Sponsored by Victory Homes of Wisconsin
For the last 18 years, Victory Homes of Wisconsin has been working with clients to manifest their vision into a luxury home their family will treasure for generations to come. Their expert team of sales representatives, architects, contractors and designers work with clients every step of the way to ensure a seamless process that results in a home beyond your expectations.
To learn more, and to get a look inside their newest model home — which is featured in the 2021 MABA Parade of Homes — we spoke with Vice President of Sales David Roembke.
Building Your Dream Home
Victory Homes has several model homes throughout the greater Madison territory — as well as having multiple virtual home tours. What’s the value in having these model homes for clients to physically walk through, and what do you hope clients gain from the experience?
Our business model has always been to have several open models for our experienced sales team to work out of and to be able to educate our customers as they tour our homes. We like to show a variety of finishes and selections since we are a custom builder. This helps our customers when designing and building their home with us. The websites are great, and so are virtual tours, but to physically walk through our models helps our customers touch and feel our homes. We hope our clients gain a better understanding of what makes Victory Homes different in the market, and to be able to talk to one of our sales representatives, so that any questions they have about the process, the quality and the experience can be answered.
How much can be customized within a Victory Home?
Our clients can customize their homes quite a bit, either starting with our base designs and modifying them, or bringing their own ideas to create a one-of-a-kind, custom home. Each customer meets with our in-house design team — a unique part of our process that helps us understand our customers’ needs and wants and ensures that we capture those elements in every home. We’ve not built the same house twice, which is a testament to how our company functions, and we take pride in delivering a unique experience to each of our customers.
What features are included in the price of your homes?
Well, because we are custom, the sky is the limit on what you can incorporate into your design and specs. However, to name some of the major elements that are included in the price of the build:
- Andersen 400 series windows
- masonry on the exterior
- three-car garages
- custom cabinets and granite/quartz countertops throughout
- tile shower in the owner’s suite
- hardwood floors throughout and tile in the bathrooms and laundry room
- R23-BIBS insulation
- lifetime dimensional shingles
- large base/case millwork
- solid-core interior two-panel doors
Are there extra features you recommend to your clients?
Depending on the customer and how much involvement they want and, of course, keeping the budget in mind, we always recommend certain upgraded features. For example, we may recommend adding a zone to their HVAC system to make all areas of the house more comfortable.
Other options we may recommend are adding a deck, finishing the lower level (and customizing/personalizing those areas) or adding fireplace details. If they are looking for a modern aesthetic, we talk about different millwork and doors, different shiplap details, et cetera …
Because of our long history in this business, we can also share cool and interesting features that other clients have integrated into their homes, which can spark some design ideas that the current client may not have considered.
Do clients need to have a parcel of land acquired, or is that something your team can help with?
We are a scattered-site builder, meaning that most of what we build is on our customer’s land. Typically, our customers come to us with a property they are considering or have already purchased. Of course, our licensed real estate agents and sales reps can source land in area subdivisions, larger parcels or even lake properties. And we also search out worthwhile developments and purchase multiple lots to allow our sales team to offer home/lot packages to our clients. This is rare for builders to offer, but it has worked out well for us. You can find our current inventory listed on our website.
Are there elements of Victory Homes’ houses that are unique to your team and build process?
I think the customization and quick turnaround of plans is what sets us apart. We also make sure we understand what they want in their homes at the design stage to avoid a lot of change orders after they sign a contract. That’s our goal.
We have several job managers, with years of experience, that help walk our customers through the build process after the sales team has taken them through the design/pricing/sales process. The hand-off between departments is seamless, and our customers enjoy the processes we have in place to ensure a fun and less stressful build experience.
Home Trends and Inspo-Worthy Projects
What home elements are trending right now, and which ones are you really excited about?
We are seeing an increase in modern styles and designs, including modern farmhouse and midcentury modern. Customers are liking lighter colors for their exteriors with black windows; waterfall islands; modern cabinets and countertops; and fun and unique custom tile showers with body sprays, rain heads, etc. … Many of our customers are personalizing their lower levels with basketball courts, batting cages, swimming pools, large theater/entertainment areas, golf simulators and swanky bars!
Tell us about a previous project you’re proud of.
One of my proudest moments is being involved with a good friend of the business, who had built with us once before. We designed a 12,000-square-foot custom lake home, and there was a ton of planning that went into this project. We are getting close to completion, and it is turning out amazing — [it has an] indoor pool, multiple bars and entertaining areas, a covered Spancrete porch with an outdoor kitchen and nanowalls that enclose the area, an outdoor shower for rinsing off the lake water and sand, and a golf simulator — to name a few of the unique features of this house. It’s a project that I will never forget!
What do you love about this career?
One of the best things about this career in home building is working closely with our sales team and clients. It’s very rewarding to capture the customers’ ideas, put them into a design and understand their specs and budget so that we can put everything together in the form of a functional and beautiful home. When the customers move into their dream home, it’s an amazing feeling, and to watch their reactions is priceless.
