Randal's Blog

Are Interest Rates Heading to 4.5%?

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:13:27 -0600

According to William Gross they probablyare. I just finished reading an article on line on CNBC's Website. Mr. Gross is chief investment officer and founder of the investment management firm PIMCO. PIMCO runs one of the largest (if not the largest) bond funds in the World. In the article Mr. Gross said; "I think at some point we're going to see a 4.5 percent mortgage rate and the 10-year Treasury rate capped at some level," he said. "When the Fed comes in to buy Treasury's that will be a big day. If you would like to read the article just click here.

If Mr. Gross is correct, will that be enough to help the Housing problem we are experiencing in Kenosha County? All over Kenosha county from Kenosha to Salem and from Pleasant Prairie to Somers the housing market is limping along at a miserable pace. All of the counties in Southeast Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Racine, Walworth and Waukesha are all in the same boat. If the Federal Government can push rates down to 4.5% and Congress passes a stimulus package that includes a $15,000.00 tax credit I believe the housing crisis may be closer to the end than the beginning. If nothing else, it should help thousands of homeowners in southeast Wisconsin refinance their current mortgages. Let's hope Mr Gross is right.

FHA Streamline Refinancing-A Great Tool for Today's Tight Credit Markets

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:43:01 -0600

With today's declining home values some homeowners in Southeast Wisconsin have found it difficult to successfully refinance their home. In the early 1980's FHA has permitted what is called a streamline refinance. By utilizing an FHA streamline refinance a homeowner can refinance their home without having to provide all of the income and asset verification. The homeowner also has the option of doing the streamline with or with out an appraisal depending on the circumstances. Their are some basic requirements with a FHA Streamline Refinance and they include:

The mortgage you want to refinance must already be an FHA Mortgage.
You cannot take cash out.
The mortgage must be current
The Streamline Refinance should result in the homeowners payment being reduced.

The bottom line is; if you live in Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, Somers or anywhere else in Southeast Wisconsin, give me a call and lets see if a FHA Streamline Refinance is right for you.

Visit my web site at www.randykeberlein.com to learn more about refinancing. You can also register to win $1,000.00 by clicking here!

How Low will the Fed Go?

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:15:55 -0500

The Fed will most likely cut interest rates on the 31st at the conclusion of the FOMC meeting, and we now expect the Fed will continue cutting at each of the next four meetings to take the FF rate to 3.75%.

It is catch up time for the fed as the economic outlook has turned negative. There is little reason to think the economy can withstand the tightening of all credit and the housing recession, as well as the coming foreclosures.

Source: Shirmeyer Report

Mortgage Crunch What an opportunity!

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:08:54 -0500

I recently received an e-mail from the Vice President of a rather large mortgage company with what he characterised as "alarming statistics. I believe there is a huge opportunity in these numbers. Read on!

Over the next 2-years, ~$20 billion/month, or 100,000 sub-prime loans Arms will reset every month - that's 1.2 million loans each year.

Sub-prime products usually have arm caps of 3/1/6 with arm margins of at least 6%. So, the first adjustment rate will go up as much as 3%!

He asked in his e-mail "How are you positioning yourself to take advantage of this information?"

Great Question don't you think?

Pleasant Prairie May Events Schedule

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Mon, 07 May 2007 21:30:18 -0500

Calendar of Events

What's Happening in 2007

5/12/2007 | 3rd Annual Family Walk/Run
Time: 9:00am
Join us for some healthy, family fun on Saturday, May 12 inside Prairie Springs Park! The Third Annual Pleasant Prairie Family Run is open to all ages in celebration of family. Proceeds from the event will benefit Women & Children's Horizons. The 5K walk/run will feature two divisions, a family division and a women's division. Free gift for the first 100 registrants! Register before May 11 and receive $5 off your registration fee. Sign up today at

05/18/2007 - 05/20/2007 | TV Glide...Spring Ice Show
Join us at IcePlex Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday, May 18-20 for four showings over three days of TV GLIDE...the Spring Ice Show! You won't want to miss this top notch production featuring Megan Oster and other talented young skaters from the area. For more information, call 262/925-6755 today! Tickets go on sale at IcePlex on Saturday, April 28 at 5:00pm.

06/09/2007 - 09/03/2007 | Lake Andrea Beach Open
Don't miss a minute of SUMMER FUN right here at Lake Andrea! Lake Andrea Beach will be open June 9 through September 3. For more information about Lake Andrea,

06/30/2007 | Open Water Challenge in Prairie Springs Park
Time: 8:00am - 12:00pm
Prairie Springs Park in Pleasant Prairie will be the location for an Open Water Challenge on June 30, 2007 from 8:00am - 12:00pm. The challenge will be presented by the Kenosha Barracudas, the Village of Pleasant Prairie, Kiefer Swim Shop and the Kenosha Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

NFL Draft Fever!

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 22:33:31 -0500

What a day for Armchair General Managers and owners of NFL Teams. It is a day for all fans of NFL Football to be optimistic about our teams future. I now feel like my beloved Packers have all of the tools to put the Lombardi Trophy (Super Bowl Trophy) back where it belongs. How do you think your team did? Weigh in with your comments after you read about the Packers draft below taken from the Packers web site.

1-16	DT Justin Harrell Tennessee 6'4" - 310 lbs.	Harrell was primed for a banner senior campaign, but in the second game, he suffered an arm injury. Tennessee doctors ruled Harrell lost for the season and scheduled surgery, but the gritty veteran postponed the procedure one more week to step out on the field with the starting unit for a crucial match-up vs. Florida.

2-47	To NY Jets along with No. 235 for Nos. 63, 89, 191

2-63	RB Brandon Jackson Nebraska 5'10" - 212 lbs. Audio/Video	An All-Big Twelve Conference first-team selection in 2006 by the Associated Press, Jackson gained 1,459 all-purpose yards, ranking third in the Big 12 with an average of 104.21 yards per game. (from NY Jets with Nos. 89 & 191 for Nos. 47 & 235)

3-78	WR James Jones San Jose State 6'2" - 199 lbs.	An All-WAC second-team selection in 2006, Jones was named the team's MVP, as he started all year at split end. He led the team and ranked 27th in the nation with a career-high 70 receptions for 893 yards (12.8 avg) and 10 touchdowns.

3-89	S Aaron Rouse Virginia Tech 6'4" - 223 lbs.	Rouse played in all thirteen games, starting ten contests at the "Rover" position. He ranked third on the team with 57 tackles (23 solos), including two stops for losses of 4 yards. (from NY Jets with Nos. 63 & 191 for Nos. 47 & 235)

Truck Crashes in to Bar in Kenosha

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:44:48 -0500

I was out prospecting today when i happened upon this scene. Below is the picture I captured with my cell phone.

Below is the story as taken from WTMJ.com

Several people went to the hospital after a car crash led a truck to go careening into a bar in Kenosha. Several people were in Big Shots at the time. The bar's owner says at least one person was hit by the truck.

Authorities shut down the intersection at 30th and Roosevelt while they delt with the crash. Workers quickly shored up the building, which houses the bar on the first floor and apartments on the second floor.

The fire chief on the scene says the injuries range from slight to very serious. The most serious injury was a person involved in the initial crash on the street.

Pleasant Prairie May Events Schedule

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 21:43:59 -0500

Calendar of Events

What's Happening in May

The Pleasant Prairie Calender of events for the rest of the year can be viewed at: http://www.pleasantprairieonline.com/about/calendar.asp

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin please contact Randal Keberlein with Weichert Realtors Unum Properties.

Trust - Sopranos Style

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 23:04:24 -0500

I just finished watching this weeks installment of the "Sopranos." This week Tony and Pauly "Walnuts" take a road trip after the Feds "dig up" someone from Tony's past. During the the road trip Tony seems to become more and more uncomfortable with Pauly's lack of inhibition when it comes to talking about things that Tony would like kept ummm.. lets say confidential. Tony later confides in a friend about his lack of confidence in Pauly's ability to keep things confidential but is reassured that Pauly is totally committed to Tony and his "Family." There are a few tense moments when Pauly and Tony take a fishing trip reminiscent of "Big Pussy's" last voyage. The show ends as Carm is unwrapping a very expensive gift from Pauly and as she does she says to Tony " What is up with this guy?" (paraphrased) And Tony defends (his friend?) by saying that it is guys like Pauly that afford her the affluent lifestyle. (again paraphrased)

My question: Do you have anyone in your office that you tolerate because they help afford you the lifestyle?

Fed Governor Miskin Comments On Sub-Prime The Sky Isn't Falling

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:27:57 -0500

The following are excerpts from Fed Governor Mishkin relating to the Real Estate Market and Sub Prime Lending.

Remarks by Governor Frederic S. Mishkin
At The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New
York, April 20, 2007

Turning first to the prospects for economic activity, two particular areas have emerged
recently that have heightened uncertainty about the near-term outlook. The first area is
housing: Where do we stand in the housing adjustment, and what effect will recent
developments in subprime lending have on that adjustment? The second area is business
investment: How should we interpret the incoming data showing that business spending
on equipment and software has been weak this year?

Regarding the housing adjustment, new single-family homes were started at an average
annual rate of a bit under 1.2 million units in the first three months of this year--a pace
roughly one-third below the unsustainable peak in new construction reached in mid-2005.
At the beginning of the year, the ongoing cutbacks in starts of new homes, together with a
lowered but fairly steady pace of home sales, were beginning to reduce the elevated
backlog of new homes for sale. However, a further weakening in sales of new homes in
January and February reversed some of the progress in reducing those inventories. As a
result, cutbacks in new residential construction may well persist for a while.
More recently, developments in the subprime mortgage market have raised some
additional concern about near-term prospects for the housing sector. The sharp rise in
delinquencies on variable-interest-rate loans to subprime borrowers and the exit of a
number of subprime lenders from the market have led to tighter terms and standards on
such loans. While these problems have caused undeniable hardship for many families and
communities, spillovers to other segments of the mortgage market or to financial markets
in general appear to have been minimal. Variable-interest-rate loans to subprime
borrowers account for a bit less than 10 percent of all mortgages outstanding, and at this
point the expected losses are relatively small. Moreover, because most subprime
mortgages are securitized, the risks associated with these loans are spread widely. Banks
and thrift institutions that hold mortgages are well-capitalized, and exposures of
individual banks to possible subprime losses do not appear to be large. On the whole,
some borrowers may find credit more difficult to obtain, but most borrowers are not
likely to face a serious credit constraint.

Indeed, I should note some positive news for the housing sector. Sales of existing homes
strengthened a bit during January and February, and the Mortgage Bankers Association
index of applications for home purchase suggests that demand has been fairly steady
through early April. Also, mortgage rates are still at historically low levels, and
mortgages to prime borrowers and fixed-rate mortgages to all classes of borrowers
continue to show low rates of delinquency.

World Class Shopping In Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin?

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 21:59:56 -0500

Prime Outlets is located midway between Milwaukee and Chicago in Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin. The mall currently has 90 name brand stores that include Restoration Hardware, Coach, Coldwater Creek Outlet and much more. Greatshopping is only about 2 miles west of Village Green Subdivision. For Directions click on the link below:

http://www.primeoutlets.com/cntrdefault.asp?cntrId=1039

Fo more information visit the Prime Outlet Website at:

http://www.primeoutlets.com/default.html

Yes there is World Class Shopping in Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin.

Salem Wisconsin

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 21:08:17 -0500

Salem Wisconsin is a town with a population of 11,260 located squarely between Kenosha and Lake Geneva. The town covers 36 square miles and has 9 separate lakes within its borders. If you are interested in living in the country in an upscale neighborhood with all of the amenities check out Falcon Heights! Just click on the link below and judge for yourself.

http://www.stafforddevelopmentllc.com/

For more information on Salem Wisconsin, check out the Town website at: http://www.townofsalem.net/

Falcon Heights Subdivision

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:58:21 -0500

Falcon Heights Subdivision in Salem Wisconsin is home to a community of upscale homes for the very discrminating homowner. I had the privledge of getting a guided tour of the Grand Abbey Model by Stafford Custom Builders today. I was blown away by the absolute attention to detail. The quality of this home is evident in every detail. Drop by the open house on Sunday afternoon.

Falcon Heights Subdivision is located in Salem Wisconsin just west of Highway 83 and just off of 89th Street.

Active Rain Etiquette Question

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:50:44 -0500

When I go to the blog dashboard and browse through the various blogs looking for something of interest to read, I end up wading through various posts that are obviously intended for local "consumption." When I do my localism posts I mark them "For Consumers: and I do not check "For Real Estate Professionals." Am I missing something?

Village Green Neighborhood Garage Sale-The Feedback!

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:37:39 -0500

Weichert Realtors Unum Proerties, Randal Keberlein, Kristy O'Keefe and Craig Pitts sponsored the 1st Annual Neighborhood Garage Sale on April 14, 2007. We ended up having 8 homes open there garage doors to lines of traffic in the neighborhood. The sale was held less than 72 hours after a spring snowstorm that dumped 5-6 inches of snow on us. Thankfully the weather warmed up enough that most of the snow was gone by Saturday.

I just wanted to share an e-mail that I received from one of the participants, I think it is representative of the feedback that I have gotten to date.

"I think it was great that you all set up this rummage sale for the neighborhood. And the coffee was a great touch! I hope this helped you business wise get your name out there. We will remember it for sure! Thanks again!"

-Jenelle

The coffee she mentioned was from Dunn Brothers in Kenosha, Weichert Realtors Unum Properties, Randal Keberlein, Kristy O'Keefe and Craig Pitts delivered hot coffee to all of the participants before the event began.

All in all the Village Green Neighborhood Garage Sale in Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin was a resounding success.

Missing in the Rain!

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 11:10:49 -0500

I want to take a moment and shamelessly plug an associate of ours on active rain that I think has been somewhat overlooked! Her name is Kristy O'Keefe and her last three posts have really made me pause and think. And I for one am learning a great deal from someone who is suppose to be learning from me. Please take a few moments and read the following:

What Road Are You On?

Please Don't Judge

Stop "Playing It Safe"!

I hope you take a moment and read these posts, if you agree with me please flag it for a feature. I think the quality of her works has earned it.

Customer Service, Dead on Arrival!

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 21:14:07 -0500

Is your Real Estate business equipped to manage missteps in customer service our is your customer service platform DEAD ON ARRIVAL?

The two and one half hour drive is complete we have arrived at our destination for our 2 day get-a-way at the water park. Our party consists of my 16 year old daughter, her three friends, my wife, my 4 year old daughter and me. We stroll into the Wilderness lobby in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin filled with anticipation. We are greeted by the clerk semi annoyed that we interrupted his conversation and complete the registration for our 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath condo complete with cabana poolside. Time to hit the wave pool! We get our map of the massive complex and get our final directions from the clerk at the counter; he points at the map and says with a little bit of boredom in his voice "here is where you go to get your cabana assignment." I thanked him as he turned his back and finished his conversation with his co-workers.

We arrive at the official hut for cabana business and confidently ask for my cabana assignment, "1 cabana for the Keberlein's." I instantly got a sinking feeling as my request is meet by the young lady's groan, WHO? I repeat my name and the response I get is "you're not on the list." I calmly explain that it has to be an error, I made the reservation two weeks ago and I have my confirmation number, we double checked our reservation by phone just two days ago and to top it off, the guy at the front desk just told us we had a cabana reserved! It became obvious that this young lady was not going to be of much help so I asked for the general manager. After about a 10 minute wait a young man approaches me and introduces himself as the M.O.D. and asks me to repeat my story. I repeat my story and the M.O.D. (Manager on Duty) says "that's not possible." He had checked his computer and there is nothing in our history that says we reserved our cabana.

He went on to say that you have to make two separate calls to two departments to reserve a Cabana. I am not so calm now. We then take turns insisting we are right and then he says, "This conversation is over"! I now ask to speak to whoever is his supervisor and I am informed that can only be done by correspondence. I tell him to e-mail them and he says he can't it has to be written correspondence and the response time is measured in days. He assures me he will do that and research my reservation and see what he can do for me. I am promised a phone call to my cell phone. That was four days ago and I am waiting for his call. The service never really improved for the next two days and nothing was done to attempt to salvage my experience. The net result, I formed my opinion of The Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells in my first 15 minutes of my 48 hour experience. There was ample time to make a small gesture to my family and possibly turn a raging fan to a raving fan.

I'll ask again. Is your Real Estate business equipped to manage missteps in customer service our is your customer service platform DEAD ON ARRIVAL?

Village Green Neighborhood Garage Sale - The Results

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 16:23:40 -0500

The village Green Neighborhood Garage Sale has concluded and I believe was a huge success! By 8:00AM 1/2 hour before the official opening of the garage sale the cars were already lining up outside the homes in the neighborhood. The first "unofficial sale" took place just after 7:30AM. At one point I counted 27 people crowded in one garage shopping and waiting in line to pay. We will have one more post on this subject as I look to get comments from the participants.

Thanks for all that participated and to all those that visited the Village Green Neighborhood Garage Sale from your Village Green Neighborhood experts, Weichert Realtors Unum Properties.

Points. Has anyone seen mine? They are missing -An Update

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:37:36 -0500

I went to bed last night happy to be #1 in the State of Wisconsin with 19.123 points only to wake up this morning with less than 18,000. Anyone out there have an explanation? Did I disagree with the wrong post? I Know we are not suppose to care about the points but I will confess, I do! Any idea as to what happened?

The paragraph above is the original post.

Here is the update.I have been contacted by AR and they are hot on the trail. Here is what I know. Several of my comments are missing/have been deleted and from what I can deduce, they were not deleted by the person whose post I commented. Hmmmmm. Next, on my blog dashboard I have2 new blogs listed in my subscribed to area. Hmmmm. And, last but not least all of the communities that I have added to AR have been deleted.

Now that I know all of this all I need is a why and a when. Why did this happen and most importantly when can I get my points back.

Points. Has anyone seen mine? They are missing

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:44:00 -0500

Last Chance to Participate in Village Green Neighborhood Grarage Sale-4/12/07

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:24:43 -0500

Village Green Neighborhood Garage Sale- Update VI

It's time againfor an update! Weichert Realtors Unum Properties is sponsoring the Village Green Neighborhood Garage Sale on Saturday April 14th from 8:30AM to 3:30PM. As of 11:22PM Wednesday the 11th of April we have 10 confirmed households who will be participating and 0 tentative household Some of the confirmed addresses are:

•· 10062 Cooper Road,

•· 10028 55th Avenue

•· 10076 55th Ave

•· 10015 51st Court

•· 10099 51^st Court

•· 10005 55^th Avenue

I will be dropping off Jo-to-Go to each home that is participating between 8-8:30am on Saturday the 14^th.

The Open House Kits are going to be one day late, I am delivering them on Saturday the 8^th.

If you are interested in participating please email me rkeberlein@wi.rr.com or call my cell phone 262-308-7122. This is the final few days to sign up! You have until Thursday at Noon to contactr me if you would like to participate.

Weichert Realtors Unum Properties are proud to sponsor this event for the Village Green homeowners; we are committed to serving the Village Green neighborhood and the Village of Pleasant Prairie. If you have any questions about this event, buying or selling a home in Pleasant Prairie please don't

Last Chance to Participate in Village Green Neighborhood Grarage Sale

Randal Keberlein (Coldwell Banker Home Loans) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:11:34 -0500

Village Green Neighborhood Garage Sale- Update V

It's time againfor an update! Weichert Realtors Unum Properties is sponsoring the Village Green Neighborhood Garage Sale on Saturday April 14th from 8:30AM to 3:30PM. As of 8:06PM Monday the 9th of April we have seven confirmed households who will be participating and 1 tentative household The confirmed addresses are: