Pulte Homes Reviews in Austin, TX

Overall it was a long wild ride. The early sales process was simple but even at the start there were unsatisfying choices that had to be made. When you’re told you can have the exact exterior you want, sign, THEN find out actually you can’t have what they said you could - that was disappointing. The build process was frustrating but somewhat expected. Build quality is cheap cheap cheap. They fired the crew that framed our house, wavy walls isn’t a good look. They did their best to fix most of the major issues. Overall we’re happy with our home but would be hesitant to buy a pulte again.

Quality is what they strive for. They are working on it but follow through after the sale for warranty items is slow. Best to stay on top of the process during the build.

We love our home and we know there is a staffing crisis but we’ve had lots of issues. Our PM Josh did a good job but we discovered some things our first month in the home. Here’s a list of our outstanding work orders: Electrical team didn’t properly install exterior light plug, cat 5 wires or high surge protected outlet for tv mount. Still waiting on tv outlet. Garage door makes a “popping” sound-awaiting repair. 2 Blue exterior light boxes exposed awaiting mortar. Outdoor light “sagging” Caulk around bathroom window. Cabinet door above microwave unhinged Rehang study door (small scratch in glass) No privacy lock for the master bedroom Gaps in front pillars need mortar to cover. Almost every issue is an open work order. ... More

Jimmy and Shane were AMAZING! If it was not for them I wouldn’t have anything nice to say. Kelly was my original sales person, the few questions I did have for her which are basic questions i.e. what grade does elementary school go up to, what is the average home bill etc... she had no idea. I originally added a backsplash in my kitchen, she quoted me the wrong price but did honer the price she messed up on. She then emails me a month or so after letting me know that with my countertops not being granite there will be a part that goes up and showed me how it would look. I did not like the way that looked she told me she would see what she could do about upgrading my countertops since again she misinformed me. After several emails asking what the status was on that I found out I had a new sales person. I asked Shawna several times as well what was going on, Shawna told me there was nothing she can do the order had been placed “ but don’t worry once you move in and get settled you can pull that out and replace it and then it will look nice” ( not what I want to hear while I’m building a new home) luckily Shane was able to get that resolved for me and I was refunded my money. Shane was amazing, he was super helpful gave great advice and guided me in the right direction for everything I needed like blinds etc..... Shane was able to answer all the questions Kelly didn’t know and even though I had already bought the house he sold me on this neighborhood. I cannot say enough good things about Jimmy. He is such a lifesaver. He followed up with me every week and kept me in the loop. This is my first home and first time living alone. He went into detail about everything, from the maintenance I need to do on my house once a year, telling me to put locks on the meter on the side of my house, what to use and what not to use on my microwave, stove, dishwasher etc.... I’m so thankful I had Jimmy during this experience, he truly cares and it shows. He called me the morning before I closed to let me know what he was in my house doing a final check before it became my home, and I should be proud of myself being a single mom and being able to do this. Jimmy assured me just because I have closed on my house if I ever need anything to let him know. To this day I still text him and ask him random questions and he is happy to help. It’s nice not feeling like I am just a paycheck to him but he truly has mine and my son‘s best interest. So again if it was not for Jimmy and Shane I wouldn’t have many nice things to say. ... More

Lack of communication from the start. Nobody realized that the option for large frosted glass window in master bath was not allowed by the computer with the walk in shower. It took multiple times of reviewing paperwork to figure it out. Field supervisor was out at the beginning and nobody picked up the ball. Finally heard from him a month after contract and then after that only about every four weeks and that was only after bringing in someone else. That supervisor was out closing week and punch list was not completed before we signed paperwork and even then the fill in just gave excuses. Thankfully none of it impacts living there but Stull have stuff that looks haphazard. ... More

No good finishing, moved closing date 3 times with 5 days of anticipation. No communication between branches.

Overall the house is great but there have been many issues and many warranty calls within the first month of ownership. The house was rushed to be completed and it very clearly shows. The field managers we worked with were great and I don't have anything negative to say about them. Our sales rep wasn't very responsive or helpful though.

attention to detail may improve small issues that should've been taken cared before I moved in were not fixed

5 month delay, followed by many construction issues once we moved in. If you look closely, there are a lot of small details that have not been correctly taken care of in the house. It is a hassle to call Pulte/Warranty department/etc, as it should've never happened in the first place. My AC/Heating unit had missing parts, and took multiple calls and visits to fix--I wish pulte checked the quality of their products before pushing their customers to sign off on it. I also have a couple of lopsided doorframes. Some are rather obvious, but some not too noticeable. This could've been easily prevented, but it seems pulte is rushing through the building process and not paying enough attention to detail. ... More

We keep being told that work will be done and then nothing . . . No one reaches back out to us like they say they are, to actually get the work done. It’s been a bit disappointing.

Be sure to ask to see a house with the brick you choose (rather than select from pictures) because they wouldn’t take responsibility when the brick thye planned to put up was completely different from what we had selected, even though they hadn’t even started to put it up yet.

It’s taken quite a while to get my warranty issues resolved and it’s difficult to get return calls. I have requested 3 warranty issues be resolved in mid November and only one has been fixed.

I waited a while to do this survey as I did not want to do it right when frustrating feelings were taking place as I could not be factual in my comments. The overall process with the purchase of the house went well. From the sales representative, which was always kind, responsive and engaging to the closing team, and everyone in between. I moved in over 2 months ago, and a week later, and encouraged by the field manager and even the closing team, I checked the house in more detail to see if there were things that needed to be taken care of, and indeed they were some, and may be more to come in the future. I placed the work order on the builder’s portal and after the reviewing of It, the repairs started to take place. Not wanting to give into specifics, what I can say is that almost two months later of placing the WO the repairs have not been completed just yet. Vary of reasons have happened, and I’m not trying to blame anyone, truly, but at the end there is still work pending to do. My advice to new buyers is to look in detail the conditions of the house prior closing and point them out. It is really easy to miss things when you do the walk throughs with the field manager as the happy feelings of getting the house can “blind” the buyers. Please know that the house in general is fine and I love living in it, good the laid out, it is spacious and so, but there are things that the more I’m in the house, the more I realize that they were not supervised properly to deliver a house close to being perfect (with exceptions as in everything and completely normal) as it is a brand new house what I was getting. I’m giving this review not to talk bad at all about Pulte and their employees as a corporation, but to share my ongoing experience. I’m not mad for the time it has taken to fix the things I pointed out, although I got to admit that I’ve been frustrated at moments, but I know they will be fixed at one point. I know I’ll place another WO in the mid future and that’ll I have to wait, but as long as they get fixed, and fixed well, not just in a surface level, I’m going to be ok. Regards. ... More

We are very disappointed in the representation of Pulte through their sales representative Jane. She was extremely aggressive and rude when we asked about a drainage system that was placed in our backyard.The drainage system was not represented on any surveys, nor was it disclosed to us. When we saw the house it was covered. Instead of trying to come to a solution we were told "Just cancel" multiple times. This was very unprofessional and unreasonable as we were to close on the property in a few days. After speaking with her supervisor a solution to the issue was presented to us but not to our expectations. On the other hand Our Site Manager Bobby was amazing. He went above and beyond fixing everything that needed to be fixed. He was always reachable and completed any task quickly and with a smile. He was a pleasure to work with. ... More

There were a lot of inconsistencies between what we were told as far as timelines and our options, and what actually happened. There were numerous errors that were caught along the way with design and at one point almost walked away from the home. However, in the end the quality of the home turned out great, but not the exact design we were hoping for.

The sales team is awesome and would work with you in getting the house bought for you. They were patient and very coachable. Once we bought the house, we ran into multiple issues when we first moved in. Chipped upgraded cabinets, circuit issues, laundry power plug, oven shutting down, new dishwasher flooded, window drafts, and a couple others. Robert the manager was constantly trying to get things fixed with a lot of delays with multiple vendors. It did leave us a sour taste at the beginning when we first moved in. When en things finally slowly got fixed, we were able to get started. So we think that the builders have done a sloppy job with the house. Pulte is a good company but watch out for the house builders and to make sure they did the job correctly. ... More

I recently had the displeasure of going with Pulte on my new home, and I must say, it was a nightmare from start to finish. The craftsmanship was subpar, with sloppy work evident in every corner. Once I moved in, I am dealing with a laundry list of issues, from crooked walls to leaky faucets. If you're considering building with Pulte, I highly recommend getting a thorough inspection from a third party before finalizing anything. Don't make the mistake I did of trusting their workmanship blindly.

We had an awful experience with our sales person. Much confusion and back and forth. A lot of information that was provided was just incorrect or portrayed poorly. The one person who made it better was our building manager, Lily. She was one of the only competent, honest and reasonable people we worked with.

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

To many issues for a brand new house

We absolutely love our home but it feels like a façade. The things we marked during the final blue tape inspection were not completed when we moved in. The blue tape was just removed with no repairs. When we had some of the things repaired, the guys repairing them said it was incomplete. The custom shower was installed incorrectly with the water flowing away from the drain, and after a few months it has yet to be repaired. We have multiple work orders in and have documented everything, nonetheless no one seems to ever come repair the major issues. The Garage door is having issues and the chain is loose causing it to snap and bangs loudly, at this point it’s a safety hazard and we have still had nobody come out to fix it. We were told it was a high priority issue because of safety but still no word on the repair. The whole back door jam needs to be replaced and reset. None of the tile grout was sealed on both downstairs floors and bathrooms including the showers. Again, it’s a beautiful home but so much to be repaired it’s exhausting and there is a warranty but it’s taking longer than it should. ... More

I think there are things that can be improved such as the quality of the toilets, the keys to the bathrooms, showers, kitchen equipment is of low quality, the entrance to the house and the backyard is as if it were under construction, only cement, the poles of the fence are made of wood and not metal, they gave me the house without gutters, it is strange because all the others are delivered like this. The design and colors are great, the rest of the materials are good.

The Sales Team where phenomenal LaMonica and Carlton. Exceptional sales agent and represented Pulte very well. They were kind, caring and exceptional. The Building Managers Fred and Brad very good guys and walked us thru as the house was moving along. They were always responsive and made themselves available to us. The nightmare started when it was getting close too closing in the home and the standard that Pulte claimed too have went out the window. On closing day, the house was so dirty that you wouldn't nor even believe it. The price we paid for the house did not match the quality of how it was built. We would know because this is the 3rd we have built in the last few years. We called them out on the crappy work their vendors did and the low quality. They were apologetic and said they would make it right. So for the first 3 weeks of moving into our brand new home, service folks were coming in fixing issues. So instead of enjoying our expensive brand new home, we were waking up to service people fixing things and even with all of that not everything was taken care of. 2 months into moving in and living in the home, it is glaring that the quality of work sucks and was shady. The Area Manager was called in but since then we have not heard from anyone. Not even a "we are sorry note". Not a follow up. I guess this is what corporate greed looks like. You buy a very expensive home during the highest real estate prices in history and companies like PULTE, bid, strong and bad take advantage if you. Well shame on us for trusting the Pulte name and brand. ... More

There were 3 price increases while we waited to sign the contract to build. The developer and builder own the HOA. We wee told the community prohibited investors and rentals, but we have discovered two rental properties by investors. The builder and warranty division are non-responsive. Don't close on your house until the builder performs on all items of your punch list. After you close, you are not a priority to them, and they forget about you. You are no longer a priority after you close so beware.

As a new home, its fine. If you were looking for a fresh brand new home that is perfect, this isnt it. There are a lot of minor aesthetic imperfections all over the place once youre able to look at things beyond a normal walkthrough. In fact you may be missing things or had the wrong thing installed from the many options selected in your plan. Double check that during your walk through. This is pretty much the reason my review is low for workmanship and materials. There is zero, absolutely zero reasons to have the wrong options installed so that they can be replaced later and a missing option is even worse. So you'll be working with the warranty dept a lot. Project manager and warranty dept are all fairly responsive so someone can help you with all that. But shouldn't have to go through all that if it was done right the first time or have someone do a walkthrough with the options checklist (should not be the burden of the home buyer). Other than that, I actually love my new home can't wait for it to actually be finished. ... More