From a dairy farm and a lake house

Joel Reyenga grew up on his family's dairy farm outside Darien, Wisconsin. Kim grew up twelve miles away in a lake house on Delavan Lake. They attended the same high school, though not at the same time. Kim was in school with Joel's sister, which is how they eventually met.

They moved to Lake Geneva in the early 1980s, when they were in their early twenties, and bought their home in Williams Bay in 1988. Today they sell luxury, lake, golf, town and country real estate.

That local history matters because real estate around Lake Geneva is not one market. A lakefront home, a condominium near downtown, a house with transferable lake rights, a Geneva National property, a Delavan Lake retreat and a country home with acreage all come with different questions. Kim and Joel help clients understand those differences before they make a decision.

They work as a pair on purpose, because the two of them notice different things.

Practical property knowledge from two different careers

Joel earned his Wisconsin real estate license in 1986. Before real estate, he worked as a union carpenter and drove from Lake Geneva to construction sites in Chicago's northwest suburbs.

Joel's construction background gives him a practical eye for how a property is put together and helps him discuss inspection findings and contractor estimates with clients in plain language.

From 2001 through 2007, Joel served as Real Estate Marketing and Sales Director at Geneva National for Keefe Real Estate. He later served as Sales Director at Timilick Tahoe, a golf community in Truckee, California, and as a Sales Executive at The Cliffs Communities on Lake Keowee in South Carolina. He returned to Keefe Real Estate in 2010.

Those roles became the foundation of his working knowledge of golf-community ownership, association documents, resort-market transactions and the questions buyers should ask before purchasing in a managed or amenity-based community.

Kim's path into real estate ran through property management, retail, hospitality and renovation. In her early twenties, she managed a 21-unit apartment building in Lake Geneva while running a clothing store in the former Fancy Fair Mall downtown. She worked at Geneva National from 1992 to 2003, then stepped away from full-time work to raise the couple's two children.

In 2010, Kim founded a renovation company and operated it until 2015. That experience gave her a working understanding of project scope, cost and timing. She earned her real estate license in 2012 and joined Joel at Keefe Real Estate. Kim and Joel moved to eXp Realty together in 2019.

Kim's background is especially useful on the listing side of the practice. She helps sellers think through holding costs, preparation, presentation and which pre-sale projects may influence a buyer's response. Her focus is not renovation for renovation's sake. It is deciding what a property needs before photography and what work is unlikely to return enough to justify its cost.

Put the two of them together and a client gets both halves of the same conversation: what is this property really made of, and what is it worth to the person who buys it?

Real estate across Lake Geneva and the Southern Lakes Region

Kim and Joel's practice centers on Lake Geneva and extends throughout the Southern Lakes Region of southeastern Wisconsin. Walworth County is a major part of that market, including Lake Geneva, Williams Bay, Fontana-on-Geneva Lake, Delavan, Walworth, Elkhorn, the Town of Linn, Geneva National, Abbey Springs, Lake Como, Lauderdale Lakes and the surrounding rural communities.

Their lake-country coverage also extends into nearby areas of Kenosha, Racine and Jefferson counties, including Powers Lake, Benedict Lake, the Twin Lakes area, Browns Lake, Bohners Lake, Blue Spring Lake and Lower Spring Lake. LakeGenevaWeekend.com has a guide to the 17 lakes around Geneva Lake if you are still sorting out which water you want.

Property types include:

• Lakefront and waterfront homes
• Homes with lake access, association piers or boat slips
• Golf-course and resort-community homes
• Condominiums, townhomes and lower-maintenance properties
• Luxury residences and distinctive legacy properties
• City and village homes for full-time residents
• Country homes, rural properties and homes with acreage
• Vacation homes for Chicago and northern Illinois buyers
• Second homes owned by out-of-area sellers
• Inherited, trust, probate and estate-related properties

Kim and Joel do not assume that every buyer wants the same version of Lake Geneva living. Some want to be within a few blocks of downtown restaurants and events. Some want water access. Some want golf, privacy or acreage. Others want a manageable condominium that can be closed up between visits. Their job is to clarify the tradeoffs, verify the material facts and help the client choose the property that fits how it will actually be used.

Helping Lake Geneva area sellers position the property

For sellers, the work begins before the sign goes in the yard.

Kim and Joel evaluate the property's condition, likely buyer, competing inventory and recent comparable sales. They talk through preparation, pricing, photography, timing, showing logistics and the costs a seller may carry while the property is on the market.

A lakefront residence, a Geneva National condominium, an in-town home and an inherited property should not receive the same marketing plan. Each attracts a different buyer and raises different questions. The listing strategy should make those distinctions clear.

Kim and Joel are direct about pricing and condition. A seller should receive a straight assessment before launch, not after weeks of limited activity. When improvements are being considered, they help the seller separate work that supports the market position from work that may not change the outcome enough to justify the expense.

For an out-of-area owner or estate representative, they can also help coordinate the real estate side of preparing and marketing a property. Legal, tax and estate matters remain with the client's attorney, accountant or other qualified professional. Kim and Joel keep that boundary clear while helping the property move toward market.

Request a property value consultation or contact Kim and Joel to discuss the property, its condition and its likely buyer.

Vacation homes for Chicago buyers

Vacation-home buyers often begin with the idea of owning near Lake Geneva, then discover that the real decision is more specific.

Do they want Geneva Lake or another nearby lake? Lakefront, lake access or a boat slip? A downtown setting, a managed condominium, a private association, a golf community or a country property? How often will the home be occupied? Who handles maintenance when the owner is away? Are rentals permitted by the municipality, condominium documents or homeowners association?

Kim and Joel help Chicago-area and northern Illinois buyers work through those questions without assuming that the most expensive option is the best fit. They review the property as a home and as an ownership experience, including association rules, pier or slip rights, maintenance, renovation potential, carrying costs and resale considerations.

The goal is not simply to buy near the lake. It is to understand what is being purchased and how it will work after closing. Owners on the other side of that decision can read how to prepare a second home for sale.

Inherited, trust, probate and estate-related property sales

Selling a property that came through an estate can be materially different from an ordinary move.

The owner or personal representative may live out of state. The home may contain personal property, deferred maintenance or incomplete records. Several decision-makers may be involved, and the family may be balancing practical work with the emotional weight of the property.

Kim and Joel help establish a real-estate plan for the house: current condition, likely buyer, recommended preparation, pricing range, showing readiness and marketing. They can help identify which tasks should happen first and which may not be necessary.

They do not provide legal or tax advice. Probate authority, trust questions, title issues and tax consequences should be reviewed by the appropriate attorney, title professional or tax advisor. Their role is to keep the real estate process understandable and moving forward.

How Kim and Joel work

Kim and Joel take a teaching approach. They would rather a client understand a tradeoff than simply take their word for it. Sometimes that means a longer conversation. Occasionally it means talking someone out of a house.

That approach shows up in specifics:

• A seller receives a candid discussion of condition and pricing before the listing launches.
• A buyer considering lake access receives the available rules and documents for the pier, association or boat-slip arrangement.
• A golf-community buyer is encouraged to review ownership costs, association documents, amenities and use restrictions before committing.
• A second-home owner receives a plan that accounts for distance, maintenance and showing logistics.
• An estate representative receives a practical property plan and a clear distinction between what the real estate agents handle and what belongs with legal or tax counsel.

Their purpose is not to remove every uncertainty from real estate. It is to identify the questions that matter, find reliable information and help the client make a decision with a clear view of the tradeoffs.

Why Williams Bay and Lake Geneva are home

Kim and Joel are married and are business partners. They moved to Lake Geneva in the early 1980s and purchased their Williams Bay home in 1988. They still live and work there, from a home office on Cherry Street.

They left Wisconsin once, first for California and then South Carolina, while Joel worked in two nationally known resort and golf markets. They returned in 2010. Two exceptional resort markets gave them perspective, and the Lake Geneva area is the place they chose to come home to.

Both worked at Geneva National, overlapping there in the early 2000s. They are members at Geneva National and at Gordy's Boat Club in Fontana.

Their two children grew up around the lake and now live in Williams Bay. Their three granddaughters are here too, which often makes a Saturday a mix of horses, t-ball, swim lessons and the beach.

Joel is a past president of the local Jaycees and a past chairman of Lake Geneva's Venetian Festival.

Luxury. Lake. Golf. Town & Country. It describes both the market where Kim and Joel work and the place where they have built their life.

The LakeGenevaWeekend.com connection

LakeGenevaWeekend.com is Kim and Joel's guide to events, dining, recreation and community life around the lake. It is the lifestyle companion to YourWiscoHome.com.

YourWiscoHome helps buyers evaluate properties and helps sellers understand the real estate market. LakeGenevaWeekend helps people understand the place: what is happening, how the communities differ and what life around the lake feels like across the seasons.

The site works because Kim and Joel are not writing about the area from a distance. They are at the fish fry, on the water and at many of the same events they cover.

For buyers, that local context helps answer a question that comes before the property search: what would it actually be like to spend time or live here?

For sellers, it creates a second path to reach people who are already interested in the Lake Geneva lifestyle before they begin evaluating individual homes. There is a longer explanation of how that works for a listing.

Why work with Kim and Joel Reyenga?

• More than 50 years of combined real estate experience
• Local roots in the Lake Geneva and Delavan area
• A husband-and-wife team with complementary skills
• Construction and practical property knowledge
• Renovation, property-management and listing-preparation experience
• Golf-community and resort-market expertise
• Buyer representation and listing strategy
• Experience with vacation homes and out-of-area clients
• Experience with inherited and estate-related property sales
• A teaching approach built around informed decisions
• The combined reach of YourWiscoHome.com and LakeGenevaWeekend.com

Kim and Joel Reyenga are affiliated with eXp Realty LLC and serve buyers and sellers throughout the Lake Geneva and Southern Lakes Region.

Start a Lake Geneva area real estate conversation