Green Building Secrets

Don't let builders fool you with big talk about green building.

Yes, green building is good, however what most consumers don't understand is the marketing side of it. Is this builder just trying to tell me what I want to hear, just to get me through the door? The answer most of the time may just be YES!

I do tend to chuckle sometimes as I read other builders advertisements about the quality of their homes. Not saying that they aren't quality, but when you advertise something like...

"All our Homes meet LEED requirements for Green Building Certification"

This most likely is very true, at least I hope it is. LEED Certification has many levels of certification as it is a point based rating system. The more points the better rating your home can achieve. The levels go something like this: Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum.
So here is the funny part, if your home was built in Wisconsin in accordance to Wisconsin's Building Codes and an inspector signed off on your home, you now have enough points to achieve LEED's certified level of certification. This statement in it's self tells you that if you are a builder in Wisconsin, you can make the above statement no matter what your specifications are as long as they meet the states requirements.

Willow Creek's stand on Green Building:
We are here to build you a custom home, and with that said we would love to get a chance to sit down with you and explain all your options along with pricing and design your home to meet your needs and your budget...
...and yes, we meet and exceed LEED certification.

For more information on this topic give Willow Creek Homes a call today!
You CAN afford to build, let us show you how!

Housing Market Tip:

If you are one of many people with their home on the market right now, remember this;

Although the market has lowered home values up to 20% right now, the new construction market follows the same trend. Most people come to us thinking that they couldn't afford them home they once wanted, but a home that was 250,000.00 three years ago would be very close to 200,000.00 today!
What Willow Creek is trying to say, is that for every dollar that you lose on your home, you should be able to make up in new construction right now! The cost is just that LOW!
Add to that new materials that weren't available years back, better building techniques, unsurpassed customer service, and a builder that doesn't cut corners. Your left with nothing but happy customers!

Willow Creek Homes
"You CAN afford to build, let us show you how!"

TAX CREDIT EXTENDED!

Great news for Builders, and GREAT NEWS FOR YOU!

Not only has the government extended the deadline for the $8,000.00 First-time home buyer tax credit, but now they have added a $6,500.00 Tax Credit for EVERYONE ELSE!

Get all the details by stopping into our office, or log onto:
www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com

Thanks for stopping by our blog,
Willow Creek Homes Staff

September Brings Fall Savings

Check out our promotions page on WillowCreekHomes.net

Now we are offering $5,000.00 off any of our lots available in three subdivisions in the beautiful town of Watertown! Stop in today to see locations or simply log onto the website and select subdivisions at the top!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Thank you again for considering Willow Creek Homes,
Willow Creek Homes Staff

June Promotion! Tax Match!

All month of June we are offering a last chance incentive to push the huge tax credit the government is offering. As many people don't know the tax credit applies to people when they acquire occupancy for the home, not when you sign a contract! So, to us as a builder to build a new home we can only offer this tax credit to people thru the end of this month. DON'T MISS THE BOAT!!

This month we are offering to match the tax credit dollar for dollar, meaning a savings on new construction of $16,000.00 off our base price. This offer is only good on our house and lot packages, and only until June 30th 2009.

Please visit the promotion page on our website for more information, or give us a call!
www.willowcreekhomes.net
920.206.1313

Thank you for your time,
Willow Creek Homes Staff

May Promotion:

Build on our lot and save! In the entire month of may Willow Creek Homes is slashing lot pricing by $5,000.00 as an extra incentive to get you springing into your new home!

Stop into our models or pop into our downtown Watertown's Main Street office for more information.

If your interested in where the lots are located, size, and pricing, simply navigate to our website under the 'SUBDIVISIONS' category and all the information is at your fingertips!

Community Link:

Willow Creek Homes has now finished it's community link on our website. This page will continue to be updated over time with new links to local quality businesses. It is our goal at Willow Creek Homes to fill out your experience as a home builder and expand on our service level. We want to provide you with information on all areas of our wonderful town of Watertown.
The Link can be found on our pop-up site index in the lower left corner of your screen on out website.

www.WillowCreekHomes.net

Thank you for your time,
Willow Creek Homes Staff

April Promotion!

If your looking for that perfect home, Willow Creek may just have what your looking for! Typically we always have a model home built and ready to show, but after enough people have seen it, it's time to move on and build a different model. So, when that time comes, we sweeten the pot a bit so that in the end you have a deal you can't pass up.

April Promotion:
For More Details Click Here
The Bentley Model (House and Lot Package $194,900.00)

But thats not all, below we are going to offer three catagories to pick one item from each to be included in your home package price. The concept is; get what you want, built the package that best fits your needs!

Category #1 ($3,000.00 Value) please pick one item
a.) Buy down your Interest rate on loan by 0.5%
(Equates to more than $20,000 in savings over the course of a 30 year loan.)
b.) Concrete driveway and walkway to front door

Category #2 ($1,500.00 Value) please pick one item
c.) American TV $1,500 Furniture or Appliance Allowance
d.) Final Grade and Seeded Lawn

Category #3 ($500.00 Value) please pick one item
e.) 32” Toshiba 16:9 1080i/720p HDTV
(Depending on stock of item or availability, we reserves the right to equal substitutions)
f.) $500.00 Gift Card to multiple locations, call for details

Community Page: Coming Soon!

Welcome to all , Willow Creek plans to make a community page for our newly redesigned website. This community page will consist of area business that I deal with on a regular basis. Willow Creek highly recommends these businesses and they are sure to give you nothing short of top notch service! Stay tuned, and we will have you linked into all of the Watertown's finest!

Thank you for you time,
Willow Creek Homes Staff

Face Lift Frenzy

WillowCreekHomes.net is now undergoing what I like to call a major face lift! While trying to keep our website full of valuable and helpful information, it sometimes becomes hard to focus on keeping the look and feel of the website fresh. So stay tuned, in the following days I will upload the completed new look to Willow Creek Homes website. Along with changing the look, I have added many new features to the website, this blog being one of them!

We all hope you enjoy surfing the NEW Willow Creek Homes Website!

Thank you for your time,
Willow Creek Homes Staff

Promotions Going on NOW!

Lately I have noticed that every builder out there has a “promotion” going on. What is disturbing to me is that not all of them are truly promotions, they are just disguised gimmicks that get you in the door. So which ones should you look out for? The golden rule states that if it seems too good to be true it usually is! It's Willow Creek’s experience that in construction this is true for the most part, however the key is to look for the real value or savings. In some cases there are some amazing pricing deals to be had in the industry right now because costs are so low.

The number one gimmick in the building trade right now is (can’t sell your house? We’ll buy it!) builders buying peoples houses to get them to build.

Q: Do they actually buy any houses?
A: Yes, but read on…

…here is what you need to know before you walk in the door thinking you don’t even need to worry about an agent selling your home. Every builder offering a promotion like this can be a bit different, however the key components are typically the same. Willow Creek refers to all the stipulations not on a cover of a promotion as “red tape”! The following are just a few examples of the red tape you may find with a promotion like this.
1.) They will only buy your home if you build with them
2.) They are only willing to pay lower than assessed value
(typically 80%)
3.) They also will make you aware that you have to be building a larger or more expensive home than currently trying to sell. No downsizing allowed.

So with that said, It may have gotten you in their door, but it probably doesn’t get your home sold. In certain instances this may work for you; however Willow Creek doesn’t want to risk that others may get discouraged that most people were unaware of all details ahead of time.

Now let's focus on Willow Creek, what are we doing? Currently during the month of March we are offering a Pick your house, pick your Lot for $185,000 Promotion

House & Lot for $185,000.00 (All-Inclusive Home Pricing)
True value all the way, we have four models to choose from and multiple locations to choose from for your land. All necessary permits, fees, municipality hook-ups, and any other cost to you the customer for building your home and moving in are included. This is nothing more than an incentive for you to build on out lot, instead of somewhere else, during a few of our slower months during the year. So take advantage of some true savings, that’s a true promotion!

Thank you for your time,
Dan Schmidt
Willow Creek Homes Staff

Threat in Construction

Recently I was ask a question by a fellow businessman in the community about my political views on a few items. He asked me if I could pinpoint one thing in my business that was threatened by this economy, what it was, and what was the threatening factor. The reply was simple to me, as Willow Creek Homes has a very good feel on where we stand in this economy.
My answer was this;

"It comes down to one thing, job security...
...If you have job security their really isn't anything else stopping someone who has a ready willing and able desire to build. It is a perfect time to build, even though the housing market is down, so are building costs. People in almost every industry today have a real fear of losing their jobs, and with that fear why would someone
rush out and take on more debt."

If your not familiar with me yet, I am not afraid of a good political debate. Not that I want people to be fearful of a debate, because a good debate can be fun and very educational. I think that is what makes this nation the best nation in the world, freedom of speech and the ability to voice our opinions and make a difference!

Get involved, make a difference!

Thank you for your time,
Dan Schmidt
Willow Creek Homes Staff

Stimulus Package: Housing Sector

Willow Creek Homes wants you, the average consumer to know a few things. President Obama is making changes and even though they won't fix the market overnight, they will change our industry. Most changes or benefits that are outlined in the stimulus package directly affect the first time buyer. Items such as the $8,000.00 Tax credit that now doesn't even have to be paid back. Also their are amazing rates on 30 year mortgages through FHA, now these rates do hinge on a consumers credit score. The amount of changes in not only the building market, but the mortgage industry are changing at an unforeseen rate and for the average person this simply becomes confusing.

The educated staff at Willow Creek Homes welcomes you at no obligation to simply stop on by an open house or come on into our offices to talk about all these changes. We have made it a point to not only know what is offered to you, but understand it and relay that information to you in a way that you can understand it. Most people think that the market is horrible, but they don't go as far as weighing all factors into the equation.

"Let us help, we would love to talk to you!"

Thank you for your time,
Willow Creek Homes Staff