Pulte Homes

1. The banisters on the balcony were not bolted to the walls, they were only bolted to the floor. This is a major safety hazard in our opinion. Several of my neighbors have reported this safety issue as well.

2. They do not use primer to paint their interiors and my neighbor suspects the white paint is watered down. Any small brush against the wall (even if you nudge it with your shoulder) leads to the white paint coming off in streaks revealing a dark gray coat underneath, which is likely the color of the sheet rock/dry wall. This would not happen if you used a coat of primer.

3. The two bathrooms' GFI's are wired together so when you trip one with the hair dryer all the outlets are tripped in both bathrooms. I am not an electrician but even my 100 year old home in Rochester had separate lines and breakers for the bathrooms.

4. The rooms have individual thermostats and no centralized thermostat, there is no way to connect a Nest or EcoBee if you are energy conscious.

5. Some of the outlets were faulty, I counted 3.

We talked to the Pulte foreman and onsite managers, all of whom told us that they will not fix these issues, even the banister safety issue; despite being 2 months into the 1 year warranty on the brand new townhouse. We had to pay for all the repairs ourselves. For anyone interested in these homes, we advise you to find a very thorough inspector (ours was obviously not) and go through the home with a fine comb because Pulte will not repair anything after you have paid for it.

A few of our my neighbors have discussed these issues and we agree that it is likely the result of cost cutting and cutting corners. In our combined experiences we have not seen new homes this poorly constructed, or dealt with a more irresponsible construction group. We suspect Pulte is trying to sell these homes fast before the mortgage interest rates skyrocket. I was told they have been denying requests to repair these issues because they have run out of their repair budget already on the first few townhouses they sold.

The report says or mentioned a lot of upgrades next to the code, the actual Final delivery was poorly made fixtures and cabinets which were poorly designed.. Make sure sales gives you a detailed report in plain English of what you’re purchasing and shows you what you’re actually purchasing. Every day was be like Christmas. As the home was built we got to see what they called an upgrade was actually cheap substandard products. We are still dealing with property that was not graded or leveled for drainage. The sides of our home as well as the backyard is a swamp land that grows mold. I’ve never seen a water meter box fill up with water when there is no leak from the actual water meter, my neighbors just run their sprinkler system.

After you close on your home you can just about forget that there was a punch list because construction is unresponsive and uncooperative with unreasonable resolutions. They know once they’ve got that $10,000 that you are not gonna to break your earnest money contract when you see their poor construction and workmanship. Once you’ve closed now you’re behind the eight ball. I don’t recommend Pulte, But I’m certain that’s obvious by this review. Since closing we have found there is a huge drainage problem in our backyard is a swamp. Pulte does not Vet its contractors. As far as I can tell the company they are using to make the repairs does not even have a license or insurance.

Our 'Celebration Day', which is supposed to be the day you walk through your finished house was not a finished house walk through. They were still finishing the house then and well into the week after we took possession - shutters, corbels, paint and patch, carpet tack downs, etc. We are still waiting on a replacement cabinet that they have ordered and delivered an incorrect part for three times. A BIG issue is the landscaping, which we didn't get installed until 18 weeks later. We knew of the seasonal delay but did NOT know we would have zero input into the landscaping on our property. They offer 'packages' with no options or input from the homeowner. All discretion is left to whatever third party landscaper they choose and the plants they want to give you.

I had to fight and get the boss of my field manager involved to remove the plants that were toxic to my dog and ones I was highly allergic to. They removed them, gave them back to the landscaper, offered no additional remedy or refund though we had spent many thousands on this landscaping. They also were false about what our village and HOA required, which we discovered by contacting those parties on our own.

You will also find that getting any warranty work is extremely difficult. At this point, we have already been through 2 warranty managers and the current one doesn't even know how to interpret warranty details. She has threatened to mark us void of our warranty twice, which we resolved through her management. They apologized for her lack of knowledge. Overall, this is not a bad home in quality of the build. You just have to ask everything in great detail and push them very hard for any communication. Remember, this is YOUR home and just their JOB. Know what is important to you and push for it. Also, retain your own legal counsel as a stand-by and to monitor the process on your behalf.

I am a single woman and almost every contractor including the warranty person has made comments about how women cannot fix/install/work on a house. 2 years after moving in my hardwood floors are coming apart in multiple areas. I attribute this to poor installation. There is a long crack in my foundation but it is not big enough to fix. Yet, with the flooring issue and my cabinets have come off the wall, I feel maybe this crack is the root cause. Pulte is refusing to do anything.

One of the shower pans has had a crack in it since I moved in. This apparently got lost as so many larger issues had to be resolved, replaced damaged furnace, hood stove, stairs, long list. At 1 year warranty they said they would fix it, still not fixed. When I reached back out to warranty they are now saying the homeowner damaged it and refusing to have it fixed. It is disappointing to build a large home with a company and get this kind of treatment. I do not recommend building a house with Pulte and I will never again.