Del Webb Reviews in Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill, NC

The project manager Tim was great to work with and wants to provide the home you deserve. However the quality of the work performed by the subcontractors was much less than expected and I don't believe his bosses or Pulte really care about delivering a quality product. In my opinion Pulte doesn't provide the project managers the tools to achieve a quality home, nor do they have much oversight or control over their subcontractors. Every homeowner here had/has the same systemic issues with the build quality: 1) Trusses not parallel, that are sagging or missing several gusset plates and even cracked. 2) Concrete with cracks right after the pour and with dips and valleys noticeable after the flooring is installed. 3) HVAC drain pipes are still routed through non-insulated areas and are still freezing. 4) Hot water lines are not insulated and water will not get hot at certain faucets. 5) Pulte can't tell you where electric outlets will be because there is not electric schematic the electrician works off of. But they'll provide one anywhere you want for $75 on the day you decide to buy and sign a contract. After the pre-drywall inspection my review was similar to this review about systemic issues in the build quality and Chad from Pulte called. At certain times during our conversation he was and certain times he wasn't Tim's manager. When I said there appears to be systemic issues discovered in my home and with all the builds based on my conversations with other home buyers he wasn't the manager. When I said Tim is great to work with he was. His talking point was that he was calling to help us set, aka: lower, our expectations. My biggest recommendations are these. Hire an inspector! Hire an inspector! Hire an inspector! It's worth the additional cost. If you don't you'll get a home with a lot of unseen issues. ... More

Documentation on appliances were missing and no help from builder to get information.

When you move into a 55+ community, you are not only buying a lovely updated home, but you are also buying the lifestyle of activities, maintenance-free lawncare, and a built-in group of friends. That being said, you will encounter issues with your home, as you would with any new construction. This is not a custom home that you can tweak and modify. These are homes that are built quickly and to standard specifications. I have found through experience with Pulte/Del Webb that they are reasonably responsive and will take care of the majority of issues within a good timeframe.

Not custom enough for the money

The builder was not responsive to minor changes during the home building process. In addition the builder made two major mistakes (fireplace & cabinets) which my wife and I uncovered. However our PM Chad did an outstanding job resolving those problems and other issues.

The home itself is intelligently designed and well-built. Post purchase, inside warranty items have been handled promptly and to our satisfaction. Pre and post purchase, outside items have been problematic and not handled to our satisfaction.

I think that the up charges for upgrades is extremely high. The prices obviously include but labor is already paid for in the basic packages. It takes no more labor for example to install black faucets over chrome yet the charge is twice as much as the cost of the faucet. Some items listed as upgrades that should really just be a choice. Some things should be standard. A lot of misinformation and waits for amenities.

House was very dusty with spackle dust when I moved in . HVAC was not working properly but since has been repaired. Sod was not watered well before I moved in and is dried out in patches. Otherwise I am happy with the house and love the neighborhood.

While the people who work for Del Webb are top notch, and the houses look nice, the materials are cheap and the quality is not very good. The walls are so thin I can hear everything in my house from everywhere, which limits privacy. The paint job on the interior and exterior is also very low quality and will require me to repaint too soon.

Attention to detail is lacking. Example: hot/cold water in vanity was reversed in the structure for one of the bowls. Only solution is to cross-over the connection hoses. Another example: 3-bank light switch at opposite ends of kitchen each control the same 3 light areas, but the center switch controls a different area on each bank. Easy fix but poor attention to detail. Another example: Wine cooler installation - door rubs on one side of the cabinet. This sort of stuff should be caught by Del Webb quality control, not homeowner. Other silly stuff like a window blind not functioning properly, a window not properly aligned etc. Significant waste of water waiting for hot water due to heater being located in uninsulated garage at front of house rather than in a more central location. That's a cheap design issue rather than attention to detail. I expected better from a 'top tier' home builder ... More

Everything was fine until we closed on our home. During the final walkthrough, we found a couple of problems, namely the garbage disposal wasn’t working and the globe on one of the lights was broken. We were guaranteed that they would be taken care of. It’s been almost 2 months since our closing and we’ve tried to contact the builder a few times and have been unable to get a response from him. These things still have not been taken care of.

Do understand that these are not custom homes but are standard spec houses. In generally they are very nice homes but just a few key areas in construction were disappointing. The OSB sheathing in an area or or two went down to within an inch of the ground and I fear I will have hidden damage from water relatively soon. The fascia boards around the doors, windows & gutters appeared to be a particle board material which I feel will degrade within 10 years. The house does not come with a front and back water spicket, only midway along the sides (wished I had realized this. The basic structure (walls & trusses) looks good and the flooring, cabinet, counter, bath & electrical fixture selection are good. Overall we are happy with our house just disappointed on a few things could have been done better at not much additional cost. ... More

Love home plan but very disappointed in workmanship and lack of correcting what Pulte considers “cosmetic” issues after closing.

The house is well built but has some issues with workmanship. For example, we went to install a ceiling fan on our patio and when we removed the light fixture we saw that the vinyl ceiling was cracked. The light fixture hid that. Also there was a number of caulk residue areas that I had to clean up. It takes a VERY long time to get hot water in the kitchen sink faucet.

I was fine with the experience until we closed on the home. We got to the house and it was very obvious that the house was not cleaned. I had to vacuum/sweep the entire house and the screened porch. My husband has continued to find various things like nails, cigarette butts, old cups, plastic spoons and various trash around the outside of the property. We did not have that sign stating it is a private residence placed in our yard like the other homes on our block. There were drips of paint on the bathroom high window, the garage windows. There was a long strip of leftover wood on the floor behind our stove. My husband had to break off a nail that was in the bathroom cabinet that was sticking out. Our gas was turned on but the valve outside had to be turned on. We put the heat on and the stove and nothing came through. My husband had to do what should have been done before we closed. Very disappointed that at the end, there were so many issues. It leaves a bad taste in our mouths. You pay a good deal of money for this home and to have it end like this was very disappointing. ... More

Computer skills needs to be pretty good. Serious home inspection needs to take place. Del Webb employees and consultants including the financial personnel are very courteous.

We had four build managers and, except for our last one, Rodney, they were not responsive to issues we found as the build was going. But, once the home was completed, Rodney took us through the home, explained everything to us and if there were any "mistakes" he made sure it was taken care of immediately. So happy to be here.

Warranty issue not resolved after 4 weeks.

We have (hopefully had) a problem with mold found in the attic at pre-drywall inspection. It was treated just before closing but rather than guarantee it in writing that if there is ever a future problem where it spreads which I pushed for, but instead was told this verbally. You have a 1-year warrantee and "IF" we determine we should cover the repair or ongoing treatment then we will. Otherwise, it will be at our expense, which leaves me very concerned about the long-term quality, safety and potential repair/maintenance cost of our new home.

Still waiting on my landscaping to be fixed after digging up my yard to fix broken pipes. I did get a fast response from the plumber.

The sales staff is great but the construction manager was incompetent. We identified several issues to him that did not get corrected until after several promptings, including electrical circuits inoperable, garage paint incomplete and the incorrect amount of attic insulation. This was the dirtiest home I have ever moved in to.

Our home was inspected prior to closing and the inspector found several issues with the structure and the plumbing. Some were fixed prior to closing and some were not. We find the finishing work to be very shoddy (paint drips everywhere both floors and hardware, molding not fitting, no molding on the top of the fireplace, very sloppy paint jobs). In addition the EZ Breeze was not installed properly and we had to get the president of the company out to fix things. The pantry door was installed incorrectly. Much of this could have been taken care of with proper project management. I have since sent a spreadsheet outlining the fixes required to our PM, and have not heard back. This is getting to be a dissatisfactory experience ... More

The mortgage process was very difficult.

We had a very good experience with our construction manager. He made a great effort to correct or explain questions. Would be glad to work with him again

Don’t settle for poor quality of workmanship. We shouldn’t have settled until corrections were made.