Del Webb Reviews in Austin, TX

I thought "new home" would not need inspector since everything is new. Wrong. Three days after move-in we discovered a water leak, apparently caused by carpenter drilling a screw into water pipe causing floor damage and mold build up in bathroom cabinet. Maybe not unusual for one craft to cause damage to work of others but nobody watching for sloppy work by unqualified contractors, Vinyl plank floor also had several places with gouged-out damage not apparent during final, brief walk-thru. Damage apparently caused by moving in appliances or heavy materials. Lots of paint touch-up required. Also discovered paint was not washable and minor dirt spots would wash away paint with any dirt cleaning effort. Not impressed with uality of materials or workmanship. Should have hired a qualified inspector that specialized in new home construction with focus on quality of work. ... More

Our initial identifying a house and lot were a pleasant enough period but we visited during the period when the rock quarry was not using some powerful explosives to prepare their material. None of the Del Webb people advised us of this well known fact. We experienced a short but powerful earthquake after closing. This is not a publicizing or listed Del Webb "amenity". Less than a month after closing we were notified by other home owner in our area that they were receiving "incoming projectile" (AKA bullets) that were striking there newly built houses. They had notified the police and the home builder but it seems that the police initially said there was nothing they could do and the home builder and HOA pretty much ignored the reports and said for the people to just wait and be quiet. The bullets continue to fly and the homeowners continue to report them to the police who say they are reporting and investigating them. Last week I checked the on line GTPD police log and nothing has ever been reported. I am hiring a roof inspector to document the condition of my roof and siding to document and changes from the initial inspection. I am not sure but I feel pretty safe in thinking the the home builder will not own any damage to the siding or to the roof. My joy of buying and owning a home in a Del Webb Community has turned into a not happy experience which promises to continue for sometime. Hopefully the political powers put some pressure in the correct place to get this issue identified and resolved. Hopefully no home owner or visitor is injured or killed because of people being greedy for power and money. ... More

Biggest workmanship issues is paint/drywall and the lack of finishing the kitchen sink

What sold us on Sun City, Texas, was the community--the people, the amenity centers and the environment. The hope was that, for the price, the house would match the quality of the community. The house is nice, but not up to what one would expect for the price paid. 2x4 studs throughout. Wide spacing in the interior walls, which, at 10' of height creates a lot of flexing. Finishes, particularly painting, was poor and required repeated follow-up to make it right. No flexibility for any design changes other than with electrical features. The final product is comfortable, just not to the expecations of the price paid. ... More

We found the design and structure to be well executed, but the finish work leaves much to be desired. Even after upgrades, the remaining amenities are all builder grade that need to be upgraded after you move in. The warranty issues we did have, were responded to within a timely manner. But, the vendors used do not do a good job initially, and all seem to have a "fixer" that comes and corrects sloppy work after a warranty complaint is filed.

Pulte has many built-in restrictions in their process and even contract. Literally all of your choices must be made in a single 2-hour session with the designer and once you sign off that day, you cannot add or modify any choices. It would not cost Pulte anything to simply allow a week for modifications. Also, in the contract itself it states you are not allowed to delay closing due to your punch list. This almost sounds illegal, but it is in the contract you sign. So make sure your read of the print, fine or otherwise.

Lack of pride in workmanship in interior finishing. Strong QA not done as work is completed and waits for buyer to point out problems as closing closes in. Need QA, QA and QA as each element is finished and have the contractor redo until it is done correctly. Soon the contractor will get the idea it needs to be done right the first time.

Finish work was contractor grade. Don't expect highest quality

JL and Eddie were extremely helpful.

Missing shelf rails for sliding shelves in a kitchen cabinet. Still waiting after one month for installation of 2 parts in a kitchen cabinet. All we are told is that this issue is on a list. Not a good experience.

Communication was poor throughout construction process until very end. Updates inconsistent and issues were not handled timely when brought to Pulte’s attention resulting in continuous repairs for few months post close. Certain trades were careless and lacked detail without accountability. Lot and surrounding area trash was extraordinary with no regard for owner’s expressed concern. Good effort was made by Pulte and some vendors post-closing to correct outstanding issues (but not painter which did a less than mediocre job) but most should have been addressed during construction which would have significantly reduced time to coordinate repairs on behalf of everyone and homeowner’s frustration. ... More

Final walk-through scheduled on same day of closing which doesn’t give the buyer enough time to have outstanding problems repaired. Surveys shouldn’t be completed before outstanding closing problems have been finished. Too many promises made during final walk-through by superintendent that haven’t been done yet. Superintendent didn’t follow-up on workmanship during build process. Comparing this home to our last Del Webb new build in Sun City Lincoln Hills, terrible!

We--and our neighbors--were rushed through the process of selecting our finishes and electrical. Strongly suggest you be actively involved throughout the building process. We were from too far away to check on things. To our surprise, they started building before we could sell our home. (We had planned to rent in the area while building.) Consequently, outlets were in the wrong place, and a toilet is noticeably off center. Even so, I love my home and the area. I feel it is over priced for the quality ; their paint is horrible and it's applied sloppily. You are really paying for a lifestyle--not a home. If you can accept that, then this is a great place. ... More

Although we are very happy with the home, we’ve lowered our ratings as a small issue (identified in the pre closing inspection) remains unresolved - despite repeated promises to address it.

Lived here for 3 months now and still getting repairs made. One big issue of the wall vibrating when the door to the garage is closed, will never be fixed. The house is the price you pay to live in Sun City, and I love the life style here. So I pay the price.

Followed Del Webb/Pulti Homes for many years. Was impressed with finished product until now. Materials and products (kitchen cabinets, trim work) are not good quality anymore. Quality of some of the subcontracted work (painting, drywall, landscaping) is very poor. Subs have very little pride in workmanship. Project Mangers have a rough job trying to provide a quality product with these conditions

I would like to start off by saying the sales team is Awesome! I watched my home build from day one to closing witched took almost 16 months. From the start I was disappointed with the quality if wood used to frame the home. Numerus twisted, cracked, and warped studs. The concreate driveway had to be redone and is now worse than the original. The most disappointing part of the construction is the finishing work of the home. There are too many detailed issues inside the home to list here. The subcontractors have hired less than competent/unskilled personnel to completed even the simplest work correctly the first time or second time. I feel Pulte field superintendents want the homes to be the best as possible but are stretched too thin with too many homes to complete along with the poor work of subcontractors are causing the lack of consistent quality. I have been in my home just over 2 months and have submitted multiple warranty tickets in the Pulte system and have yet to any of the repairs completed. Most of the tickets submitted are issues that should have been done prior to closing. If I had to do this again, I would not have purchased a new Pulte home. I am here now and will enjoy the Sun City community!! ... More

Poor materials and poor workmanship.

I guess anyone buying a new house is having the same experience we had. Material and labor shortages kept pushing back our move in date. When we were told the house was ready for our final inspection we saw some clear examples of hurried workmanship that was careless and incomplete. We were told the items would be fixed ASAP. That was nine weeks ago and most of the items haven’t been addressed. Covering crakes with caulk didn’t quit live up to quality workmanship. We been fixing some of the blemished stuff ourselves. Not our best experience with our builder.

I would not build another home with Pulte. I love my new house and glad I did it, but I would not do it again

It's been 2 months since closing and the only item from the punch list that has been fixed is the refrigerator. Some others have resulted in phone tag that ended in their court and some have no effort at all.

The Pulte/Del Webb team does an adequate job in building quality homes but seems to leave details to clean up later due to the rush to get you to the closing table. Communication between home builder and buyer also leaves a lot to be desired as phone calls and emails are often ignored or given a delayed response. With that said, we are not unhappy in our new home and the community is great.

Sun City is beautiful and I do believe there will eventually be many activities. We are currently playing golf, going for walks on nice broad sidewalks and in beautiful wooded areas, and attending Spanish classes and some other groups of interest on Zoom. The neighbors are wonderful people and very friendly. I was frustrated in how little time we were involved in planning the house and how poor some of the communication was. The outside brickwork and inside tile work was highly professional. We didn’t get the tile we requested in the kitchen; there were serious problems with the floors, and much of the work inside and out was sloppy. Outside, at the bottom of the bricks, there is visible black fabric sticking out, and there are strings hanging out all around the house. The cement on front porch was not smooth, and there were paint spots on the bricks. A large orange stain was left on the driveway. Inside, texturing was uneven and poorly done in some areas, mishaps in painting were not cleaned up, scratches and dents were not filled it, and at least a fourth of blue tape markers of cosmetic problem areas were ignored. We still love Sun City and would do it again but I believe the builders need more training, better equipment, and more supervision and direction. I would tell a friend to but a spec house or a model so that they know what they are getting or to purchase the least expensive choices and then have the floor, tile, lights, etc. put in by professionals. ... More

Due to the highly strict HOA's (you wouldn't let us put up a very nice wrought iron fence for our dog until we could get the permanent one installed), we decided we are just too old to live by so many stringent rules. The wife in the household was treated like a 2nd class citizen when she came to view the home by the salesperson at Sun City. Mary, with Pulte Homes, was excellent.

Stay involved in the building process. Don't assume anything.