Pulte Homes Reviews in Chicago, IL

Not sure where to begin so I will start from the time we decided to purchase the house. The front office seemed to be playing games with buyers. When we first started to look at this neighborhood they had the bidding process going on and we went on to bid so many times for specific lots even though there were plenty of open lots. Without a solid reason, we couldn't figure out why they wouldn't just open up lots. Seems they were a bit greedy and wanted people to pay more for the land than they actually were worth. Hence we gave up after multiple bids and losses due to outrageous amounts being bid for lots. We also requested to buy a lot at a price to what they might have quoted but never got a number so we gave up overall. We also gave up bidding because we wanted a 3 car garage but kept getting responses that there are none, yet we see few lots which have them now. A year later we circled back to this place because the house prices within the Mundelein area were coming up close to new construction costs. So we decided to pull the trigger and sign on the dotted line. The contract was obviously one-sided and couldn’t make any changes. Earnest money had doubled from the first time we had originally come to the time we signed the contract. Not a big deal but a huge amount considering what other builders were asking in comparison. 2 months after signing the contract, no word from the front office or anyone about the progress of the house. After calling a few times to get a progress update, we found out there was a hold on construction due to incorrect paperwork. Luckily the GM and front office sorted it out without changing our home delivery timeline. We were very appreciative of this but if we hadn’t called to find out the progress then this issue might not have been caught/resolved and construction of the house would not have begun and ended on the time they had given us. A few weeks into the process we had to visit the Pulte center to make our interior selection. This was not a bad experience except the items we wanted to see were not even on displace. The demo center didn’t really have much to see visually hence we had to make decisions from pictures and basically imagination of what it would look like. The generic handout they give you doesn’t really quantify the items we wanted to see. We had to google and visit many places to see them physically to better understand them. Also, the 3-hour time to select all the items for your entire house is not enough especially since this was our first home and we had no idea what would match with what. 5.5 months into construction we meet with the GM for the pre-drywall meeting. He was very informative and helpful in answering questions. One change I would recommend is to have a meeting with the client at some point before the pre-drywall so the client has options to change small items like adding in outlets or fixtures. New buyers will not know what should go where until they see them physically. 7 months or so after we were ready to close on the house and had to go through another ordeal. Since we had opted not to use Pulse Mortgage the closing/title department basically didn’t communicate any items with my lender or my lawyer of the documents until days before my closing. The day before our closing I was babysitting and coordinating touchpoints about paperwork progress between my lender and the title company. On the day of our closing, which is supposed to be a joyous occasion for us, I was dealing with last-minute changes and add-ons from the title company. Basically sucked the joy out of the who process. FINALLY, we moved into the house which is going great except for dealing with somewhat of a shotty craftsmanship. We have made roughly 7-9 service tickets and are still counting, nothing uncommon from what I have been told from other new construction owners outside of this community. The worst part is that these tickets are to be responded to within 24-48 and it has been 2 weeks now and not been a single call from the construction office as to when they might come to fix the issues. I understand they are short-staffed due to people leaving or let-go but all we are asking for is acknowledgement of the ticket and when they might be able to fix it. I am not asking for it to be done right now but give me some time frame at least. Overall the experience had its ups and downs and we are torn on how we would perceive this and if we would consider going through this in the future or recommend it to others. The people whom we engaged with were considerate and somewhat willing to work with us, more than what I say from other owners who have had worse experiences than us. ... More

After moving, I realized that inside walls don’t have insulation at all. Voices and TV sounds are the echoing in entire home. Even water sound in bathroom is echoing in home. It’s very disturbing.

I am very happy with the field managers Brandon and Justin. They’re very patient and detailed with information provided. Great work guys. I’m

We had a bad previous experience with Pulte so we were originally not considering Pulte at all this time. We decided to look at the models anyways and fell in love. The customer service was so great right from the beginning. We expressed our previous concerns with Pulte and they walked us through how those things would be addressed. We decided to go with them and it was a great experience from start to finish. Great communication through emails, texts, and calls. Letting us know the timelines for everything. Now we have an awesome house in an awesome neighborhood. The only things if we were nit-picking would be that the light switches are in weird places and the paint job is not that great. But we are going to paint our own colors anyways. Highly recommend Pulte, especially this group of Pulte associates in our community. ... More

Our second Pulte home so we’ve been through this before. The sales and closing occurred nearly 12 months apart so plenty of time for us to become foggy on our choices and decisions. Everything turned out to fairly well. Reviews during construction seemed rushed and did not permit us to realize the corners that Pulte now cuts to keep costs down. The garage is only rough finished with fire tape. There are no lights of any kind in any closets. Some closets are so squeezed as to be useless. The finishes are rough and amateurish in key areas such as the front porch and enameling of baseplates. The list could be longer but, all things considered, we are fairly proud leased with our new home. ... More

The building experience was simple with all steps outlined. There was someone there to guide us throughout the year long process. Closing was very hectic and the dates were not very flexible, but it was overall a good experience. I was pleasantly surprised with the build quality and appearance of the home.

We love our house. It would be nice if you uses eggshell paint though.

Overall the home was built beautiful. Thank you so much.

Some of the service are over priced and no service for even small customization.

We have had a number of issues including water pooling in our side yard and this is still going on after multiple attempts to get it resolved. The landscaping service is not keeping up with mowing grass and removing dead grass except for the model. Look around this neighborhood and you will see.

Moved in the end of july. The property was nice and clean few unfinshed items. Construction manager and warranty manage cheerful and helpful. A couple of gripes: Landscaping- the first installed small plants all died. They did replace with something else, not what we would have wanted but. The new trees are planted too deep. They cannot mow without damaging the sod with the big tractor. Wound up mowing myself. Bushes along noth side if of the house all dying no matter how we baby them. We will need to submit to redo the landscaping in the spring. It feels like they put in whatever was left in the nursery. Paint- i did not realize the quality of the basic paint. We would have upgraded to something, its barely primer. Went to sherwin Williams to get touch up and they said they could not match because it is contractor paint with dry instead of wet colorants. Punchlist items. We sent in quite a few punchlist items that we did not see at the final walk. If that was our only oppurtunity we would have spent the day going over inch by inch. Some cabinet doors we dropped in the driveway, i put in the garage and when they came to install, they were warped. It has been a couple of weeks since we sent the lists with no schedule to repair other items, or confirmation of cabinet door reorder. Range- we opted for the fancy fridgidare range and it was not in we we moved in but there was a temp in place. It took about a month to get. Then i had to take a day off work to make the swich, they could not commit to a small window of time. Then when we turned it on we noticed the oven did not work. We scheduled a warranty service the next day. They could not come for a week. They provided an arrival window between 8a and 4p another lost day of work waiting. He got there after 5 , worked on for 30 min then said main board was bad. Not in stock, have to order from the factory. No follow up on status. I suppose i need to take off a 3rd day for the next service call whenever it comes. Still no oven. Overall the house is nice and we like it and the neighborhood. It functions well, just a few things i mentioned above that could go better. Over all the team was helpful and the purchase process was smooth, just need to get to the finish line. ... More

Brad and Zach were great to work with.

Good Experience with Pulte homes

Poor communication during buying process. Excellent in on line communication however difficult to talk to a person. Sales staff say No to every request without an explanation. Had to speak to upper management several times for simple requests. Walk through was very unfriendly and so impersonal. Follow thru during first days of moving in was ignored by all. Had a burning smell in Microwave and asked in writing if they could look at it. Wanted them to pull the oven out so it could be unplugged. No response Had a fire in microwave 3 days later with the fire department at my house at 1130 Pm( microwave was not in use at the time of incident) Pulte is very poor on follow up, customer service and communication ... More

He was very knowledgeable regarding the whole process. He walked us through every step. Would recommend Pulte to anyone looking to buy a new home!

Build quality is not as per standard. The material used is one of the worst. it is available in market with much cheaper ratesAlso, the construction manager never responds after the house is closed. One of the not so good experience.

We had a water leak under the kitchen sink and the team came out right way to check and found this issue, made several repairs until it was confirmed resolved.

Buying experience was ok good communication initially. Once the build process started only two opportunities to see the build process pre drywall and final walkthrough. On final walkthrough about a dozen minor issues. Home inspector said the AC wasn’t working, sump pump was the cheapest quality you can purchase. Most issues were fixed prior to closing found on the final walkthrough. Closing process with Pulte was horrible they delayed closing by 5 days everything is on their timeline.

Just loved it and we are enjoying our new home

All the closing issues were fixed as promised

Second home we have built and couldn’t have been any happier. From sales to design center to construction to the title company. Amazing staff. Always attentive and eager to listen and resolve any issues we had. Would absolutely purchase again and encourage others to do so as well. Gold standard for home builders.

The buying experience was very nice. However, the closing was a nightmare. The closing date was pushed by the Pulte title closing company because they would not allow our mortgage company to do an escrow account because of the outside landscaping and the driveway and the sidewalk were not completed. We had to pay an extra $600 which was an hour or our mortgage company fault the manager at the pool day office did not when I agreed to that escrow and then all of a sudden she did. I feel like she just wanted to charge us $600 because we did not go with Pulte Mortgage from the beginning so she didn’t profit on us. Then several issues inside the home has not been completed after the closing as promised. One of them is an outlet in the garage for the garage door opener. Outlet is in the wrong location and the opener cable does not reach it. Instead of moving the outlet into a correct location the construction manager told me to get an extension cord. Needless to say, I am not able to use my garage and I don’t know who else to contact so that correction can be made. This was wrong from the get-go by the electrician and it should been corrected without any ideas of using an extension cord. I would very much like somebody from Pulte Homes to contact me and make these corrections possible. This is not the quality I was expecting from this big company. ... More

I was impressed with how organized all the departments were at Pulte; from sales, mortgage, builders, designers and closers. Whenever I had a question, I knew who to reach out and they were able to assist right away. Everyone met their deadlines and provided updates throughout the entire process. I overall enjoyed our experience with Pulte and look forward to living in our forever home for a long time.

Have been in my new home about 5 weeks now and feel I made an excellent decision to buy a Pulte home in Trillium Farm. While we still have some minor issues to iron out all seems to be going quite well.

Bad architecture overall, bad location choices hvac and heater in base ment, fridge location in kitchen etc., just to save their construction money, they realize limited lots to create artifical demand and increase price, very limted designer choice and its a lot if every chnage. Make scene every time you request for small changes, after closing, if we find any issues they mention it either too small or does not seems to be issue, we will fix when we have 9 months walk through. Substandard grass which require too much maintenance and bad garden plant choices. Overall not satisfied