Pulte Homes Reviews in Columbus, OH

Our experience has been Pulte has a communication problem. I have had to send multiple emails/texts concerning items to be fixed before getting an acknowledgment or response, there are some items Pulte has yet to respond to. I understand some things are not quick fixes, but some indication my concerns were heard and are being considered would be nice. They were very slow in passing back information during the build; it took several weeks of requests just to find out who our Construction Manager was. The home is nice we enjoy it immensely but Pulte could do better in the area of communicating back to the customer. ... More

To be fair, we have never contracted for a home to be built before, so there were a number of misunderstanding between us and the sales agent. We also made some bad design choices. Our sales agent was not new to the building industry, but was relatively new to this role. She does a yeoman’s job following up on questions, but by now I hope she is recognizing what is important, and what is trivial so she can better guide future customers. Positives If we asked a question of our sales representative, we got an answer. If a change we were thinking about was too expensive, our sales agent was sometimes able to get us a more cost-effective solution. Our field manager was generally regarded as one of the better, if not the best in Columbus. This guy is universally recognized for his ability to work with the customer. He did everything he could to remedy disappointments, to the point that he overspent his budget on our house. Even though we are now in a larger house, it is much tighter and better insulated, so in that respect it is more comfortable. Pulte will put ADA features such as wider doors in at pretty much their cost. We missed on one door, but the field supervisor added an extra stud during framing so we could open that space in the future if we chose. Disappointments The Design Center consultant said it best. “Pulte is a production company”. This works to the buyer’s advantage in controlling costs and getting the project finished, but it is a disadvantage to folks like us who missed key design elements. We never had luxury vinyl tile (LVT) before. It SHOULD NOT be offered as an option for the great room area. It looked like a wonderful option in the design center. However, it is loud underfoot, shows dirt easily, and is hard to clean. Since it is a floating floor, the LVT in our new home transmits vibration right through the subfloor and granite to items in the cabinets, island and countertops. We chose the free-standing gas range. We like the range, but you cannot walk within 20 feet of it without rattling the burners. Verify and clarify every detail that you can before the plans are submitted to the architect. • Know exactly what type of light fixture is going in every location. Base level fixtures are not aesthetically pleasing and/ or create dangerous conditions when it is time to change a light bulb. • Verify where the light switches will be. We have found several places where the switches are inconveniently located or where a three-way would improve livability. • Upgraded carpet pad is a separate option that we almost missed. • We had a huge misunderstanding over the style of window “grills” (field supervisor’s term) “grids” (manufacturer’s term) or “mullions” as they are called in the “Included Features” document. The net result is we have replaced the glass in our picture window. The “upgraded” paint still feels cheap and scuffs easily. Bottom line, make sure you understand details you see in the model are very likely not what you will see in your house unless you specifically agree to it in writing. Then you have to balance builder’s price to your budget. Some of folks take the standard feature, then rip it out if they think they can do something better themselves. We found this to be absurd. We wanted an ADA height toilet in one bathroom only, but were only given the option to have all ADA or all standard height. Whose house is this? Why should our toddler grandchildren have to scale a tall toilet when a standard toilet is hard enough already? Make sure you are willing to live with the size of lot you chose. None of the driveways in our subdivision had been installed when we went into contract, so we did not see this issue. The two-car driveways are not wide enough to get out of the car without stepping on to the grass (and/ or mud). They are only 1-car length, so you cannot stagger parking to facilitate getting in and out with two cars in the driveway, which is tough on seniors. If you can, find out what the grade will be looking like up to the entrances. The driving force for us was to get to a home where we could live better given our arthritis. Our lot ended up with some extra incline and extra steps at the entrances making it that much harder (and potentially dangerous) to enter and exit on icy days. Pulte delegates warranty work to the subcontractors unless it was an appliance issue for which Whirlpool has a separate service provider. We have had a four warranty issues so far that were eventually addressed, but it takes patience. For the most part, these were installation issues. • The pendant lights over the island were not hung to even lengths. • The horizontal dryer duct was not installed before the ceiling was sheet rocked. Everyone missed this on inspection. This was serendipitously caught after I dropped a pair of pliers down the opening while connecting the dryer • The dishwasher had multiple installation issues and factory defect. These were correctable on site. • The outlets by the sump pump were incorrectly installed with respect to GFI requirements. We will say that all of the service representatives were courteous, explained the problem, and completely. ... More

The house is beautiful, but some of the workmanship is subpar. Uneven caulking and grouting, grout not wiped from tile, nicks in the cabinets, a crack in my porch from day one. Then I learned my furnace was installed incorrectly, causing parts to be replaced. I was told that every house on the street has the same problem. I’m still waiting for it to be fixed. Not to mention that my downspout drains are not yet in, and I have no grass or landscaping. This is what happens when you hire random crews to work over each other; attention to detail is lost.

The starting home price is deceptively low and then you pay extra for everything. Some of the workmanship was excellent and some was pretty average. Most of my concerns have been addressed about problems I discovered but, over five weeks later, a few have not. I have appreciated Pulte's willingness to work with us to get things taken care of.

Our street address with the county auditor is still not correct 7 weeks after we moved in. We have issues with our mail and any other deliveries because of this issue. Please work to get this updated.

We like our new home now that we are finally in it, 5 months later than planned. There was an issue digging a basement on our original lot, and we had to move lots and start the whole process over again. The issue was really on the developer who didn’t disclose the gravel issue to Pulte, but it still cost us over $50K in the selling price of our previous home due to the market going down over the 5 month delay.

Overall I’m happy with the house but for sure the quality didn’t worth what I paid . After I move in for the first week , there is Squeak from the floor of the master bedroom , which is very annoying , the paint quality is bad . My project manager bob uphouse is very great and helpful .

your finance company is worthless

Slow building process at first. The initial construction manager was not giving updates on progress regularly as he was supposed to. Then as the building process pick up, there were some areas that were overlooked (like the kitchen range did not vent outside like it was supposed to until we said something, the outside windows were not completed). Then we felt a sense of being rushed to closing. Our kitchen appliances were not available prior to closing and we had to have temporary appliances that were supposed to be similar in quality and grade to our chosen appliances. This was not the case for our stove which is not functioning to our satisfaction to this date. It has been 6 weeks since our closing. We requested alternate stove but did not get a response. The more recent construction manager was very responsive initially to our requests to fix certain items prior to closing but since closing, he has not been as responsive in keeping us updated on the status of when our kitchen appliances will arrive. We still have areas outside the house that need to be fixed but still waiting on weather warming up. I hope Pulte will keep their word and do a better job with finishing the job. ... More

Pulte was, mostly, straight forward with communication in the long process from contract to closing. We were kept well informed during the construction process. And the finish house was, mostly, how it was envisioned on the plans.

Our build was a quick experience, but unfortunately we have discovered many issues with the way things were completed in the house after we have moved in. The lack of communication was and is a problem still.

Base price was affordable for us.

The sod was delayed, for install, full of weeds & planted on rocky, poor soil. The microwave is a nuisance to use and loses time everyday. The heat/air system is totally off balance. You roast upstairs in the loft, while freezing on the main floor. The house being built next door is but an arm's length away!

Our experience with Pulte in Nottingham Trace was mixed. The home turned out ok but we had to keep reminding them of issues. It was a couple of weeks late which we were able to work around. We were given dates for some things that then never happened when they said. Took over 8 weeks after we closed and moved in to get the yard cleaned up and sod down. Overall the quality could be better for as much as we paid.

Great home but i doubt the quality and finish details

The layout is nice, and the kitchen countertops and floor throughout are nice. The people I've worked with are also nice. But I think that's where the positives end. The process from start to finish was very poorly communicated. The closing was extremely rushed and I'm not sure that's a good thing for a half a million property. 2 months in, I still haven't received things I was promised at closing, or things I paid for that were not included in the home. Would never buy from Pulte again and would not recommend to anyone looking to build new. I've built a new build before and it was night and day better than the process with Pulte. ... More

Many details having to constantly follow up on. Quite exhausting for the price I paid I expected more.

The response to issues with the building is in question. I have submitted three requests about two issues and no one has responded.

Many times false hopes and promises were given about construction issues and closing dates. Weeks went by with very little work on issues that were well known to all. Chosen siding was discontinued by the manufacturer but was never discovered leading us over a month behind on exterior finishes.

Sales consultant is zero helpful, any ways long story short, I had a bad experience with him..

Disappointed in final home ready state. Talking with several new owners in Pioneer Crossing all seem to share the same frustrations. 1. Quality workmanship by some sub contractors 2 unfinished landscape, trees, grass and general high level of construction debris left on site after closing.

Our construction manager did a 2hr blue tape walk through with us and did not address the issues we highlighted before closing. We visited the house a week after walk through (2 days before closing) and noticed all the areas still untouched. When we brought it up to him he said he'd take care it before our closing. When we arrived to the house on our closing day, nothing was addressed and the house was still dirty from the construction. The cleaners never showed up and they had to get rushed to our home the next day after closing to clean the house before our movers showed up. The cleaners did not clean as thorough as we were told they would. None of our windows were cleaned and still had construction debris on them. We were very upset and overall dissatisfied with our construction manager who basically lied to us just to get the house across the finish line and closed. ... More

Timely service. Quality of material used is fair

Lot of things were not completed by the time of closing. Still lot of issues exists and slow updates/follow-up on them. On the 2nd day post closing, a little wind blew the roof of covered porch. Not a good quality work. We can understand delay in closing date/home completion due to Covid/supply chain issues but workmanship/quality control is somewhat lacking

We chose Pulte because they're one of the top 3 home builders in the US, and with the trust that they'd do a great job building the house with all the years of experience they had building homes. The reality was a stark contrast. They're outsourcing literally every piece of the build, which isn't necessarily bad, but they're not spending any time in quality control. Contractors come in, do their thing and leave, and it is Pulte's job to verify things after every step and get the necessary corrections done, which I don't beleive they're doing. I literally had 20 items that I could visibly see and had to raise maintenance requests for, post closing, despite identifying them in the build walk through. Now at that rate I can't even imagine what all could be wrong underneath the drywall. The build manager was unresponsive for the most part during the build, and he's almost totally unresponsive post closing. If anything, I appreciate the sales team, as our consultant kept us posted and helped us follow up with the build manager when he was unresponsive. ... More