I wanted to share what was a great day for my team and my office today in KENOSHA, WI. For one thing, we held our regular i-CALL session on Monday morning. We are just implementing this strategy at our office, but it is used in Weichert offices all over the country on a day to day basis.

An i-CALL session is where all of our agents get together and call our customers and our prospective customers together. As the BROKER/OWNER, I supply the donuts, the coffee, the scripts and some leads. The agents are responsible for creating their own call lists from their spheres of influence, past customers and referrals.

We-CALL every monday morning from 9:00-11:30 and every tuesday evening from 5:00-7:00 as a team. From there each agent is responsible for prospecting on their own throughout the rest of the week. The idea is to get some success and momentum early in the week to set the tone for a overall successful week in the real estate business.

I find it shocking that while most agents complain about the market, few are really willing to work hard. If you put the time into the activities that MUST BE DONE on a daily basis, you will be successful in ANY MARKET.

This is actually a great time to be in this business. It is MUCH HARDER for a home owner to sell their home BY OWNER in a down market. Buyers are harder to find, and financing is more difficult to come by. A qualified competent real estate agent that can give professional advice on pricing, provide superior service in marketing and assist buyers with finding financing is an invaluable asset to a homeowner who NEEDS TO SELL.

Tonight, I will be holding one of my regular CAREER NITE sessions at our office at 7:00 PM. I spend an hour going over:

1. WHY THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST TIMES TO BE IN REAL ESTATE
2. WHY WEICHERT REALTORS IS WHERE A NEW AGENT WOULD WANT TO WORK
3. HOW TO GET STARTED IN REAL ESTATE
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL

Many people have questions, and I spend time answering those questions as well. If you are interested in learning more about a career in real estate, this is a great place to get the answers.

To reserve a spot, call our office (262) 997-0668 or just walk in to our office

WEICHERT, REALTORS - PRECISION

4235 Green Bay Rd., SUITE 202

Kenosha, WI 53144

Links:

Wisconsin Real Estate Classes, Kenosha Real Estate, Kenosha Homes For Sale, Weichert, Realtors Wisconsin

Today was the second day of Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke's Monetary Policy Report Report to the House Financial Services Committee. I was only able to tune in for a short time, but I was able to also read some of the testimony online.

The report itself seemed to be a re-statement of the obvious. That the economy continued to retract in the first quarter of 2009, that there were some signs that the RATE OF DECLINE was slowing.

Of significant importance was the testimony that the potential wave of defaults in commercial real estate may present a “difficult” challenge for the economy, without committing to additional steps to aid the market. (*1)

Commercial real estate is typically a lagging indicator, this means that the values of commercial real estate rise or fall months and sometimes years AFTER the adjustments in other sectors of the economy. In this case we have seen a 7.6% single month decrease in commercial property values across the board. There are also over $108 BILLION in commercial real estate loans in default. This could mean a whole NEW WAGE of financial institution collapses and a second drag on an economy that already has several weights tied around it's neck as it attempts to tread water.

These anchors include the subprime meltdown, the subsequent cost of the bailout, the automobile industry collapse and the "stimulous plan" which has accomplished it true intented task of using a recession as an excuse to expand government, force small business owners (such as auto dealers) out of business, and give away pork money to the districts and organizations that have helped liberal-neosocialist cause.

Putting that little diatribe away there were additional questions of Bernanke that piqued my intererst.

- One of the topics of conversation was the mixed messages banks were getting about lending money, and the fact that while the federal government has been saying publically that banks need to start lending money, the regulators are at the same time criticizing lenders for making too many loans. Benanke acknowledged that this problem exists, and said the key was in retraining regulators to encourage lenders to make profitable loans to credit worthy customers.

- An item that should be of noteworthy concern is the continued witch hunt of the mortgage broker. Most mortgage brokerage firms are small businesses and do not have a strong lobby to protect their interests. As a result they have been an easy target on capital hill and a scapegoat for the subprime meltdown.

Rep. Chris Dodd (D) grilled Bernanke on the subject of YIELD SERVICE PREMIUMS, (YSP's) YSPs are the fees paid by mortgage lenders to brokerage firms for funding loan applications. These YSP's typically increase as the agreed upon interest rate increases, as a higher rate means more profit for the end lender. Many in congress in both political parties are seeking to end the practice of paying YSPs to brokers, or severely limit/cap the amount that may be paid on any given loan. While some broker's may have abused this practice, this tool was used by many to generate enough income to offset and sometimes eliminate closing costs for the comsumer. What the average Realtor(R) and consumer should also know is that MORTGAGE BANKERS (which are typiclly larger companies than brokers) will not be affected by these proposed changes as they FUND their loans FIRST and then sell them to other lenders collecting a SERVICE RELEASE PREMIUM that is not disclosed to the consumer and not subject to the limits. This means that while the small business owners are being punished, big business gets to eliminate competition. All in the name of consumerism.

Let's face it, while there were some bad players (as there are in any industry INCLUDING ELECTED OFFICE) in the mortgage brokerage industry. Most brokers played by the rules, sought to help consumers, and offered products made available by the lenders.

MORTGAGE BROKERS DID NOT RENDER CREDIT DECISIONS - the lender's did

MORTGAGE BROKERS DID NOT DEVELOP TOXIC LOAN PRODUCTS - the lenders did

MORTGAGE BROKERS DID NOT CHARGE OR COLLECT PRE-PAYMENT PENALTIES - the lenders did

MORTGAGE BROKERS DID NOT SET INTEREST RATES - there merely sold what was available.

There are times and cases where a mortgage broker may have made a larger profit on one consumer than another, perhaps that particular customer required a substantial amount of time and work in order to find the correct product and obtain a loan approval.

At the end of the day, almost a year from the initial MORTGAGE MELTDOWN, lawmakers and journalists alike still don't understand the problem any more than they did a year ago. They want to blame the little guy, because that provides a villian with the least of political consequences.

Ralph Nudi is the Broker/Owner of Weichert, Realtors - Precision in Kenosha, WI

Ralph specializes in Foreclosure, REO, Distressed and Short Sale residential sales, and in commercial real estate in Kenosha, and Racine counties. Weichert, Realtors - Precision is a full service real estate firm with an entire staff of residential real estate agents.

As the market continues to cough and spit and sputter, the fact of the matter is THERE IS STILL REAL ESTATE BEING SOLD out there.

One of the toughest sales is the Real Estate industry as a career choice during this tough market, yet our office is actually in need of agents willing to service the quality leads that we are able to generate on an ongoing basis.

We have listings that are actually making the phone ring, buyers calling and sellers looking to us for serious help in marketing and selling their homes.

I still believe in this industry in spite of our current market, but am having a difficult time selling this to prospective hires.

A recent prospect told me he needs a job that will give him a paycheck "right now". That was in February and this prospect is still looking for employment. By now, if he had been following our proven systems, he would have started getting paid for his efforts.

With the large number of auto dealers being forced out of business, I am surprised that there aren't more people with sales skills looking to get into the real estate industry.

As I look to the existing pool of real estate agents, most are in one of a few categories.

They are either still doing well and don't want to mess with their current formula in this market, or failing and jaded, believing "its the market" that's the reason for their failures and not willing to look for answers internally or externally that could change their fortunes.

Still I work every day to weed throught this pool of prospects to find 1-3 solid prospects every month that are willing to attempt to learn, and to do what it takes to be successful in this industry.

We currently hold a CAREER NIGHT every Tuesday in our office and we offer WISCONSIN REAL ESTATE LICENSING COURSES. This is our opportunity to educate people on the opportunities that still exist.

It's been just over six months since that fateful day when Northpointe subdivision was one of the communities effected by the the JANUARY 7th tornado's that caught Kenosha, County by surprise.

As a resident of Northpointe, my home was one of the many affected by the storms. While the siren's raged throughout all of Kenosha County, and there were reports of sightings out in Wheatland, WI, I found myself racing home while on the phone with my then-pregnant wife, who was huddled in a corner of the basement with my sons and our dog.

I'll never forget the feeling in the pit of my stomach as I turned down our street and began to see the damage to our neighborhood. My next door neighbor was screaming in fear as she ran into what was left of her home to see if her husband and two children were safe.

In the end, nobody in our family, or in our neighborhood was injured. We were one of the more fortunate families with the damage being repairable, and all of our losses fully insured. Our next door neighbor's home had to be torn down and is almost rebuilt, and the neighborhood church is still under construction.

Six month's later, most in Northpointe, seem to have returned to business as usual. The sound of tornado sirens has been replaced by the melodic rifts of the ice cream truck. And on any given day, scores of neighborhood children can be seen riding their bicycles or playing basketball in a neighborhood driveway.

Overall Northpointe is a great little subdivision in Kenosha. There is a condo complex at the entrance, and the Northside Library is practically in the subdivision, only 2 blocks away and no major roads to cross. Piggly Wiggly is also within walking distance. There are still currently some lots available as well as a few homes for sale. These homes are some of the best values in the Kenosha real estate market. Just to the west of Northpointe, is the Meadows at Hunters Ridge. These new homes are again, part of a short neighborhood walk, with no major streets to cross.

... more pictures

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Photos from KENOSHA NEWS ONLINE

http://kenoshanews.com/web_extra/index.php?galleryId=951617