Pulte Homes Reviews in Orlando, FL

We have had nothing but issues since the whole process started. First, our original sales person left the neighborhood and was MIA. We ended up with three different construction managers. We had a long list of items to repair, replace, and/or fix and Pulte has dragged their feet at every opportunity. The few items that been address are still not meeting our minimum expectation.

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.

I spent almost a million dollars on this house and simple things, like the toilet paper rolls, just keep breaking. Overall just terrible quality

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.

Communication was horrible the entire time! I finally moved in and have submitted around 12 service tickets I’m on week number 3 and non of them have been addressed. My next step might be legal representation!

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

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

I was so happy when I decided to buy a new build. However, this happiness was completely lost when I moved in. Quality of materials used is below even apartment grade. Example, the garbage disposal won’t even break down a piece of fruit. The paint job seems like a 12 y/o did it. A Quarter size dent whole in one of the rooms that was supposed to be fixed while I was doing the closing, is still, 1 month later unfixed. I could go on, but I just want all to know be mindful in the process. Go out to the home sight as much as possible and make sure to pressure the contractors to do their jobs. One is paying yo much money to get D grade materials and work. ... More

Sellers agent was shady and Didn’t want to negotiate the price even when appraisal came back lower than listing price. One month after closing, ac started acting up. Got dragged around to get service done. This company only hired cheap subcontractor do do the work. They have messed up the ac thermostat wiring during build causing it to overwork the Motor and somehow the construction mananger signed off on it. It is ridiculous. Ac has been running nonstop. It has now been taken care of but it takes long time and the electric bill was really high due to ac thermostat malfunction. Would not recommend a buying from this builder. ... More

- Built by cheap materials - Home design options were very cheap even after paying for the upgrades. It was better to receive the home with default design and install later. Particularly, I don't recommend buying appliances with Pulte. One can buy it from Home Depot for almost a half price. Pulte charged high prices, and the appliances installed with cracks/scratches and missing parts like missing glass shelf in fridge. - Almost all doors have issues (cracks, missing screws, loose hinges, locks). Pulte employed very bad quality constructors. - Issues raised from Day 1 of moving in. Garage door glitches, septic tank warning light is on and off, etc. I could not find anything has been installed properly; floors are uneven particularly on kitchen island where you feel the most; upgraded carpet and padding are so thin so you can feel nails easily and padding are so bad you can feel there are nails or some construction materials underneath of carpet. Almost every room flooring has issue. - Paid for the isolated study rooms. It was a total waste of money and you are not sure even they installed any sound proofing. - I thought I was unlucky. But neighbors have the same experience; so we are on the same boat :) ... More

It is astonishing that after paying over $1,000,000.00 for a home, the amount of issues present at closing and their refusal to fix those issues presents itself. They consistently try to NOT FIX anything or give excuses as to the existence of those problems. They spend more time trying to explain away problems that are fairly easy to fix.

Very bad finishing work, very irresponsible customer service managers when it comes to getting issues fixed, you call them, they give you the run around, and never get back to you. They make appointment with contractors to get issues fixed, you sit at home waiting and 95% of the time, contractors don’t show up. They managed to turn our dream house into a nightmare with they lack of respect and responsiveness to the house issues, you pretty much have to chase them, and almost beg to fix issues at the house that you paid a lot of money for, like they doing you a favor. I’ve been waiting two months to use a summer kitchen that I paid $18.000,00 for, and still can’t because, the work on it is not complete, not counting the many others finishing issues and I’ve been begging them to have the contractor come and finish, and nothing! I am pretty much giving up on them , and I’m going to have to use legal means to force them to honor the house warranty. I had issues with pulte from day one , beginning with the sales manager, that after the sale was secured, never answered or returned my phone calls and text messages. This was a sign , that I was about to get frustrated throughout the whole buying process, and so I was and still am .The only one that tried to help me in whatever he could, was the foreman named Dominic Romano, other then him, everybody else just give you the run around, and believe me, make you mad. Very bad house buying experience I’ve been having with pulte, not happy at all and I’ll never do business with them again in the future. If you don’t believe me, buy a house with them and find it out for your self . Absolutely not recommended! ... 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

Be cautious about one sided contract. If you delay closing they charge $250 a day. If they delay closing they don’t pay you anything. Delivering a finished home before closing is never in their dictionary, to have buffer for inspection is not a possibility. Pending stuff we’re promised to be finished in a week time after closing, it is now one & half month and people are not even responding. Struggling to connect. Pulte inspection on making sure your specifications are taken care is zero. They give the drawings to sub contractors, if the do their job 100% you are lucky. If you find out your specifications are not there, they take their own sweet time to look and react on it. I have ordered for front load washer and dryer but delivered top load and they say as per the codes it is what I have ordered. The contractor’s language in the itemized list says FL duet, which we understand as front load, contractor confirmed that he has placed an order to replace, now he is saying he can not. I don’t understand where did his order go. Minor upgrades are charged for and not worried to take care of them while constructing. If you don’t notice those upgrades, your money is gone… Not responding to my email even once is the heights of their customer focus business. ... More

All areas of the home are having issues. Knowingly installing recalled electrical panels and refusing to replace them tells the ethical issue. Doors and windows do not match and close properly. The hardware installed is not aligned and is crooked. Tiles have grout and glues that weren't cleaned properly now it is too late to clean. I do not recommend anyone paying round million dollars for the home they are building. Please vet other builders before choosing Pulti.

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

No body take responsability. They say that the contractor come to home to fix the damage and the contractor come very late or don't appear for the house, so waste my time, my money and my patience, i signed two month ago and I can't live in the house because they repair something and damage other thing, I think that this nigtmare never will finish. I need to somebody to take my claims

There are a lot of problems waiting to fix, and all house was rough finish! All the bricks in our front yard and back yard are improperly spaced and uneven height, leaving a big gap, and some of them have black oil stains on. Unfortunately, they have not been solved at present. The ground on the second floor squeaks, walking on it has a sense of insecurity, currently lived in a month, there are two bedroom doors cannot closed.

Pulte is the absolute worst in customer service and construction. Problem after problem in my “new” home. I could’ve bought a 30 year old home and had less issues. Construction team does bare minimum, I don’t know how they pass inspections. I’m watching other homes around me get built and it’s unbelievable how many corners are cut. Buying this home is the biggest regret of my life, infested with ants that are biting my two year old constantly and Pulte says “there’s nothing we can do about it”. Something they could have done is close the doors and windows during the weeks leading up to closing. Every time I came to see progress, everything was left open. They lie about everything and nobody is ever held accountable. If I weren’t going to lose a ton of money, I would sell this house in a heartbeat. I will NEVER consider buying another Pulte home or recommend them. ... More

There should be screens on the backyard door. After closing the house, it was promised to be installed, but it has not been installed after 2 months.

I have purchased several new homes from national builders in FL and in other places. I have never in my life felt so betrayed and completely taken advantage of. In my opinion the quality of the home is terrible, I am embarrassed by it. Sales tells you what you want to hear. Construction promises the world and doesn't deliver then they deny it. Warranty argues every single point to try to get out of doing things the correct way. If you like the sounds of squeaky floors, flashing all over your walls, the most shoddy workmanship that you have seen from top to bottom and then a warranty person trying to intimidate you every time you speak to them then Pulte is for you and you should sign up. Don't take my word for it, ask other Pulte homeowners. I have heard many similar stories to mine from other homeowners. Are there any happy customers?? The worst for me is when you speak to upper management and they do nothing to help with issues that you bring up to them and they take the side of trades and everyone else instead of their customer. You are a number with Pulte and once you close, buckle up and enjoy the adventure because you will need some patience to endure it. ... More

Watching commercials went with Pulte but it is biggest mistake, i wont recommend Pulte for a new home. First Quality of work is very poor, went with their highest upgrades they offer but it doesnt look like the best. Make sure your house is as you expected at closing once closed that it you are going around them no one to answer. I closed home hoping they will finish all the pending jobs but even after a month still not done and wasting my vacations because they schedule and no one will come. When you close make sure everything is done. Quality is very poor, still my patio sliding door are not working, locked and not able to use or i have to struggle half an hour to open it, cabinets when installed were broken and they said it will be replaced but so far not done so our kitchen is not fully usable even 30 days after closing. They will install one that was different from what you choose, make sure it takencare before closing. otherwise they will say what we choose is discontinued. At design center make sure what you choose and take as many pictures and in writing ask them to show kitchen layout with pictures and if possible add them into agreement otherwise they will mess up and say it is not they offer. Overall it is bad experience. May be it is just for me I dont know ... More

They only started to be upfront after surveys were given. We were told originally that our building would be completed in about 8-10 months. It took almost 2 years. The only updates we received were when we reached out. The construction manager (second one that replaced the first one that left the company) was upfront and transparent initially but didn’t correct all the issues brought up at the walk through. Multiple issues with internet (took three weeks because of smashed pipes and needed an electrician that was never provided), tons of cosmetic issues (like an upside down stair rail), exposed live wires from a light that fell and weren’t reached out to until almost a month after closing. I would never ever recommend this builder to anyone. ... More