New builds require a team of professionals to guide the homeowner into creating a house that best fits their lifestyle and personality. Helping homeowners turn a blank slate to a fully designed space is often described as the best part of the job by designers, landscape professionals and lenders. The team is here to answer the question: what is your perfect home? 

A Home Reflects Who You Are

When it comes to your new home, no detail is too small. A home, after all, is a space all your own for you and your family to grow and flourish within. Dream House knows that your home is a space that should make you happy.

Creating new spaces, especially a whole new home, is naturally overwhelming. The professionals at Dream understand this and work to make the process as fun and stress-
free as possible. After a full set of plans is established, Dream will bid your project.

Your personal designer will work with you on any cabinetry areas in the home and provide you with complete 3D color renderings of your space, giving you the ability to see your new home as if
it were already built. If you decide your original selections don’t fit your needs or wants, don’t worry. Your Dream designer will be there with you every step of the way until you are fully satisfied and excited about the plans in front of you.

“Dream is a small family business, not another big-box store,” Dream House sales director Jerry Schmidt says. “We work with each family and take the time to talk through appliance selection, workflow and your style … no detail is overlooked. Our cabinetry can be designed to fit anyone’s style and look. You won’t find a team that’s as personal as the Dream Team.”

Dream knows how eager you’ll be about the development of your space, which is why your “Dream Team” will create a comprehensive timeline for your project, breaking it down week by week so you’re on the same page
until your space is complete.

“The overall style of people’s homes is a reflection of who they are,” Schmidt says. “You spend a lot of time in your home, so it should be
a space that makes you happy. When we put a design together for a homeowner and they know it is right for them, we’ve done our job right.”

Ground Affects

Transform Outdoor Space

Ground Affects has served the Madison-area community for nearly 25 years, transforming people’s outdoor spaces into something gorgeous. Priding themselves on quality and dedicated attention to detail, Ground Affects’ award-winning team creates fully customized land and hardscape projects unique to each client.

When it comes to your new home, Ground Affects has got you covered, whether you’re sprucing up the land of a home you bought or are building your new home and yard from scratch.

“We like to get involved as early in the building process as possible, which includes working with the homebuilder to integrate our design ideas with the house construction,” Ground Affects owner Tom Ball says.

This collaboration between your homebuilder and Ground Affects helps to create an outdoor space that’s not only customized, but also flows and functions seamlessly with your new home in the way that best suits you.

After an initial consultation that includes a property survey, designers will create comprehensive visual plans for your space in 3D, much like your homebuilder would. Once the design is finalized, it’s time for the space to begin coming to life.

“Many clients choose to have their installation process done in phases, to help with the budget,” Ball says. “We enjoy this aspect because it helps build a long and trusting partnership. We have some clients that we have been working with for over 20 years.”

With endless design ideas, material sources and greenery — and the ability to create both functional and pleasing spaces — it’s not hard to see why Ground Affects has been trusted with new home landscapes since 1996.

“My favorite part of landscaping a new home is going from a blank slate to a design and watching it all come together from just bare
soil to a beautiful yard,” Ball says.

A Great Time to Buy a Home

Unprecedented challenges to public health and the economy have impacted nearly every industry, including real estate, in 2020. Thankfully, there’s at least one silver lining:
Now is a terrific time to buy a brand-new home.

As spring approached, mortgage interest rates dropped, giving buyers a chance to save money.

According to Julio Rios, vice president of mortgage lending at UW Credit Union, a modest rate decrease can save a buyer thousands of dollars in interest over the life of the loan.

“If you were to borrow $250,000 at an interest rate of 3.25% rather than 3.5%, you could save $12,000 over the course of 30 years. That’s more than a year of in-state tuition at UW-Madison,” he says.

This savings could also fund a bathroom remodel, a new roof or other home upgrades. After all, one benefit of new construction is that it can often be customized to suit your needs. Whether you choose energy-efficient appliances to minimize your electricity bills or a music studio for family jam sessions, it’s a chance to put your stamp on your home.

Plus, during times of social distancing, there are new reasons to consider new construction. For the most part, homebuilding was able to continue under Wisconsin’s Safer at Home order. This brought many brand-new properties to the housing market. And virtual showings, such as video calls with real estate agents and construction companies, let buyers view homes safely and conveniently.

Whether you opt for a brand-new home or a pre-loved one, UW Credit Union can help you find the best mortgage for your situation.

“We truly believe in putting your best interest first, and our mortgage team is as friendly and knowledgeable as they come,” Rios says. “That’s why we’re voted one of Wisconsin’s top home loan lenders, year after year.”

Victory Homes of Wisconsin

Customized Unique Features

What makes the perfect home? Everyone has a different answer, and Victory Homes of Wisconsin works closely with its clients to achieve their unique goals.

Victory Homes, part of The Victory Companies, has spent 17 years growing a strong reputation as a leader in custom home design and building in the region. Its work has gained the company respect among its peers, including in the form of a 2018 Builder of the Year award from the Metropolitan Builders Association.

“That’s a distinguished award in our industry,” David Roembke, vice president of sales and a partner at Victory Homes, says. “We’re very proud of that.”

Roembke says Victory Homes is defined by its commitment to quality construction, extensive customization options and making the process enjoyable for clients.

Victory Homes works with clients from the earliest stages of design. Its three full-time in-house designers can turn simple ideas into detailed blueprints and even create a 3D walk-through model.

Victory Homes also has a team of vendors that can coordinate on exterior and interior fixtures so every detail matches what clients envision. Even at the building stage, Roembke says, clients have the unique ability to walk through the site and make changes in real time.

Custom designing also allows clients to have more creativity with certain features of their home. One popular trend is putting in a “hidden room” behind a wall or bookcase that’s revealed through the pushing of a button. That room can be anything from a child’s playroom to a hidden whiskey lounge.

“That’s not something you can pick out of a catalog,” Roembke says. “It’s a really neat feature.”

Other trends include large mudrooms with lockers, statement-making staircases, spa-like bathrooms and cozy kitchen nooks.

Roembke says the custom home experience isn’t just for people who already have their own ideas. Victory Homes’ designers can offer base ideas and concepts to help clients see their options and what fits their needs.

For more information, visit victoryhomesofwisconsin.com or call 733-1115.