Pulte Homes Reviews

My second advice is to be there at the construction site daily, and DO NOT believe your construction supervisor when you point out an issue and he says he will take care of it. You have to keep on them, and continually verify that it is done, or they will just try to cover up the issue -- literally! While it is hard to say to them, "Do not go on to the next phase until this is fixed," because you want your house to be done on time, but that is what you have to do. TAKE HUNDREDS OF PICTURES of every pipe, wire, wall, floor and ceiling from every angle, and at each stage of the process, so you have proof in case something breaks later.

Thirdly, do not assume that Pulte is looking out for your best interests by protecting any of the materials during construction. I could go on and on about this, but they will leave doors, molding, wall board and other materials out in the rain or in the humidity, with no protection. It will get damaged, warped, and moldy (here in the South), but they will install it anyway. You have to protect those materials yourself. Have rolls of plastic to cover up things, and take dated pictures of anything left out in the elements, even in the garage, to show proof that the item's storage was mishandled. Since workers pull off the protection, it often has to be put back on daily.

Finally, get a professional inspector. Don't let Pulte say "It isn't necessary." It absolutely is necessary! Pulte listens to inspectors (your own and from the county, who just checks safety basics). NEVER believe that Pulte's "inspectors" are looking out for your interests. They aren't. Make sure your own inspector is there to check each major stage of construction. This is critical, since the inspector knows what problems to look for, and can document the problem. Our inspector found things like missing outlets, improperly wired switches, an unfinished open vent in the attic (which would have caused us to forever cool the attic space), missing insulation, poorly aligned lights and ceiling vents, warped walls, broken tiles, etc.

So, take care. I have built four homes, and it seems like the subcontractors are getting worse as time goes on, so keep an eye on things, because Pulte won't. It will be extremely frustrating, because most of the Pulte subcontractors don't speak English (or act like they don't), so you cannot communicate with them. They come in for a couple days to do everything on their list at once, and by the time your Pulte supervisor shows up to look at the problem you have found, that crew will be off to another community, so everything will come to a standstill (sometimes for weeks) until someone on that crew can come back to fix the problem. Surely, the Pulte people themselves will do nothing to fix it. So very frustrating!

One of my final pet peeves with Pulte is that they do not keep a clean construction site. They say they do, but don't believe it. Visit some homes under construction. You will see that it is a junkyard throughout the process, and I believe that leads to mistakes and construction being done poorly. But that's just me.

Rats find their way to the house through point of entry. Hauls in the frame of the house. Pulte warranty unit is made of people use terms like "made to specifications" "not under warranty" "you left the door open" "my VP will not agree to this" or simply do not respond. I emailed the CEO of Pulte and their top 20 executives. None of them has the decency to understand how it is like to see your own kids frightened of dead rats. Kids and their mother vomit constantly. Kids cry and sleep hungry day in and day out because they are afraid the food got touched by rats.

I paid $650000.00 for a Pulte house that ended up being a nightmare investment. Warranty and customer service is part of the contract but in reality the staff in the warranty department do only what their VP ask them to do. That is to say: to screw new home owners". The AC show reading 73F in some parts of the house and 85F in other areas. Technicians visited the house tell me they know exactly how to fix the AC air flow- their management along with Pulte customer service don't want fix anything.

There is absolutely no excuse for doing things right the first time, but Pulte's philosophy is we don’t give a ** about quality we care about quantity, put them up as fast as possible and worry about issues later. It truly is disgusting what Pulte is claiming and then what they are actually delivering, a substandard home, lousy building, cheap materials, lack of empathy and truly horrendous customer service. Pulte you should ashamed of yourself as an organization and the product you put out.

We are 14 months into the process. The company built the wrong bathroom floor plan including the wrong size window frame; dented a duct and had a shoddy repair job; took two windows from the garage door months ago so that another property could close on time and then surprise, surprise, seem incapable of getting replacements; told us that a missing window had been installed and then we discovered that the wrong size window had been installed and we had to point this out, so someone somewhere was either lying or incompetent; the wrong exterior trim was installed and is taking forever to get replaced and repainted; someone just left footprints and wheel tracks in the wet concrete in the driveway; a ceiling joist was installed in the wrong spot leading to a months-long, inexplicable inability to correct the issue and install a shower drain line; and I'm sure there are things I've either forgotten, or they've successfully hidden from me.

The builder has agreed to cover my rate lock extension penalties, and I believe I'm getting a good deal considering the overall challenges of the 2021-2022 market. This was not meant to be a dream home, but a necessity that I purchased because of a growing family and the need for two home offices. The final product will be adequate, but I have low confidence in the competence and honesty of the construction manager and the contractors that were hired. The construction manager(s), especially the first two, missed opportunities to build trust by failing to meet literally any estimated time frames. At this point, trust cannot be restored, even if we successfully close on the estimated date. I'm not holding my breath, and I'll believe it when I see it.

Do not expect Pulte to repair horrible flat paint marring, cracked tile, dried caulking, or any cosmetic blemishes on walls & ceilings! Paint on the walls is horrible, cheap sprayed on flat paint. The slightest bumps will mar the walls. Be prepared to pay a paint professional to paint your entire house. Best to have it done BEFORE moving in. Also Pulte installs a fan/hood above the gas stove with no exterior ventilation. Cooks beware! All the smoke & fumes just circulate in the kitchen. The fan filter traps some of it but not good ventilation as an exterior vent!

I had to call in a professional plumbing service to start to repair. They have chiseled down over a foot into the concrete pier and the pipes are so badly damaged from the builders trying to make the shower pan fit, that was given an estimate of almost $6000.00 to correct the concealed defect. I hold you, the builder, Pulte Homes, responsible for the repair. and they told me it was past the 10 yr warranty period so they would not do anything. How could I possibly know what was concealed. They hide the poor construction and I have to pay for it.

Let's start with the cabinets. They are cardboard with thin, and I mean thin, maple inserts on the door front which wobble. That's the upgrade to maple cabinets! They did not install soft close hinges, nor did they discuss features that would cost extra. Did I say I upgraded the kitchen and the cabinets! These are cabinets Home Depot would not even sell.

The painting is embarrassing. The painters sealed dirt and sawdust, which I have to fix now. The crawl space door in the garage is sealed shut with paint. The tile they used must have been a 10-cent builder special. It scratches easily and is difficult to clean. Pulte ignored the landscape installation. There is clay in this area. Consequently, landscapers did not prepare the ground adequately for sod or other plants. Installing sod on top of a clay base does not allow for drainage. With water shortages worldwide, it's ridiculous to tell new homeowners to keep watering until they see signs of life.

The one-year inspection is a joke. I have missing screens on my windows and a door. Plus a laundry list of other items which need attention. I haven't heard a word from them. I understand not everything is going to be perfect in a new home. But at the price point of these homes, at the very least, they could have used higher quality cabinets, especially after upgrading them two times. The quality of the painting looks as though they hired teenagers with no experience. The concept of the home is lovely. Once I pay to make right everything they did wrong, it will be a beautiful home.

I purchased new construction because I didn't want to go through another rehab. It ends up I have to do that anyway. You might as well buy a fix-it upper and put what you like into your home. What Pulte has to offer in the way of upgrades is expensive garbage. If you could go out and purchase your materials and tell them to install what you bought, you would have a perfect home. That will never happen. Don't expect much from this builder. Expect to spend over $750K on poor-quality products and craftsmanship.

I will start by pointing out the paint. The painting was terrible all over the house. There was a part of the ceiling that was not painted at all. The walls all over the house had white patches because the paint was not made correctly. All window corners are made terribly bad, the plaster doesn’t have a smooth finish. Even the walls are not straight, all over the house you can see there are lines that are curved. After only a few months a lot of cracking started to show up around the house, especially around the windows. On the second floor, the carpet is not made correctly. When you walk you can feel “big bubbles” underneath it. Also, there are nails underneath the carpet that hurt our feet every time we’re walking around, especially under the threshold of the doors.

The sink of the guest bathroom has been leaking water since we first started to use it. In the master bathroom, we noticed that the tiles are coming off, they all move and make a cracking sound when we walk. Even the tiles from the shower floor are moving and look like they’re about to come out as well. There were big and ugly holes underneath both bathroom cabinets. All doors were not painted well, some had scratches and some were very damaged, even broken. One of the door frames on the first floor needs to be replaced because it’s completely broken. One of the kitchen cabinets is also broken on the inside and needs to be replaced. The backyard door is also damaged and even if they tried to fix it, it’s still broken and needs to be replaced. They sent us the new cabinet and we’ve been waiting for more than a month and still, nobody shows up to put it. The corner of the stair ledge is also damaged and needs to be replaced.

Even the garage door frame is broken and looks like it will break very soon. We are also missing towel holders in both bathrooms on the second floor. We didn’t even have a dishwasher holder, we had to wait for it for 5 months. I have been writing emails from January until now. I always get an answer-back, but they never do something about fixing the house. They always say that they will send people to get everything done soon, but nobody is coming to fix anything.

Eventually, I hired outside plumbing companies, several times. The plumbing companies I hired found that the plumbing attachments were connected backwards to the sewer drain lines. Which causes the raw sewage to flow backwards into the master bathroom bathtub, shower, and toilet, instead of forwards to the outside public, sewer lines. A backfall in the master bathroom was confirmed. The raw sewage whole house, back-ups continued.

In 2020, I had the plumbers I had originally hired to camera the sewer line again. At this time another backfall was found behind the supporting wall which runs along side the dinning/living area. This backfall run for approx. 7 feet and holds approx 1-1/2 inches of water. Pulte Vice President of Construction, Patrick Witzigman was present. He viewed the backfall and the drain line attachments. He offered me $17000.00 to have the work done myself. The estimate to I have received is only for breaking of the concrete that the line is encased in, is over $150,000. Pulte has refused to acknowledge they are responsible for the flawed sewer line even though their original plumbers, Northwest Plumbing, lied, not once but twice. And Pulte, admitted that I had been refused any warranty work because of the lies, Pulte plumbers told.

Then when the Latent Defects were found by the plumbers, I hired in 2018 and 2020, Pulte refused to do anything because they do not know what a Latent Construction Defect is and the stature of limitations does not begin to run until the defect is found. I have all the emails and photos to prove everything I have said and I am happy to share with anyone who would like to read about the raw sewage back-ups, raw sewage in bathtub, shower, etc., sewer flies, sewer gas, etc.. M. Linda **

Extra credit: It has been six months since closing, and our yard is still covered in garbage, gutters still hang off the roof, and there is no sod, leveling, cleanup, sod, or weeding on the property. Other properties in the community, which were still empty lots during our closing, have been almost entirely completed compared to our property. This would not have been better by using their mortgage company– actually, they would have been paid the full amount for everything, instead of having some held back in escrow until the work is completed.

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.