Pulte Homes Reviews

We purchased from Pulte in September of 2022 in the Willow Ridge development in Montverde, Florida and were given a target completion date of May to July 2023. We thought it was a bit long as our previous, larger home (nearly 2x the size, with a basement, 2nd floor and built during cold Ohio winter) was built by Ryan Homes in Ohio in less than half that time - but we noticed the timeline wasn't too far off from other builders and Pulte said this was part of building a "Quality home". However, as we would commonly find, they overpromised and under-delivered. We were finally able to close at over 13 months (end of October 2023). First, I'll start with the build. We were not given a pre-construction timeline (which is supposed to be mandatory, but our builder "forgot"), and Pulte waited for over 4 months to start construction. When it started, our builder never responded to questions, status requests nor provided updates - only our sales person did and she'd always say, “everything is on track”. Our builder failed inspections multiple times for electrical, mechanical, pre-dry wall, plumbing and anything else that was checked and many times he failed for the same thing over and over, which led to months of delay since they could not build a home to code minimums (let alone build a quality home). Pulte would also not tell us what they were being failed for and we had to go directly to the township to get the details which generally were poor quality work that didn't meet basic code requirements. We paid for some upgrades (outlets, flooring, etc.) that the builder "missed" and when we pointed it out to him, he went and took credit for finding issues. In April, when we asked to confirm that it was on track for an end of June closing, we were told "all is going well" by the sales person (since construction lead never responded). So we moved forward and sold our house to coincide with that closing. But, despite the email notice of a June 27th closing, we did not close for another 4 month after that. This meant temporary housing and high expense for storage because we had already sold and agreed on closing of our previous home. Pulte said, "Sorry, this doesn't usually happen". One would think after waiting for over a year for a 1 story ranch (no attic or basement) it would be high quality and completely ready, but that would be a wrong assumption. After 13+ months our house was not "finished" when we moved in. When we moved in it was in a state that would not be acceptable from a pre-owned home. There was dirt all over the floor, missing paint spots, paint stains on the counter, irrigation not working, issues with hot water, garbage disposal didn't work, worker trash in the house, paint splatter on the floor (carpet and wood), piles of dirt on our patio, missing sod that wasn't replaced, scratches all over the hardwood floors, cut water lines, problems with electrical wiring (not done correctly), missing grout in showers, dented garage doors, ants in the house, windows that didn't work, etc. Most of this was pointed out in the pre-close walkthrough and wasn't fixed. Even worse is that as I write this, we are over 1 month in and much of this is still not fixed. They did offer to clean the floors but wanted us to cancel our movers and push back our move in date and extend our temporary housing. This couldn't happen because 1) our movers were already on the road from over 1000 miles away 2) our temp housing was set based on the closing date. They did clean the floors around our stuff after moving in, but the carpet should have been replaced and this should have all be done prior to moving in. We were told, "Sorry, this never happens". For financing, the mortgage company would take days to get back to me on any request but when they wanted something it always had to be by the end of the day. They also constantly wanted reassurance that I had the money despite credit score >800 and notification of proceeds of the sale of my previous home. It was clear this was all a financial transaction and they needed assurance on the day before since they hadn’t given an amount. At this point, they said "it has to be a wire transfer and done by today - we should have told you that weeks ago, sorry." Of course, this is with 3.5 hours before banks close and not easy to get that done without an appointment, but after accepted another "sorry". But, when we got to the closing that was scheduled more than a month prior, they were still gathering all their paperwork and asked if we could leave for a bit so they could work on someone else's closing while they got our information sorted. This was followed by getting keys to a house that was in disarray as previously detailed. I'd call it a comedy of errors, but it is not funny when it is the largest investment that you make. Bottom line, stay away from them (at least in FL), don't believe anything they say because they will tell you what they think you want to hear, and look for other builders. I had previously built with Ryan Homes and the experience was infinitely better from start to finish. After a month in the house, I continue to be shocked and appalled at the poor quality done on the house and the number of corners cut. In Ohio, Pulte was known for good work -but I really can't say any stronger to potential buyers to look elsewhere unless you like hearing, "Sorry, that shouldn't have happened/have been that way" with no actions behind hollow words. They do not care for their clients, just that they get paid. We were denied schooling for our kids based on temp housing, no compensation for temp living and months of storage. Poorly build home. Stay away. ... More

I wish I had something better to say, the mortgage experience was terrible, last minute they switched out our construction manager (he was pretty decent) to a new one that pretty much didn’t care. I still having issues with my grass and irrigation and zero answers… there’s plenty of little cosmetic issues inside the house that need to be addressed.

Poor poor workmanship. And advice to future homebuyers, DO NOT CLOSE with open items. We closed end of Sept and are still working through exterior open items one month later, never mind open interior items. But the bigger issue is quality and workmanship. Really, really sub-par. Must be a skilled labor shortage coupled with tok much work to get done. Everything with ours feels rushed and low regard for quality workmanship.

Things that are terrible in our home: the paint, frame, drywall seams, missing range and dishwasher components, damaged microwave, unfinished paint, sketchy fixes to issues (they will hide or try to hide problems before they fix them properly, you have to make them), missing studs behind drywall seams and a host of other issues. Their homes are not measured and framed on site, all walls and joists are assembled off site soemwhere and shipped on a truck so that's one of the reasons why the drywalls seams are so bad. The craftsmanship is a joke and we get to live there, thanks Pulte.

Please do not use pulte’s PGP for your closing. Get your own. Destiny is one of the most unprofessional people we have ever dealt with. Pulte tried to move our closing a week later because they did not submit the paperwork to the proper county. Having this mistake they told us just the day before our closing and was unwilling to fix it. We remedied the situation on our own and they still didn’t want to close. We made them close and destiny was very unprofessional through the whole thing. Then when we closed our keys did not work for our house. When we told them all they said was the keys should work. We worked it out on our own and they gave us the keys to the right house but installed a different houses lock onto our house. There are a lot of things they didn’t fix in our walkthrough as of the closet door not closing and our guest closet falling off. Also speaking to all our neighbors they received closing gifts from pulte and we received none. Which that isn’t a big deal but being a first time home buyer this process is supposed to be exciting and they took all the excitement out of it. Pulte is not worth it. ... More

My builder had rushed closing and left my garage unfinished and multiple issues throughout the house. I have broken wood unleveled floors, cabinets installed incorrectly and paint that is chipping.

You guys don't do anything and never keep your word

From my experience with this company First, the materials are cheap and of poor quality Secondly, there are major problems inside and outside the house at all levels Please contact me to clarify the matter

Sloppy trades, especially painters. Cabinets in kitchen and bathrooms not installed properly, huge gaps, do not close like they should, peeling, bubbling. Caulking looks like a five-year-old did it.

This company is very irresponsible, I handed over the house with a large water leak, in bathrooms and an invoice of more than USD859 for this problem, the garden grass was handed over dry in a terrible state. I paid for an electrical connection for an electric car and it was not there, the dishwasher did not work, many touch-ups due to failures in doors, walls, the roof was distorted outside the house, the interior doors are raised with a space of at least 2" left girls, poor quality cabinets, worst of all, is that the water is 30 centimeters deep. Automatic sprinkler system does not work. They cut it off due to the water leak, water that I have to pay for, they are not responsible for it ... More

It wasn’t experience more of hassle to find the information. Still trying to understand

Terrible experience, I can't recommend pulte to my enemy. From mortgage lender, salesman, and title company. All with different issues. You guys are not trying at all, you are playing.

What started in May of 2022 as an exciting dream to come true, became a lingering nightmare in May of this year, the very same day of closing. Workmanship, materials, and building management’s response have been the main drivers of our horrible experience. A few days before closing, we did a “Walk-through” with the construction manager and the customer/warranty manager. We found several issues that ranged from electrical outlets lids to broken kitchen cabinets, bathtub drains, and several others. Right after closing, the construction manager met us at the house to go over the findings and the majority of them had been addressed, but we walked the house again, and we found more problems. When I addressed them with this manager, his reply to me was:” I too can walk thru this place and find 18 more things that are wrong, THIS IS CONSTRUCTION, NOT PERFECTION”..Sounds like an ideal motto for a house builder. After six weeks, and many follow up calls issues are being addressed, and more defects are popping out, but the uphill dissatisfaction battle continues, and hopefully will end prior to year end. On a positive note Yvo, our sales person has done an outstanding job, and has gone above and beyond his duties by helping us in communicating with Pulte personnel. Theresa and Vanessa from PGP also helped us make the closing process successful. ... More

I was treated very well to start, but then as time went on that all changed I dont believe what happened to me is the norm but it was horrible. I was treated so badly no respect and lied to I would not suggest to anyone to buy here I am still waiting to have things fixed and finding more things wrong

As a single woman,I was taken advantage of. I feel the people who worked on my home thought or didn’t care that their workmanship was less than poor ! ( I have watched other neighbors demand and get results when a MAN was the buyer! I purchased when the house was in construction stage- studs windows and roof were complete. - I had no idea I would be coming into such a disaster. Caulking on floor, paint on carpet, paint on light switches. Many doors have dings on the bottom- even thought they are in a frame. Exterior Paint must have one coat on porch trim- you can see through paint the measurement written large - I feel the people responsible for overseeing my house thought that since it was already sold, and I was a senior lady, let’s just slap it together - and that’s what I got. I moved from PA and my furniture and belongings were on the way- I did NOT want to close on the scheduled day. I was given a dead tree as the irrigation is not using the water wisely- different sprinkler heads are needed so all the grass gets watered- as mentioned by the lawn care company. I was told the road would be cleaned up after construction. Never happened. If you plan to buy one of these homes, plan to camp out nearby to watch what is going on. ... More

From the beginning, everything has gone wrong. We have not been happy with a single aspect of our home. Everything is sloppy, rushed, broken, just plain awful craftsmanship. There is too much to type to explain all the awful things we have experienced. Just know that it is awful. Hated every minute and still have issues with my home.

The buying process started out as expected, with our home estimated to be delivered in 7-9 months. The construction manager (CM) and sales team kept reinforcing that timeline until about the beginning of month 8. The home was finally delivered after 15 months due to our escalation after the moved the date monthly every month with hardly anything getting accomplished until February 2023 when we had enough of kicking the delivery one more month each and every month and had to escalate to the division president. At that point the management team said they needed a few more weeks beyond what they promised so "we won't leave you with a big punch list of items to fix or complete after closing." Included in that was a five-figure cash payment back to us for out of pocket expenses resulting from the repeated fictional timelines given to use from month 11-15. Pulte had the home "completed" by their own definition, and final inspection done two weeks before close. Instead of the builder fixing the defective tile backsplash that was known 5 weeks prior to close, they left that for us to manage. That tile team damaged 23 cabinet fronts in the process (which we are still awaiting Pulte to replace 11.5 weeks later). The tile team also incompetently installed the two shower upgrades causing water to pour out into the bathroom floor rather than back into the shower. The Pulte Quality Review team seems to have either missed all of this in their review, or the CM chose to ignore it. Regardless, no one from Pulte seemed aware that the showers were not usable and just lets the tile team do whatever with overseeing them. Through the 9 weeks of waiting until both were restored after unexplained delays, we have heard from the tile vendor and the glass surround vendor that this problem is persistent in the Oak Tree development and well known to management...yet they just left the mess for the customer to oversee after closing on the home. We are still waiting for the defects in the sliding doors to be addressed and as 11 weeks, they have no appointment made for that to happen. We had 3 bushes dead and noted before close and those have not yet been replaced, 12 weeks and counting. Slow to deliver, slow to service through the warranty process later even with constant follow ups. Pulte just really doesn't care about much except getting new sales. They work quickly on spec homes that aren't sold, but delay service to the home once it is closed. We've been successful stirring four potential buyers away from Oak Tree and are happy to share our opinion and experience with anyone who wants to hear it. The homes look beautiful, hopefully the quality is better in other areas than the vendors discussed above, but it doesn't seem that Pulte contracts with very competent vendors (Pulte would blame the delays in the delivery process on vendors not doing work that can pass inspection) so we'll see how the structure and mechanical hold up over time. Hopefully the city forcing Pulte to address defects through the inspection process have made this a quality home. I would not recommend doing business with Pulte to anyone. While we were partially compensated for out of pocket expenses caused by the constant delays and poor communication of the real timeline, the frustration they caused during the pre-delivery, delays and then making you wait months for problems identified post-closing to be addressed makes the new home process a nightmare and not worth it. I'll note that our replacement sales team member, P, who serviced our contract in the two months prior to close, was the only person at the company who did not spin the situation or make excuses that it is a vendor fault, the city's fault or anyone's fault but Pulte as the rest of the teams we've interacted with do. ... More

This is the worst business of my life. the house does not have any construction quality for the price. Poorly painted, caulking missing on all walls, exposed drywall, hunched walls, none with 90 degrees, all doors scratched and poorly painted as well as door frames. The air conditioning has been damaged 5 times, the last time I was without air conditioning for more than 24 hours and they still haven't given a solution. Driveway flooring sagging, cabinets damaged, backsplash poorly done, you would never recommend anyone buy a home from Pulte. The warranty department takes time to respond and solve the problems ... More

All issues were uncovered after closing. Below are areas of concern 1. Poor quality paint job despite paying for an upgrade 2. Cheap finishes in the home from faucets/shower heads (paid upgrade), carpet (paid upgrade), tile (paid upgrade), bathroom sinks (paid upgrade) are poor quality and cheap looking. The upgraded tile was also poor quality and the grout applied looks like sloppy and full of holes. 3. No landscaping package offered on an $800k+ home. There are multiple areas of uneven grading for the entire lawn. Grass is dying as the pressure in the sprinkler system is awful. Was informed that it is a known problem but Pulte has done nothing to address it. Nothing will be done to fix as as closing has already taken place, 4. The upgraded cabinets are also poor quality with an installer who did not paid attention to detail; caulking had to be cleaned in numerous areas; nailheads visible on cabinets, visible joint lines etc. 5. Electrical outlets/lights not working in a few areas. 6. Drywall and stucco issues throughout the home. This list just scratches the surface. The bottom line is Pulte does not deliver a high quality home with finishes comparable to its price point. Every single aspect of the home was sub contracted without any expectations of holding contractors to a high standard. This experience demonstrates Pulte has adopted a “profit at the expense of quality” attitude with home building. Pulte will nickel and dime you for every single aspect of the home but fails to deliver anything that would be considered polished and finished. If you are relying on Pulte’s previous reputation as a quality home builder, please don’t. Choose a builder who delivers on a quality home and prides itself on quality workmanship. ... More

Sales agent says one thing to one person and something else to another. Working with the mortgage company was one of the worst experiences of our lives. Title and insurance companies were easy to deal with. Project managers must be over worked because nothing seems to get done in a timely manner- we moved in over a month ago and our door doesn’t lock- still waiting for someone to come and fix it- have to go back to our home in the north soon so will probably have to fix it ourselves. Also light switch cutouts are carelessly done leaving gaps around plates-don’t expect them to fix this. Any repairs noted on walk through still have not been done. ... More

Initial part of Pulte buying and building process goes smoothly, but once you get closer to closing it turns negative. They communicate like you are their priority, but all they care about is closing and getting your money. Once the closing date is set they don't charge it, even if they are behind. They do a poor quality rush job to ensure they can close. Then on the remaining items you are stuck dealing with contractors after closing which is a separate nightmare. After going through all the negative experience, you end up with a poor quality home with stains and scratches on the floor, uneven walls, paint stains on everything (floor, fixtures, etc.) across the house, poor paint job (can see drywall mud), mud stains on carpet, and much more. ... More

I've never seen so many corners being cut to save a few bucks and increase corporate profits. e.g. Commode door is an option. Build quality is the worst I have ever seen. Cracks, nail holes, unfinished surfaces are just a few examples. Main I sues are huge gaps in windows outside. Who does this? I've dealt with Lennar as well, and I was amazed how bad Pulte quality is.

We bought a home built by pulte at the end of last year. And we’ve had a lot of problems since then. The major ones include broken subfloor, broken windows, and the in appropriate dimensioning on the windows (I.e. tapered windows) and Green Mold buildup in the basement. Warranty has been working on most of the issues but when we brought up the issue of mold they won’t repair it. It has been just three months for us living in this house and there is green mold. And when we looked up pictures from construction it seems the green mold existed even before closing. Even after providing evidence to Pulte about the mold, they won’t fix it. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to go with Pulte for their home construction. Please avoid Pulte at all costs. The mold buildup in the home that was present from before the closing date is unacceptable, as it poses a serious health hazard to me and my family. Overall, I would not recommend Pulte Homes to anyone looking to purchase a new construction home. The build quality is poor, and the issues I experienced have made my experience with the company a complete nightmare. If you're considering Pulte Homes, I urge you to look elsewhere and find a builder that can provide you with the quality and professionalism that you deserve. ... More

The finishing work work was horrendously bad: crooked, unfinished trim around the floors, doors that were not level, wall paint over spray on the floor, panels with over a half inch gap in the flooring that was filled in with a brown substance, missing handles on the drawers and cabinet doors, drawers installed with the wrong glides, unpainted end pieces on the cabinet trim, blinds improperly installed and with the wrong handles, door stops installed backwards which punctured the doors etc. Response from those responsible has been very late and the corrections that have been made so far have come with silly excuses as to why those items were left in the condition they were. Over all - cabinetry and fixtures are cheap and I don't expect them to last very long. If not for the constraints of location and timing I would not have bought the house. I can tell you I will not be recommending Pulte to any one and will certainly pass along my experience to those who ask. ... More

No communication, no invitation to see work progress, no follow up. Despite 6 postponements in 2022, all of a sudden a mad rush to close before 12/31 at the cost of cutting corners, sloppy workmanship, unskilled labor. Attribute the lack of quality work to absence of supervision or sub contracting to lowest possible bidder. Things such as cracked tiles, then when replacing tiles, using wrong color grout. Terrible finish work on sheet rock seams and edges. Paint on doorknobs and hinges. Paint spots on brand new appliances and floor. Sloppy finish work on all 5 bathroom cabinets. Wrong touch up paint, using matte where should have been semi-gloss. All 5 toilet seats had blade marks where worker cut through cardboard to remove from packaging. Floor boards in loft completely loose, resulting in removal of carpet to secure and now loose carpet with visible seams. Master bedroom upstairs ceiling joint completely loose, when they tried to repair were unable to screw into ceiling joists leading me to believe that there were no joists in that area. Entire sections of pool area missing sand between pavers. Missing caulk throughout, inside and outside. All in all, sub standard work. The fact that you're asking me for my experience leads me to believe that your company is clueless as to the type of sub standard, unprofessional work being performed by what are obviously unskilled workers. (The young lady attempting to repair sheetrock in upper master bedroom ceiling was about 24 and absolutely clueless as to what she was doing, I saw her!) All of this I observed before closing, I don't want to even think of what is hidden behind the walls, what corners were cut, what shoddy workmanship was performed etc. Sorry, wish I could give better review. ... More