Pulte Homes Reviews in Chicago, IL

Pulte built a structurally sound home. Buying process was painful. Design Center was a great experience. Quality of workmanship was mixed (example; floor and tile work were great, Paint and finish carpentry not so great). Overall, a builder's grade quality home. Optional design choices offered are very overpriced. Staff is responsive to issue resolution.

We expected the Fire Place to be in the wall NOT IN THE CORNER. No one told me that it would be in the corner and no one told me that I would lose one window and it would shorten the space in the gathering room. Second FAULTY LAYOUT with one light outside the garage door hiding behind the Pole. No one offered to have wash sink in the Laundry Room which is very important to have it. Most of work seems to be to finish the construction this way or that way and take my money and run away. Very bad experience.

Buying a home with Pulte was a bit of a challenge. I think the product is nice and a good value, but they definitely oversell what they provide. For instance, we got the smart home package which on their website claims to include a video doorbell. We only found out this apparently no longer includes that feature weeks before our closing? Even though the website still states the smart home package includes a video doorbell...? Also, our builder Garrison was pretty arrogant and insecure during many occasions. For instance, he assured us the baseboards that were installed 1 week before closing were correct only to find out after our closing all baseboards had to be re-installed because he was actually wrong...? Also, we had a family friend come with us for a pre-drywall walkthrough since my wife and I are not aware of what to look for in these situations only to be told that we COULD NOT bring anyway with us at our final walkthrough. This seems odd since we are paying a lot of money for a house but we can't bring in any counsel to help us keep Garrison and his team accountable and to give us peace of mind? We also know of other homes in our development where there is constantly trash littered within the home, some shotty worksmanship, and even things such as hot plates with ground beef scattered all about the home. Pulte really tries to sell their quality and first class product and service which just did not measure up to reality. However, all in all, the house does look great and after a couple of weeks in, my wife and I are happy so far. So little situations or annoyances aside, we do believe that Garrison and his team did build a nice house that we are looking forward to making our home for years to come. ... More

If I could change something it would be the elevation and house selection which was rushed and not explained at all. Explanation about structural add ons to the house was poor and lot appearance features like height and elevation not explained. I had no idea the about the details like shingles, garage door appearance etc. Craftsmanship and, closing has overall been good.

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

We moved in 2 months ago and still do not have a sidewalk, back stoop, driveway, final grading or sod. Pulte was in a hurray to get us closed in March but not to complete their outside work except where required to get an occupancy permit for later closings. The Pulte personnel we deal with are helpful but I think their hands are tied by the ridged policies of Pulte. As to quality of workmanship, I don't think they do a better job than any other builder. A buyer has to pay a lot for extras just to get good, but not great, quality finishes. $1,313 for a basic laundry tub. $1,330 for a couple cabinets in the laundry room. $183 for a single ceiling light and another $120 for the switch to turn it on! Bathroom faucets spill water on the back of the sink. The upgraded paint they use rubs off easily. Drywall imperfections are obvious. Garage is dry walled and taped but not mudded or painted. Front stoop roughly finished and loaded with stains. Trim around front door roughly finished. Perhaps this is to be expected for any new construction, but it doesn't make a buyer of a half million dollar house feel special. We have a generally well built home but I would not say it is exceptionally good quality. If possible for a buyer, he or she would be better off using an outside contractor for painting and closet cabinetry. Finally, Pulte continues its nickel and diming at closing by requiring the buyer to reimburse it for transfer taxes that are by law customarily a seller's obligation. ... More

The two weeks leading up to closing and now the weeks following closing have not been good. Communication has lacked, follow through has been non existent. Punch list items from final walk through are still not done and we’ve been in the new how over a month now.

Lack of trades work being checked for quality. It seems the area lacks the labor force to meet deadlines. I would reconsider if I could. Get sod in back because the other option is all weeds. The area was strewn with garbage and nails and old wood throughout process. They try but to much going on.

Will need to be very critical of build quality issues

Design experience in a digital world should be digital. Not read a PDF with all your options. Should be a digital model of one’s home which allows for an immersive experience to put in options and lighting that gives you transparency in cost and choices vs. a rushed feeling when you get to the design studio. Trades are challenging and carpentry at times are a miss. The way they care for your home should be with more care and awareness of where and how they place things that are already built by other trades.

In general, I like the house. But I expected a little more quality for the price I’m paying. But that my just be a product of the current overpriced housing market. Also, some of the workmanship, such as on the doors, the cabinets, and shower, could have been better. My experience with Pulte Mortgage nearly soured the whole experience. I would strongly recommend saving every single correspondence email with Pulte Mortgage in case they accuse you of not replying or if they try to offer you something different from their correspondence. The sales team was amazing. Generally the responsive tone of Pulte is great although I will have to re-submit a request after not hearing back from someone for over a week. All in all, I would at best recommend Pulte to others but with reservation. I would not recommend some of the upgrades we got though. ... More

Pulte bank and Pulte as a organization can use targeted diversity equity and inclusion training as historically the company struggles with homebuyers of color. I did experience this! I do enjoy having my home complete.

Workmanship: It's okay but aesthetic precision could use some work (Personally being a big fan of proper symmetry and angling, I see some areas aren't exactly perpendicular/parallel. Again, those are only visible upon minutely observing but for the price we pay, I would think those should be a part of the inspection from the builder's side) Wall corners are delicate: There were some aesthetic/cosmetic issues when we moved in (scuffed corners, paint touch ups missing). Some times, a soft dash with the wall/door corner makes a slightly noticeable dent in it. I would think those materials should be a little more durable. Also, We know that the house settles in as you use it and stay in it, but some of the cabinet corner gaps and wood surfaces seem to be expanding (these are minor observations but I hope they don't get too bad). We are still within the 1 year workmanship warranty period so I hope those issues get fixed. ... More

Overall a good experience, a lot of little details we over looked that I wish we paid more attention to. Everything we asked for they did. If I could do it again I would but I would be more involved and went and inspected the house more through out the building process.

Working with the sales consultant was great for the most part, until the very end when communication basically stopped. For your sake, I hope you don't have any issues because getting them addressed is time consuming and getting someone to actually help you is difficult. You pay a lot of money for not great service. I continue to notice poor craftmanship in my home and the interior paint job has tons of issues. It simply wasn't possible to catch everything during our walk through and now what was missed we are stuck with. My floor creaks all over my bedroom. Overall, I love the look and design of my home, but for the money I paid, I would have expected better work. ... More

Overall experience is ok and quality of the house isn’t great.

Honestly i wasn’t too happy with the process. Started off with a sales consultant who didn’t follow up with the process of the bidding. Then because of lack of communication, we had to change the model of the house we wanted and the colors for the exterior. We were told dates of work to be done and no calls or emails to inform us of delays. We understand labor shortages and supply shortage but a simple email or call would help the buyer know estimated times. Then upon closing the title rep gave us the run around. The lawyer that represented us was even frustrated and he’s been doing this for many years and dealt with many new builds. The construction on the home is great the only issue is they didn’t clean up the leftover materials and scraps. I’ve been finding wood boards and small metal gutter pieces that are dangerous in the yard. The front door was dented when being painted and that wasn’t repaired and now I would need to file a claim for the door because we didn’t notice it sooner. We were told we would have something down in the yard for our dogs because the sod cannot be installed until a later date and that hasn’t been done either. We have nothing but a dirt pile and mud. ... More

At Trails of Woods Creek in Algonquin, homebuyers are passed along from sales rep Kristen or Christine, to Celeste at the design center, to construction manager Anthony, to Brandon for pre-drywall review, to Alex for pre-closing review, to Kerie for after-sale support. It would be helpful to have a single advocate homebuyers could turn to at any stage for support or to have their questions answered. It is difficult to find out what is included in the base price, because the models include so many options. This is especially true for lighting and electrical outlets. Be persistent and keep asking. Ask to see the base plans. You may be surprised to find that there are no overhead lights in the bedrooms, or that no mirrors are included in the master bathroom. While the base price might be competitive, options are often significantly overpriced. For example, for $734, Pulte will not install the two standard toilets included in the base price of the home, which can be bought for $114.80 each, and instead install tall height toilets which can be bought for $167.30 each. No additional labor and $105 additional parts costs, and for this they charge $734. It is best to avoid options which can be easily changed out after closing at less cost. ... More

Get your issues resolved prior to closing

Our journey with Pulte to build our first home was good if not great. From the first step the Sales consultant was a huge help in getting us to know about the community and the house. There were a couple of instance where he did not notified us about a couple of things which may have been better if we would have known about it. The design center appointment also went. There were a few hiccups during our closing and after few calls we were able to solve it with Pulte's team. Pulte's loan team was also nice and helped us in every possible steps. Once we moved in, construction manager was also very helpful with all the questions we had. The landscaping and driveway works seems to be taking longer than expected and we hope it will be done sooner rather than later. ... More

Good comfortable house. Things to be fixed take longer than expected. Nothing to do with material just simply getting things fixed.

This is our second Pulte home. Our previous one, built two years ago, showed a much higher quality of finish. At first glance during our walkthrough, the home seemed striking. Of course, your heart is racing at the reveal, and there is so much to see, that it is difficult to see everything. Once we furnish and accessorize the home it will look beautiful. However, being our second Pulte home, we are disappointed at the use of MDF (like cardboard with a nice plastic finish) as a trim material. It is difficult to repair should it get dinged or gauged. We noted several of these dings and gouges during our walkthrough, and the painter had a very difficult time repairing those so they did not show. Also, we closed at the end of December. Though we expressed no hurry to do so, Pulte Management appeared to put tremendous pressure on every Pulte employee from "Sales to Closing" to finish the home by the end of the year (for Pulte's benefit). We found several issues after the walkthrough. The drywall is kind of "wavy". If you place a two foot level on it to hang a picture, the level often rocks back and forth. The "wavy-ness" also shows up in the baseboards. As you sight down the baseboard you can see it dip in and out pretty severely in a few places. You can clearly feel dips/rises in the floor at certain places as you walk through the home. Most of what we did catch during the walkthrough was taken care of quickly. We still have some nail heads that show around the kitchen cabinet area, and you can see light leaking under the center of the front door. The (gray) wall paint is either a cheap grade of Sherwin Williams paint, or only one coat, but just the slightest contact with it seems to leave a mark. There is a large paved patio included with the home, but we are disappointed that the neighbor's AC Compressor is literally right at the end of the patio. Of course, this an architectural/design issue, not a build issue. (We cannot imagine sitting next to the AC unit during the warm summer months.) We are pleased with the efficiency of the home. It seems to be well sealed and insulated. There is a full unfinished basement below the living area that is trimmed out very cleanly. Winter weather did not allow for the outside trim to get a final coat of stain. Landscaping will be completed as weather permits. We are hoping to resolve as many of the above issues as possible before our one year warranty terminates. ... More

The 10 yrs warranty thay they mention at the time of marketing is ONLY for the structural and not for the entire home. Quality of product or workmanship is ok.

There was great communication between the sales office and me but their seemed to be a lack of communication elsewhere. There were a few instances where I was told one thing and it was wrong or for some reason it had to be changed. I wished I was aware of those changes before they were put in place. For instance in the design center, I was showed the cabinet garbage holder and was told that’s the one I would get and I got a cheaper version instead. There was also the instance of the whole process of getting an offer accepted and not being able to actually see the lots before the offers had to be put in and signed. This was also with having a limit on the sales appointment. I was mailed the contract very early in the morning and had to sign it before 12pm the same day. ... More

Pulte was great to work with during the construction process. We were notified of each phase of construction and response time for questions was very good. I can’t say the same for issues after closing on my home. The response time is much slower, requires multiple attempts (takes several weeks). There were also a few surprises which were not told to us during the buying process. The home quality appears to be okay. There could have been more care taken in leaving the outside of the home cleaner, eg. cement splatter, pieces of siding and nails. The Design Center experience was fun, many options to choose from. Overall, I liked working with Pulte. ... More