Testimonials | LeMense Quality Homes

My wife and I took our time planning to build a new home. We attended four different Brown County Tour of Homes events and got a chance to meet several builders. From the start, Mark set himself apart from the rest. He was very easy to talk to, and seemed to genuinely care what we wanted in a home. His homes stood out with their quality of workmanship and attention to detail.

When we did finally decide on a floor plan, we chose Mark to build our home. Throughout the process, Mark was right on schedule and kept us up to date on our timelines. This was very important to us, as we have very hectic schedules. Mark’s subcontractors were very friendly and always willing to answer questions and explain things to us. Their attitudes were amazingly good, despite the fact that we built in the winter and sometimes the weather was horrible!

The two biggest worries we always heard people say about building were costs spiraling out of control and jobs not getting done on time. Mark was done with our home exactly when he said he would be, and other than a few minor upgrades that we chose after getting started, the cost was exactly what Mark said it would be. I was very impressed with the fact that Mark managed our project as accurately as he did.

Most importantly, Mark is a very personable guy. He made the building process fun. He’s very easy to get along with, and very down to earth. I think the ability to be that easy-going comes from the fact that he is confident in the abilities of everyone involved in the building process.

From the start, Mark encouraged us to have friends and family stop in and observe the building process. We had tons of friends and family stop by and all were impressed with the quality of building materials and assembly process. Since our home has been finished, visitors constantly comment on the quality of our home and the attention to detail.

Building a new home can be very intimidating. The whole idea of hoping you have the floor plan you’ve always wanted and then transforming something on paper into reality can be scary. If you want the job done right, contact Mark and go see his work. You will be glad you did!

Joe and Stephanie
Peshtigo, WI

Mark has been such a great builder to work with. My husband and I looked at over 50 different homes before we found the floor plan we had been looking for and in our price range. Our house is built with quality at an affordable price. Mark is great at following up with his clients and all of his subcontractors were such a pleasure to work with! When we build in the future, Mark will be the builder we will work with. Our first building experience was the best building experience.

Eric and Katie

My wife and I really enjoyed working with LeMense Quality Homes. Prior to building we researched several builders and felt LeMense Quality Homes gave us the best mix of personal service combined with a sound quality product. Mark made us feel comfortable with the building process from beginning to end. The quality of the final product was first rate and the building experience was very enjoyable. I'd have no reservations building with LeMense Quality Homes in the future.

Tom and Kelly

We really enjoyed working with Lemense Quality Homes. This was our first time building, yet we felt comfortable because Mark guided us through each step of the process. Initially, he helped us choose design elements that would add to the value of our home. During the building process he was up front with everything from the timeframe to changes and costs, so there were no surprises at the end. Mark and his subcontractors showed professionalism and had great communication. They were available to us whenever we had questions and made adjustments whenever we requested.

It is clear Mark truly enjoys what he does. He has an easy-going style, yet he’s dedicated to doing the best for his customers. We are extremely happy with the quality of our home and would not hesitate to build with Mark again.

Carla

In mid 2005, my wife and I decided to relocate from Appleton,WI back to our hometown of Green Bay. As we considered which area of the community we wanted to live in, we were pretty convinced that we would buy an existing home rather than build a custom home. Frankly the idea of building a home was never something either my wife or I felt would be a pleasurable experience. In our past, we have bought and sold 4 different homes. The idea of building a home seemed like too many headaches and too much work.

After weeks of looking at existing home we came down to this:
- If we found a home we liked....it wasn't on the lot we wanted
- If we found a home on the right lot....it wasn't the home we wanted

In mid December 2005 we made our decision....we are going to build the house we want on the lot we like...and Mark LeMense is going to be our builder. We had looked at other builders, but felt very comfortable with Mark's style and experience. As I was starting a new job in the area, the job of coordinating this "adventure" fell on my wife.

From the beginning of the project it was always clear that Mark was building Our Home. Sure he would give suggestions...but in the end, we were the customer. Mark and his team of sub contractors were always open / helpful / supportive of our ideas and questions. We picked a house plan from one that Mark had built for the 2005 Parade of Homes. Then we customized it to meet our dreams and expectations.

The home was completed in May of 2006 and met all of our expectations:
- On Time
- On Budget
- On Target

If you're reading this website you're probably wondering if you should choose Mark LeMense as your builder. From the experience of my wife and I....we say go for it, you won't regret the decision.

Jim and Mary

Dear Mark,

When our daughter told us about Mark’s positive reaction when she thanked him for his hard work and dedication during one of her several visits to the construction site, we got to thinking that maybe the construction business is like dentistry, teaching, or counseling. How so? Well, in our lines of work we almost never hear about the good things we do, but we not only hear about the things we could have done better, but we also see many ways we could have done better that nobody else even seems to notice. So, we live in a world rich in constructive criticism, and very rare praise. This letter is our attempt to change that just a little.

Here is only a partial list of the things we really appreciated about working with the Lemense family.

Mark helped us define what we wanted in the beginning even before we had a complete plan.
Mark allowed us to make many changes and kept them all in his head.
Mark let Reed work on a variety of aspects of the project and actually paid him for it!
The project started a week late and finished two weeks early!
Mark caught a number of sub-contractor errors that we would not have noticed until it was too late.
Even when he did not fully agree that a problem existed, Mark was able/willing to work as a go-between to help us get things fixed.
Mark did much of the work themselves with excellent quality results, and savings to us.
They helped us stay close to budget by:
a) selling us a door below cost,
b) negotiating so we did not need a culvert,
c) negotiating with the driveway company to reduce cost overruns, etc.
Mark did not lose his temper when almost anyone else would have.
Both of you kept the project moving by working on weekends.
Mark almost always returned his cell-phone calls within a few minutes.
You guys bought us lunch on at least two occasions.
Mark was always willing to hear and at least understand our concerns.
You both became friends, not just business associates.
You did not present us with an exhaustive list itemizing all of the special touches (stained-glass windows,
wood moldings in kitchen entries, two-colors, down-spout plumbing, extra concrete work, etc.).
Mark patiently helped us see things more clearly when he knew our ideas were not good ones (e.g. he helped us to see the value of accepting the larger windows in the master bedroom, he made it clear that a concrete patio would be less expensive and better than a deck, he made us feel confident about Jill’s brick arch when we were afraid to do it, he got us a great deal on our BIB insulation for which we will thank him a million times as the winters pass us by, etc.).
But, by far the best thing about working with Mark has been the end result. We designed our house with Mark’s help, and together, we built it. The end result is a home that suits us in so many ways that we are nearly overcome with gratitude.

We have no regrets about working with Lemense Quality Homes, and we will always remember the gentle care you both invested in helping us create our home.

Reed and Jill

Mark is a Quality builder. I've had a number of friends and family, who after seeing my home, complained about some of the workmanship in the homes they've built and comment on the quality of workmanship and materials in mine. I have had complete strangers pull into my driveway and ask to look at the house and ask who my builder was. After about three steps into our house, a friend of ours from Chicago stopped, looked around, and said that our home was "stunning." Mark is also a quality builder because he's easy to work with, always available, and on-site just about every day. If I ever build another home, I'll immediately call Mark to build it.

Larry