Pulte Homes Reviews

We started the process very excited and optimistic, but after closing there were a lot of disappointments. The "upgrade"s we paid for, feel more like cheap downgrades due to poor material and workmanship. We paid extra for a recirculating pump on the water heater to have instant hot water; it was never delivered. We were promised a number of repairs and touch-ups will be made just prior to closing; after closing we found out many of those were never done... We were also given false information about various things like irrigation system, etc. only to find out it was all wrong.

We started the process to buy the house at the end of January, the Salesperson was very knowledgeable and helpful, but she left before we closed on the house, we were approved very quickly. Then we went to a design studio on another office appointment, plus a third one for electric, lighting, outside kitchen and many other things to add to the house. The appointment was too overwhelming, not enough time, not many nice choices and lot of extra money. In March, they call us because they made a mistake and canceled the contract, it was suspicious. We started the process again that lead them to start construction between June 1st to the 4th. I was there every week to take pictures of the construction, very messy inside and outside the house, debris everywhere. We met our Construction Manager, and he was very nice the entire time. All the inspections were on time and went well, except the week before closing, it was late, there was no light and we couldn't see all the imperfections around the house. It has been month and a half since we moved and many things still without fixing. I believe they hurry at the end because of a due dateand did not care for my house. ... More

I loved working with my sales agent. He was and continues to be supportive through the process. This is my second Pulte home. I also work well with my construction manager who is responsive to any issues I have. My disappointment is in some of the fine details and some of the issues I'm having post close. There is a reason why I bought a new home and it was so I wouldn't have to fix anything. Turn-key. While there is an expectation for some minor issues, I find mine rather unsettling. 1) Three-way lighting switches wired incorrectly 2) Clothes rack in master closet came clear out of the wall when clothes were hung 3) Roof leaking evidenced by water spots on celling in upstairs bedroom 4) concrete walkway to front door cracked clear across slab (poured in Oct), closed end of November and 3 weeks later concrete issues (to which I'm told it happens and not under warranty). I've been in the home for under a month and third person to move in on the street. I shouldn't be responsible to fix anything related to poor construction or poor product used. While I expect there will be some issues, I would not expect the issues I'm experiencing within the first month of ownership. The construction manager has been great at responding but again turnaround to actually fix issues (electrical, leaking roof) should be faster. Concrete should be replaced. It's unacceptable for this repair to be my responsibility after I was only in the home 2/3 weeks before the crack appeared and while two other homes are being build on either side of me by Pulte and with workers accessing my property. ... More

List of defective items was ignored after walkthrough. Scheduled repairs are finally being made on their 8 hour windows convenience only. Nothing was done while house was empty and easily accessible, regardless of the promises made.

Unhappy with the process and home price. The price of the last 5 available homes went down 20K in a week after we signed the contract for our home, which was totally unfair. I was negotiating with Sales Consultant and management to reduce the price of my home for almost a month and i don't understand why they did not consider my request if they have a plan to reduce the price. Also they say we go by contract but they wont follow the contract, only buyer need to follow the contract.

Our loan officer, Christina's communication experience was terrible. She only emailed us, or answered incoming questions she never gave us knowledge of the market or programs that might best suit our needs or goals, pre empted any sort of financial goals and I will never refer a buyer to Pulte Mortgage for that alone. When Pulte's appraiser produced what your Regional Manager said "was a lazy" appraisal our Loan Officer delivered that 28k news via email and did not call and explain how funds would then come from us. Your Regional Manager made a call, put in for a recert which was denied. That appraiser should be removed from your rotation after using a 16yr old comparable and ONLY used NMLS homes and 0 of the recent homes sold. Without the Regional lowering the purchase price, we would have walked and been happy to lose our earnest money. Our processor Kelly was wonderful and she too agreed that the communication from our LO was not what anyone as a buyer should experience. We were told by Bobby only 5 homes in the neighborhood were aloud to have balconies, which we learned was a lie after he was promoted and was moved out of the community. We were told our microwave was on backorder for no time frame so we were forced to take an unmatched appliance. I was told it was a happy choice by my building manager without her concern of how I would view this choice. I have never seen more emails in my life. Too many emails and not enough verbal communication is confusing the buyer. Without OUR OWN realtor involved we would have spent 28k extra dollars and went in under water in value. I am grateful to our realtor and Kelly, our processor for their help. I would never encourage a buyer to use a builder mortgage company without appraisal knowledge and the ability to walk away. We went thru 2 onsite community representatives, 2 building managers. When we experienced a problem after moving in Larry was nowhere to be found and no ability to leave a message. ... More

As Pulte is a very large company, the quality and professionalism differ per department. The sales department did a great job of showcasing and promising services, but as soon as the contract was signed, they let us hanging. The builders did a good job and we had great relationships with the construction managers. The worst experience we had was with Pulte Mortgage. Extremely unprofessional, not communicative, not helpful or supportive at all. We had to switch to another lender because it got so bad. The servicing is run at minimal effort. Things do get attended to but you have to wait, sometimes for weeks. ... More

The home we moved into has a lot of issues that could be avoided with some extra care during construction of the home. We found several floor tiles cracked or chipped. We also found, after being in the house for a month, that good workmanship was lacking in many cases: painting spills and misses, door weathstripping ripped, cracked pavers with a lack of paver sand and lanaii that should have been cleaned. There was also a cracked window glass and a shingle has already blown off with only wind below 50 mph. What would happen in a hurricane is a question mark. We have contacted Pulte warranty to address these issues and have waited a week without even acknowledgement of our call. This is clearly not acceptable. We feel taken advantage of at this point. ... More

Overall we are happy being in our new home and determined to make the best of it. This is our second Pulte home experience. The first experience was very good. This time, 9 years later, we found the experience to be very frustrating. The sloppiness of the workers. We have scratches on tubs, windows, mirrors. You name it and it was handled roughly. Because we did not catch the multiple issues on the final walk-thru( we were told to just make a list after the walk thru and they would fix) they will NOT repair or replace. Ridiculous! They changed items in the house we ordered without informing us or giving us any say on the matter—they said “we can do this, it’s in the contract”. Well, there is a basic decency when dealing with someone who has taken the time to special order a home. My advice, don’t plan a house to your choices, you won’t get them! Our construction manager did the best he could by us, but could not resolve issues. No one else returned calls. Pulte has problems in St Augustine. ... More

From the initial walk-through we explained the handrail did not match what was in the showroom and just by looking at it, you could see it was poorly installed. We paid 17k for this “upgrade” and it has yet to be fixed. Each trade says doing this or doing that is someone else’s responsibility. It has been 2.5months and not been fixed and with the trades not taking responsibility and executing quality work, I don’t think it will ever be fixed properly. It is very disappointing for an “upgrade.” Also it takes over a month to schedule some of the other basic repairs like light switches not working etc. When the trades come out, they also do not have the photos of what I submitted that needs to be fixed so it is a mess. It is not communicated to me what each company is suppose to fix or work on so I have had very few repairs successfully completed since moving in in August(it is now November). ... More

Pulte will build you a better and more efficient home than most home builders. However, I am upset with Pulte’s quality control. There have been numerous imperfections with my build that required or require rework. It’s even worse when you feel like a pest when you have to contact the build manager to address the issues and they end up getting mad/annoyed like it’s my fault for catching the imperfections that they failed to fix. It takes less time to do the right thing first than it does to explain or fix the problem later on. It seems that speed is prioritized over accuracy these days when it comes to home building with Pulte. ... More

I love the location and the house. But I have had issues. At the walk-through, I fully expected to find many cosmetic issues but I found disappointing, larger issues. The carpeting was stained by some contractor that the whole thing had to be replaced, the pavers by the pool company is is a substandard installation with cracked tiles and molded tiles, and the house was just dirty, although the so called cleaning crew had cleaned. The kitchen is damaged and they tried to do it make shift repair, and the whole island just looks shabby. For the money I paid, I was disappointing. Further, the attention and customer service I have received post closing is poor with unreturned emails and ticket responses. While I love the house and for the most part the house is in good shape the lack of customer service, slow response and presentation of the house at the walkthrough had left a bad taste. To the PM’s accolades, he knocked out all the important non-cosmetic items and some cosmetic items off the list. The major outstanding item is the pool lanai and the poor workmanship by the pool installer which we had to use through the builder since it was the only pool builder they contract with. That is still a major problem we are left to battle out on our own with no backing from Pulte. ... More

The buying process was good, although some information requested that would have helped in our decision making process were not disclosed. Don't be fooled, it is sales. The building process was very good, Jared was excellent keeping us update to date and responding to our concerns and issues. After closing, the response of the 30 day warranty team leaves a lot to be desired. Attention to issues and timeliness was poor. If not for our persistence I don't know when issues would be addressed. This department needs to be improved.

Build quality is not good

Pulte's finishes are weak at best. Their finishing work is suspect and truly they use low-grade products and market them as high-end finishes. If you love the neighborhood and location, just get a bottom-end house from them and have a contractor come in and do the upgrades. You'll pay less and actually get some qualified contractors to do solid work.

The home buying process was smooth with the exception of the "Profiling" we encountered with the Sales representative for the community we live in. While the Manager of the sales team tried to reassure me ...the facts of the situation outweighed her safe responses. Our house was a Inventory house that appeared to have been purchased and then the original owners backed out. They worked so fast to get us approval for occupancy that they really did a less than PULTE job on the house. Our driveway is crooked, Our Keypad does not work on the garage, carpet is coming up (we've only been in the house 5 months) less than responsive times on customer service. They just hired a new manager for the service request. Maybe it will get better. I hope so! ... More

There was an issue with our date of closing and it had to be rescheduled because appliances were not installed before receiving a Certificate of Occupancy. Therefore, our hotel stay was extended, and the moving company charged us a storage fee and a re-delivery fee. This cost us an extra couple thousand dollars. We were not happy to say the least.

Craftsmanship could definitely use more pride, there have been multiple issues we have experienced finish wise on our new home that I wish builders would have taken more care and personal pride in. Getting issues resolved includes a lot of emails back and fourth and is time consuming, which is understandable since they have to fix everyone else’s issues. Overall happy with our new home and the space is perfect for us and our growing family.

Several items were not completed before moving in. Several delays in finishing house. We spent thousands in rental fees while waiting for Pulte to finish our house. When my wife went to get an entrance key for the gym, the person to give those out to her told her she would need to provide a warranty deed before she would be allowed to use the facility. Why is this? Doesn’t Pulte Homes know of a thing called email. Could Pulte Closing just send an email stating who we are and which house we have bought. I am not impressed by Pulte Homes. One thing that bothered me was the contractor supervisor told me and my wife that he provided money to one of our neighbors for their rental fees while waiting for their house to be finished. We asked for this help for our cost and was turned down. Was this favoritism on Pulte’s part, I don’t know but it seemed that way. ... More

Unfortunately we became disillusioned with Pulte administration. From gaslighting to outright untruths. We felt rushed to pick out materials only to have delays six months later as items had not yet been ordered. We felt that Pulte was doing us a favor by building this house. Also, there was very little flexibility when we wanted to make a change but when Pulte made a change we were just supposed to go along with it.we also had multiple project managers. At times, we had become the problem solvers as the managers didn’t seem to know a next step. When we questioned why something wasn’t completed , we simply got an “I don’t know”. On one occasion we were told a step was delayed because two different tradesmen couldn’t get along on the same site! MANY times we were ghosted with no communication for weeks to emails and/or phone calls. The HOA in place also has demonstrated poor communication by not answering emails/calls for weeks. There’s no annual meeting, nor budget presentations. We tried to meet in person and the issue never answered. At this point, we have one wall without drywall in the basement (we have only been here 7 weeks) because a basement window was not sealed. We had mold on the baseboard and drywall. Obviously at this point we can not recommend Pulte at all as a builder. ... More

From a distance homes look beautiful, inside and out. However, upon closer inspection there are design flaws, styling inconsistencies, and poor workmanship throughout from subcontractors with subpar and sometimes damaged materials. I have experience with a Murray Franklin home and the MF quality control is superior by comparison. At the end of the day though, I love my house and love where I live and that makes up for a lot.

The overall home is very nice. The market is high right now so I believe we paid more than what it is worth, but it is comparable to others in the area. The hardest part we have had with this builder is getting things corrected when they aren't right the first time. Getting the crews to come back after you have closed on the house is horrible. It takes a very long time. I would highly recommend if you can to visit your house often before closing and have everything fixed PRIOR.

Our buying experience was less than ideal. The communication was far less than what we thought it should be and the financing with Pulte Mortgage was very frustrating and complex. We ultimately financed through another lender. The construction manager (Nate) was very helpful in giving updates and helping with our request, so that was much appreciated.

This is potentially a pre-emptive review, but since we were prompted by Pulte Homes to submit a review, here's where we are now: - The home is beautiful and we love our lot and community - We have water intrusion on multiple floors of the home: > The living/gathering room windows (plural) are leaking water into the window sill when it rains. Contractor has been out twice to resolve - issue persists. > The basement foundation has a 1/16" crack (extends ~4'), and this is resulting in water in the basement of our brand new home

I wish the quality of homes Pulte built was better. It isn't terrible but it could definitely be better. They have had issues with subcontractors, getting people to do the work in a timely manner, contractors messing up previously completed work that needs to be redone, etc. We experienced many delays and believe much of it could have been mitigated if we had better CMs. They padded the timeframe they told us to complete our home when we signed yet they still weren't able to meet those timeframes. We would have gone 4 mo past the longest timeframe they had given us if we hadn't gotten a new CM and we pushed hard to get our home completed sooner. They also wouldn't let us upgrade to impact windows yet a few months later they are now giving them away for FREE. It's absolutely ridiculous and we should have gotten impact windows. ... More