skills have enabled him to be very successful as a retirement planner for Lincoln Investment, as he predominantly helps his fellow teachers and non profit workers in what he refers to as "life-stage planning", a more personal, long-term, and comprehensive approach than simply portfolio management.
After meeting Wally, Bob joined the Better Home Financial mortgage team as a Loan Originator as he found many of his clients could benefit from our expertise in providing the lowest rate refinances and our experience in helping people through the process of attaining their first mortgage and buying their first home! His professionalism and likability only add to the many reasons we're lucky to have Bob on the team!
Jennifer Seymour
Real Estate Agent
Jennifer's childhood was spent in Glendora, developing a strong sense of kinship with this area. After graduating from Glendora High School, Jennifer enrolled in Mt. San Antonio College, and thereafter entered the banking industry for seven years, gaining valuable experience in the practical application of finance and gaining insight on how lenders operate. She then decided she needed a change from the banking environment to one that was smaller and more connected to the community she serves, and thus began her tenure at Better Home Financial as a loan processor in 1999.
In order to diversify her skills, Jennifer obtained her real estate license in 2000. When asked to describe her feeling when she became licensed, she says “I was excited, I really enjoy helping others, and now I could help people in my community through the difficult task of selling their home, or using my knowledge to help them find the home of their dreams.” Jennifer strives every day to give her clients the best service, and part of this includes her knack for organization and an affinity for being detail oriented, all very important traits for her line of work. As part of the Better Home Financial Team she has been nothing short of exceptional to work with.
Jennifer has thoroughly enjoyed working for Better Home Financial, and continues to “love helping our clients get the best possible experience and satisfy all their real estate needs”.