Pulte Homes Reviews

I have purchased 5 brand new homes over the past 30 years. Lots of experience with various builders. THIS IS MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH PULTE AND IT WILL BE MY LAST. I'LL SEE TO IT THAT MY VOICE IS HEARD TO INFLUENCE OTHERS AGAINST PURCHASING A PULTE HOME. See below for the details. My Pulte home has THE WORST initial build quality I have ever experienced amongst the 5 different builders from whom I purchased 5 brand new homes over the last 30 years. The build crew either is inexperienced or simply does not care about doing a quality job. I paid extra for upgraded interior trim packages (in the foyer, whole house and also the window stool & 4 side casing). The upgrades include baseboard moldings, moldings around all door openings and all windows. I also paid extra for the modern style wainscoting in the foyer. The crew installed incorrect wainscoting and they had to redo the job. In so doing, they damaged drywall and one of the moldings. The redo quality was so poor, the field manager had to get another team in to fix the redo performed by the first team. So, the job was performed 3 times! In regard to the upgraded interior trim package around all door openings and windows: the trim was installed but the paint job was ATROCIOUS - ABSOLUTELY HIDEOUS!!! The paint application on EVERY molding throughout the house was applied so thick that large globs and streaks of paint ran down the surface of the moldings and / or there was very heavy "orange peel" glaringly evident in the paint applied to the moldings. This quality issue was left by the crew, remained as is and left to dry. It took my effort to point this out to the onsite team and ask for it to be redone. The paint issue fix was attempted by reapplying the paint prior to my closing date. It looks better than the initial job but still is sub-par from a quality appearance. The moldings should have been removed and replaced with new moldings that would have a smooth surface on which paint could be properly applied. The drywall quality is also the worst I have ever seen in a newly constructed home. Several issues that I identified were fixed prior to closing but there are still about a half-dozen glaringly obvious "mistakes" that have been poorly addressed and are not resolved. I understand that dry wall issues will be addressed at the 1 year mark, but DO THE JOB RIGHT THE FIRST TIME and you won't need to come back!!!! Another issue I have is regarding the upgraded Kitchenaide vent hood that resides over the optional kitchen cook top. The hood was installed with 2 dents on the outboard-facing surface (facing the user at eye level). Strike 1. The onsite team removed a hood from another home in the neighborhood and installed it in my home to replace the damaged hood. They took a non-Kitchenaide model and replaced my upgraded Kitchenaide vent hood with this standard, non upgraded model. Strike 2. Next, the team ordered a Kitchenaide brand vent hood to replace the incorrect hood. When this vent hood was removed from the box by the installation team at my home, it was badly dented and damaged out of the box worse than the initial vent hood. Strike 3. You also need to know that during this entire time the stainless steel chimney that covers the wiring was never installed because the onsite team was holding off to install it after the new vent hood installation. So, another vent hood was ordered (number 4). It arrived undamaged and was installed after closing day. At that time, the stainless steel chimney was installed to cover up the wiring that goes up into the ceiling. The chimney that was installed was damaged / dented at installation. This transpired within the first 30 days after closing. I reported this issue with the dented chimney on my 30-day punch list. Pulte sent a service company out to my home to retrieve the dented chimney. Well, neither Pulte nor the service company had the courtesy to inform me about that service call. I came home to find a note on my door referring to the service call. To add fuel to the fire, they came the day after the 30-day period. So, I called the telephone number on the notice to have it rescheduled. The company would not come out. I contacted the local Pulte warranty customer rep. She referred me to Pulte/Whirlpool customer service to address the issue. HA!! When I spoke with a representative at Pulte/Whirlpool customer service, I was informed they would not replace the chimney because it was after the 30-day period. FOUL ON THE PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pulte attempted to fix this issue but PULTE has DROPPED THE BALL!! My experience as noted above has proved that Pulte has no integrity and does not stand behind their so-called quality mantra. This is not an inexpensive home. The cost is well over $400,000. If you care about the customer (ME), please contact me so we can move forward to get these issues addressed, especially the dent in the hood vent chimney. Until then, I STRONGLY ADVISE EVERYONE CONSIDERING A PULTE HOME PURCHASE - DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. LOOK ELSEWHERE!! There are plenty of other builders from which to choose for your new home purchase, and builders who will do a high-quality job and stand behind their workmanship! ... More

There is a culture of shoddy workman ship that has developed. Almost everyone who worked on our home had to come back to cleanup or redo something they did. Forget about the home warranty department. They don't respond. I will never buy from a National builder again.

I spent $8k+ to upgrade all the cabinets to maple solid wood. However, it turns out they gave me laminate cabinets. Tried to contact customer. Never got any reply. Stay away!!!

The outside light fell apart within days of moving in when a moderate wind blew across our neighborhood. The plastic mold between our outside door and the door frame keep falling apart, making cold air rush into the building. The water heating system is a mess; when one bath heater is turned on, every other heating system goes cold. This means that everyone in the household needs between 30 minutes to one hour in the morning to take turns for shower.

Pulte does not fix problems, they hide problems! In my master bathroom I ordered gray grout to match the tile grout in my shower. Instead they installed white grout!! Instead of fixing the problem the correct way, tear out the 100 square feet of tile and install new tile with the correct grout they decided to use a grinder and try to grind out some of the grout. And in places near the wall all they did was put silicone grout on top of the white grout, That was not what I ordered and now the grout is concave above the floor line. Also now I have razor sharp edges on my tile. So now the problem is worse, And they won.t fix it!! Now I have white grout bleeding through the added grout!! Additionally I replaced a toilet and then the water valve started to leak which was a defective part and they won't cover it, they said because I replaced the toilet the water valve that I didn't replace was my responsibility!! The faulty water valve pulte installed, I had to pay $400 to fix Pulte's fault parts. Additionally the linen closet door would not close properly. They said because I painted it, they would not fix it!! Do not buy a home from Pulte! You will regret it! ... More

We have a beautiful home, but don’t look too close. Pulte has absolutely zero care for quality. We still have paint splatters on the floors, crooked window jambs, visible drywall seams on the ceilings, visible nail holes and joints on trim throughout low voltage cable installed in the wrong place. All of which was pointed out to Pulte multiple times and promised to be fixed before closing. We’ve been in the house for a month and those issues are not fixed. When replacing a light fixture in a bathroom I found a NEC code violation, Pulte denies. Getting a hold of Pulte is becoming increasingly more difficult. My first review had much more detail of how bad Pulte’s quality is, but i was simply told it “contains inappropriate content” so it wasn’t published. If this one is also “inappropriate” please let me know why. ... More

While the salesperson (David) and Erin (Project Manager) were both terrific, the overall experience in building a Pulte home was anything but. They are the definition of a tract builder that slaps up the houses in record time...workmanship is atrocious. But, the fact that we were told just a few days before closing that our home did not appraise is sickening. We didn't even do many upgrades (like countertops, flooring, fixtures) because the Pulte offerings were so outdated...can't even imagine how much more under the appraised value the home would have been with these items added to the sales price. Typically, if a home does not appraise, you either cancel the contract or bring the difference in $$$ to the table. We were not allowed out of the contract and had to take on a different loan product with PMI, which Pulte "graciously" paid for...probably because we decided to use them as a lender. Can't even imagine if we had used another lender and had to bring the dollars to the table. We were also told that appraisers were brought in from other parts of the state and were not familiar with the Carmel-Westfield market. Wow. Do your homework before moving forward with any Pulte product. ... More

When I found out that Pulte was the builder I did not have high hopes and Pulte did not disappoint. The house was wrong from they day the footers were dug incorrectly which is an issue I had to point out to the Field Manager myself. There isn’t enough space to go into detail with all the issues that we encountered during this build. I fully expect there to be major structural issues with the house within the 10 year structural warranty. The Field Supervisor was replaced and I will say that things went much more smoothly after that. On a positive note I will say that Pulte used good quality materials (Schlute waterproofing/Pex pluming/hot water recirc pump) but the craftsmanship was WAY under what I would expect in a house in this price range. ... More

Pulte builds a SOLID structure. The quality of the inside craftsmanship is more like I’m moving into a remodeled home. Or let me put it this way, when I buy a new car I expect a NEW CAR, without a scratch on it. Or I bought my home based on the Model home. Pulte would never sell homes based on the craftsmanship of my home. The paint job is horrible, clumps of paint, heavy brush strokes, uneven walls, the baseboards (not wood but MDF Cardboard) are grainy, spray painted the dirt on the floor onto the baseboards. The paint on the cabinets was poor, the floors had paint splatters that took me a day to take off, the front and door to garage have/had gaps to the outside, our bathroom door was crooked, we realized the door casing was put up crooked and most of the doors were sanded poorly-painted the spot only causing flashing, the doors at the hinges are scuffed to the point that the particle board was exposed and painting it will leave rough marks, grout missing from tile in shower, grout not cleaned after grout, backsplash tile under cabinet not finished off, i was told that is how PULTE finishes it’s tile. So I went to the Model home and took pictures...modeled backsplash finished flawlessly, I have jagged unfinished edges...I can send pictures. Sorry you don’t make provision for pictures to be published. We had human waste in 2 places, quest bedroom and master bath and, cousins (who does not work for PULTE) had to stop the tile people from tiling over the human waste that could have been a health issue. Easy fix has to be brought to the attention several times. The expensive zero corner doors are ruined inside and outside by tile installation and stucco installation, and it can’t be cleaned off because it will oxidize the aluminum and rust, The front door lock did not work with the Smart home system we bought, took weeks before I could get it replaced by the Warranty office. And good luck with the Warranty office, they say one thing and do nothing. Contractors are working for a check, they don’t care how it looks, it’s not their money. There are so many homes going up they have to rush through the home. Very poor craftsmanship at least in my home and the home of my neighbors. ... More

I had multiple issues from the time of setting mortgage with Pulte to problems with the home. we had issues with the tiles broken || Laundry room did not have space for dryer (poor planning) || Cabinets cracking || Doors were not sealed correctly and made squeaking sounds. || My laws was damaged by the construction workers || The water lines were broken and leaked waters|| the walls are not build in straight line hmm and i can go on and on || more than half of the issues is still not fixed.

Please contact me for all the details. I can only say that after I signed my purchase agreement and paid my deposit everything was a down spiral. Multiple reasonable requests during construction ignored, complaints about quality ignored, I even had to vacuum clean the site myself to mitigate health problems to my asthmatic daughter. Late closing and promises to fix things next week every week ( we are 3 months after closing) that were either not fixed at all or the fixed were bad and are in line for the next round of fixes. I am very disappointed with the overall experience.

We ordered a kitchen upgrade and countertop upgrade. Job was done terrible and not professionally. My kitchen island is off level and crooked, my countertop looks used and "dirty" and my kitchen cabinets were full of stain spots that made the doors look dirty. Crown molding was not level, cabinet doors were also bendy and curved. Drawers were not adjusted. Granite backsplash was 1/4inch shorter than the countertop itself. My house looks as if it was built by a 5 year old. Carpet was not placed correctly and was not stretched all the way leaving holes between the wall and carpet. There is a big hole under the laminate in our floors. Rep came out to "fix it" but nothing changed. The floors in the home are terrible, when you walk on them, the whole house trembles. I can hear bottles of perfume rattling when I walk. The trim on the walls looks greasy when the holes were covered up. In one of my bedrooms there is a visible bump where two sheets of sheetrock come together. The spindles on the stairs are a different color. A lot of small details that make us very upset. Terrible job done. Quality is not worth the amount of money for this home. When we complain they all tell us "its normal and its standard". Would not recommend to anyone. Will never buy house from this company again. ... More

Poor quality, finish and workmanship. Delayed and ineffective communication. Once they have your money they couldn't care less about the finished product they are selling. Same homes and floor plans adjacent to mine with same upgrades getting sold for much lesser than what I paid for. Very poor job, less than 2 months and paint is flaking off, drywall and wooden doors are chipping. Haphazard and untidy layout of townhomes in this phase. Nothing is finished. Have no idea why we are paying HOA. The only redeeming factors are location and floor plan. Otherwise please look at the numerous new construction available around here before buying in Pulte. ... More

We were so excited to move into our new home, but all we’ve been doing is filling out work orders to have everything fixed. We are very disappointed.

Nails are poking through the siding. The gutters were installed improperly. My patio concrete was broken. My floors aren't level and need to be removed and replaced. My walls weren't sanded before being painted. There are zero smooth corners in the house. I have "orange peel" all over my walls and ceilings. My windows aren't hung level. There are very few 90 degree corners in my house. The trusses in my attic are covered in MOLD. My shower was installed with broken tiles and a shoddy repair was done, the entire shower needs to he ripped out and redone. My ducts werent attached to the vents and I have insulation blowing into the house. The shower doors were installed improperly and had to be replaced. I could list more issues from my two month old house but I'll wait and see if "it can be done better". ... More

I recently purchased a new condominium from Pulte Homes (Lofts at Reston Station) and it has been a nightmare. I hear every footstep from the upstairs neighbor, as well as other noise. Pulte staff promised that you would not hear noise from neighbors, but they refuse to complete a sound inspection or take measures to mitigate the noise.

A lot of promises up front, but a disappointing process. Poor workmanship, little attention to detail, disrespect for the property. All inside doors poor quality, cheapest, not solid, they are hollow. Phone calls not returned. Front yard landscaping had collapsed area next to driveway on closing day, and they installed two trees that are inappropriate selections for the size of the yard. Wish I had shopped around more.

Received a home with many issues. Toilets clogged, gutter clogged. Painting all over the floor. People seem to misguide and give wrong information. Why did Pulte think my Review is in appropriate? I am writing my true experience.

House closed on 9/30/2019 per Pulte request and we could not movie in until 11/10/2019. Pulte refuse to pay utilities fee and HOA fee for the month of October, 2019. We as customer have to pay the utilities bill and HOA fee for the entire month of October, 2019 even we could not move in. Today is 11/15/2019 still have lot of issues need to be fixed. I'm taking vacation from work and sitting in the house waiting for works to come to fix problems. I hope someone from Pulte can help us to resolve all the issues. Currently, I could not get warranty manager or the construction manager to reply my email or answer my call. ... More

We were rushed to close on a house that was not completely finished. We ended up not moving into our home for two weeks after the purchase so Pulte could fix numerous issues that needed to be redone of finished. Even after that, it took multiple weeks to get other issues resolved. Eventually, we were sick and tired of Pulte not finishing things correctly or in a timely way and decided that any minor issues we still have will be done by us with our own contractors of our choosing.

Home was delayed by 6 months past initial closing Time, workmanship is terrible and repairs have still not been completed at month after moving in, financing with Pulte mortgage was a complete disaster.

Very poor quality construction for the money they charged. Not at all satisfied with quality.

I searched the web for reviews on Pulte before signing my contract and most were pretty bad reviews. Unfortunately for me, I moved forward with the purchase and here I am, adding to the bad reviews. I should have known better and I'll be kicking myself for a long time. Overall, the subcontractors performed subpar work and all their work went unsupervised by the Pulte field manager. The field manager told me during and after construction that he was too busy to supervise and quality control the subcontractors. That's great news for a new homeowner. (The cheapest subs Pulte can find are building my house with no supervision) I believe the field manager because I saw the poor workmanship for myself and really felt it after I moved in and uncovered multiple problems. I have been in my home for 6-weeks now and still can't take a shower in my master bath due to poor workmanship. My issues were not specific to me, 3 out of 4 of my neighbors had a major issue immediately after taking possession of the home. Overall, real bad experience but you will probably have the same experience with any national builder. If you want a quality home, build a custom home. ... More

Bought my home after seeing their model house but the one they constructed for me had all sorts of issues. They also changed the exterior layout of what they promised at the sale time. The date of completion was pushed back to 2 months and there was no clear visibility as when they will be really done.

Have been many issues and I have given my feedback earlier with details. So do not want to repeat those - but I would not recommend any of my friends to buy from here. I think Pulte quality has deteriorated.