A Great Partner in Creating a Dream-Come-True We knew we needed a different house, so we'd been tossing around the idea of either building or buying and had a pretty hard time finalizing a decision. Everything (in every price range) pre-built would still require renovations to suit our taste. Finally, in Spring of 2016, we went to a Parade of Homes and decided a custom build would be the best decision for us. We met Greg Drusch at Cypress and we discussed our ideas. We found the perfect lot in a new subdivision and Greg helped us navigate through the sale process, then we were off and running! I'm a "planner", which (from my perspective) was advantageous to this process. I polled everyone I knew who had built a house and asked them 1) What's the smartest thing you did? and 2) What's your biggest "wish I would've"? Planning helped things run VERY smoothly, since we didn't need to take much time to think about details. I started an 'inspiration' album and planned out the look of the overall home, as well as each room. I took the Karalyn plan (as a base) and flipped it for Feng Shui purposes. This way, the master was at the back right of the house and the office was at the front. I made extensive customizations to the plan using Microsoft Paint, of all things! Greg took my modifications in stride and updated the official plans while I handed over my Inspiration Book. The rough-draft plan required minimal decision making, since Cypress had already incorporated my ideas into the Bid plan. Cypress handled all our customizations with ease, including the many vintage or reclaimed pieces we incorporated into the build. Examples of some of our customizations that Cypress included into initial Bid: * Wool insulation * Pre-defined choices based on Samples I'd collected o Paint colors and Low VOC o Bamboo & Cork Flooring o Quartz Island countertop * Specific sinks and shower doors in Master * Specific door styles to be used throughout the house, and front entry * Cabinet and trim style and color * SMART enabled appliances (such as furnace, humidifier, etc) * Buried sump lines We spent a lot of time coming up with a Wish List before we ever met with Cypress. Our Planning and build process ran VERY smoothly. More often than not, I felt we were all on the same page even before working with the Designer to make on-the-fly decisions. Not everything went as planned - and I wouldn't expect it to! Building a house is a huge project and there are bound to be some misses. We decided to roll with some of the mishaps because they weren't game-changers. A small shelf on the design was missed? It's fine, we'll build one out of reclaimed wood and it'll look great! The pantry goes all the way to the ceiling instead of leaving a 'plant shelf' at the top? That's fine, now we have a place to put our kitchen clock! You can have your dream home even if everything doesn't happen 'perfectly' along the way. Luckily our schedules were flexible enough to allow one or both of us to be on-site nearly every day of the construction process. Things move VERY fast and it was helpful to be around for questions and have knowledge of what's happening. One day I noticed a vent housing was placed in a closet wall. Would've been fine except our barn door wouldn't have been able to slide over it. Because we noticed it early, it was easily moved the next day - BEFORE the HVAC was installed. Timing is everything! Also, I loved walking around the site every day to capture snaps of the progression. I've always dreamt of being able to help design our Craftsman style dream home (as eco-friendly as possible) and involving my father in the project. Cypress made it very easy to bring my dad into various parts of the project and kept in touch with us to help coordinate timing needs. We enjoyed so many of the contractors we met along the way, too. We did have 2 lingering issues that extended into and beyond our warranty period. We had a furnace that clunked, and we had a bay window that had been water damaged and was challenging to resolve. We kept in touch with Cypress on the progress and, most importantly, they stuck with us to make it right. Cypress helped us build our dream home and we found ~90% of the process to be INCREDIBLY fun! We had so much fun working with Greg! He really took the time to get to know us - to understand our needs, our wants and our budget. Greg was an Exceptional partner on #teammelrosemeadows and we wouldn't trade this experience for the world. He provided many great ideas, from cost savings to building in creative storage. At Cypress, they know they're bringing someone's dream to life and will go to great lengths to help achieve that goal. We have such amazing memories of this process. We have the home of our dreams - which includes our own personalized customizations, and the handiwork of my dad. Cypress made it possible. Thank You. read more

We've been in our new home for one year. While we love the house, we would not choose to work with Cypress Homes again, given their lack of responsiveness over the past year. We were initially drawn to Cypress by the high quality of their work. We worked with Josh, who was truly exceptional. We appreciated how responsive he was to our questions and concerns. He worked really hard to get us the home we wanted for our unique lot. The frustrations began when we transitioned from sales to project management. The project manager rarely responded to questions, and when he did, it was often with inaccurate or misleading information. The months of poor communication continued right up to the final walk through. It was visible that the excavator did not do a proper job of grading on three sides of our house. The Contract Specifications state, "The grader will slope the terrain to provide drainage away from the foundation...The finished grade of the soil shall slope away from the dwelling at a rate of at least 1/2" per foot for a minimum distance of 10'..." In multiple spots, the grade actually slopes toward the house and the foundation by about five inches, leading to standing water against the foundation. It's been an entire year of calling and emailing, and Cypress has still not met the contract language. Initially, I emailed, called, and texted the project manager about this problem. He never responded. I spent thousands of dollars fixing the drainage problem myself on two sides of the house shortly after we moved in. Because the house is under a one-year warranty, I expected to work with the office staff this spring to resolve the remaining issue on one side of our home. I was right to be concerned. Thawing snow and early spring rain quickly revealed the sloping grade toward the house. Water pooled against the foundation, leading our sump pump to cycle every two minutes for more than a week. For more than three months, I have emailed and called to explain the issue and seek resolution. The lack of response has been stunning. One year after we moved in, the issue is unresolved. Final recommendation: If you want a quality new home, Cypress Homes will likely deliver. But if you want a quality new home and seek a positive building experience (contract upheld, professional and timely communication, etc.), take your business elsewhere. read more

We would like to thank Cypress Homes for making our first-time home build a wonderful experience. Shannon patiently listened to all of our requests and made great design suggestions. She always answered questions promptly. Taya, who is extremely organized, made the design process go smoothly. The Cypress design center kept a large variety of finishes in one convenient location. Contractors on-site took the time to ask us detailed questions about what we wanted right down to the smallest detail. They were courteous, provided quality craftsmanship, and cared about our input. We were very please when our custom home was finished ahead of schedule. A high level of excellence was shown by everyone on the team, and we cannot thank Cypress Homes enough for building our forever home! read more

We interviewed many different builders before deciding on Cypress and are so glad that we did. They listened to everything we wanted and helped guide us to get us our dream home for exactly the budget we wanted to stay within. Our house turned out exactly how we wanted. Shannon was wonderful to work with as a contact person and realtor on our old home, Taya helped us pick out the exact finishes we wanted without pushing her opinion on us, and Ian and Devon were wonderful project managers who kept us in loop every step of the way. We couldn't be happier and know we will love this house for many years to come. read more

The Cypress Family, in a way, become my 2nd family. They guided me through the dreaming, designing, planning and building of my new home with professionalism and with care for the customer. From the initial conferences with Shannon, design meetings with Taya and to the onsite walkthroughs with Chris and Larry, the Cypress team worked with a positive attitude to educate me on the homebuilding process and keep me informed of its progress. I'm very satisfied with the quality craftsmanship and beauty of my house. I love my new home! Thank you Cypress Homes & Realty! read more

We were so impressed with Cypress Homes. From the beginning and well past our move in, Shannon was instrumental in us feeling like we could make this happen. Sold our previous home, built a beautiful new home and made sure every detail was how it should be once we moved in. The sub-contractors were of such high quality and had great attention to detail. Taya was great with helping us to make sure we didn't make any decisions we'd regret. Very happy we made the leap. read more

Absolutely fantastic home builder!!! Cypress built a custom home for us and we cannot say enough about their exceptional quality and customer service. Their team and contractors were all very experienced and paid attention to even the smallest of details. They listened to us and built our dream home. We highly recommend Cypress!!! read more

This was our first time building and we would do it again. The process was easy and organized. Working with Shannon to design a home that would meet our needs while staying within budget was a great experience. Shannon went above and beyond with helping us sell our house and was very flexible. Chris was great with communication and kept things moving along so we could be in our new home for Christmas. Taya new our style and made picking items for our home easy. We love our beautiful home! Our only regret is that we wish we would have done it sooner. read more

We built our dream home with Cypress. It was such a fast and easy experience from beginning to end. Everyone we worked with was so nice and clearly in our corner. Greg was great all through the initial process and once construction started Jackie was our go-to person who took all of the stress off of our plates. We couldn't be happier with how our home turned out! read more

We recently completed our build with Cypress Homes and we could not be more pleased. We live out of state, so all our interactions were done remotely - mostly email and FaceTime. Even the closing was done remotely. We worked mostly with Taya, their designer. She was excellent. She's very organized and really nice to work with. Shannon and Tim were also great. Our new house turned out beautifully and we'd highly recommend Cypress Homes. read more

Had a house build in 2016. Terrible experience. They use quality material but they don't use quality craftsmen to install material.14 months later still trying to get warranted items replaced or fixed. Terrible costumer service after build. In house designer acted like we were wasting her time and had more important things to do than help us.The list can go on and on . To make a long horrible story short stay away from cypress homes.Worst experience we ever had building a home. read more

We've built before but never with Cypress until this last house. They were outstanding. Shannon was so easy to work with. We've never had everything so well organized and they use excellent subcontractors that provided high quality workmanship. Better yet we had no surprises and the house was built right on schedule and on budget! read more

I just cannot express how thankful I am for Cypress homes. We met with a lot of builders to find the right fit and as soon as we found Cypress we knew we found the right builders!! We LOVED building our home with them! It was SO EASY, quick and such an amazing process!! Greg was AMAZING to work with! He was kind, professional, and made our dreams come true! He found a way to build our dream house in our budget (under even!). When you call, ask for Greg!! Chris was also SUPER helpful along our home build and kept us in the loop the entire time! He answered all of our questions along the way and kept the build on time! They have AMAZING quality, teamwork and communication. I HIGHLY recommend them to anyone!! I could go on and on about them and how thankful I am for them!! Thank you Cypress for an amazing experience! :) read more

We purchased a second home from Cypress Homes and later finished the basement with them.......we can't say enough about how we enjoy the finished product!!!! They have an excellent business model and team that is professional, responsive and customer centric. As we have dealt with many builders over the years, we can vouch that Cypress Homes' process is definable, consistent and repeatable. They have honored their commitments and promises to us......they are to be trusted. We would wish to recognize Shannon Meyer, Devon Engelbretson, Taya Lund, and Tim Stuebs for their service and support. read more

We've had a horrible experience with Cypress Homes after purchasing a new home from them in 2008. They refused to honor their home warranty and our entire driveway will need to be replaced at a cost of $6000 because of their contractor. STAY AWAY!!! read more

We are first time homeowners, and we worked with Greg from Cypress Homes to find our dream home. He was excellent to work with and dedicated to finding us the perfect first house. We couldn't be more thankful for his help and guidance in the entire process, and we feel comfortable with our home-buying experience. We look forward to working with Cypress in the future! read more

We purchased a new condo by Cypress in De Pere which was to be finished by the end of July 2016 but we were not able to move in until the middle of October 2016. There was a lot of defects in the unit after we moved in which we are still trying to resolve. Cypress promised to see us on a quarterly basis to check on the status. This did not happen. We finally resorted to calling the subcontractors ourselves to get things finalized before the warranty runs out. Stay far away from Cypress - they like to cut corners, do poor work, and don't follow up on necessary repairs. read more

Cypress Homes did not provide the service that we asked for or they promised. Instead they took the liberty to design a home much larger in size than our budget with specifications that were not firm. In addition, Greg could not explain why the bid of the home was higher when meeting with us or within days of the bid meeting. Consequently Cypress Homes asked us to pay for their mistakes and laziness in bidding a house for us. Yes, we signed a contract saying we would pay the design fees if we did not build with Cypress Homes, but at the time of signing we believed Cypress Homes had every intention of wanting to obtain our business and work with us. Essentially, Cypress Homes chose not to build a home for us. We do not want others to go through the challenges we had with Cypress Homes. Cypress Homes needs to acknowledge their short comings and treat customers with respect. read more

We worked with Devon on our new home build as well as selling our previous home. Devon is awesome! He is very knowledgeable about the home building process and has a high level of integrity to make sure things are done correctly and to our satisfaction. It was like building a house with a friend. After the build there were some communication issues in the warranty department to finish up some things. This has changed drastically with the hiring of Tim in the warranty department. Tim is very responsive and knowledgeable. Most things he can take care of himself. The quality of our build was excellent and we are very satisfied. read more

We had a terrible experience with Cypress Homes. After having a house built by them in 2013 we had several complaints of shabby construction. Many things needed repair or replacement. They sent out people but many things were not fixed properly. I continued to approach them about these unsatisfactory issues but they said that their warranty had ceased and would not do anything more. Avoid the headache of having Cypress build your home. Stay clear. read more