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  • Report:  #145903

Complaint Review: Pulte Homes - Nashville Tennessee

Reported By:
- Mount Juliet, Tennessee,
Submitted:
Updated:

Pulte Homes
1506 Chestnut Springs Road Nashville, 37027 Tennessee, U.S.A.
Phone:
615-776-5337
Web:
N/A
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good? What's this?
Names in this report were withheld to protect both the innocent and the GUILTY!!!!!!!!

The favorite response to an issue with the house is "Sorry, but there is nothing that can be done about it". I point out problems that amazingly the Pulte representative cannot see but everyone else can.

Our new heartache located at:

Mt. Juliet, Tennessee 37122

In the beginning, we found ourselves in a very short time frame to find a home. Our home in St. Petersburg, FL was sold and the new owners were taking possession on April 18, 2005. We traveled to Nashville and met with our realtor to help us find a home. Initially, we settled on a Beazer Home but could not find one to meet our time frame, price range and requirements. After two days of searching and looking we left Nashville-homeless. The realtor kept searching and checking on homes we found on the Internet.

At the recommendation of a family in-law, we were referred to Pulte Homes. Looking at the website, we found a home more or less in our price range, not on one floor like we wanted but looked appealing and was recommended by my in-law. The realtor checked it out and told us the property was move in ready and nothing needed to be done. Sounded great. We proceeded with the purchase, sight unseen. Were offered a 3% discount and up to $1,500 for a new refrigerator if we financed with Pulte Mortgage. That was a bit of a challenge in that the loan officer played let's make a deal. We had two bona fide offers at 5.75% with one point and he offered 6.25%. The negotiations and dickering started and finally a deal was made at 5.5% with one point discount and one point origination on a loan of $100,000.

We packed our belongings and departed St. Petersburg on April 19th and arrived later that day in Nashville. Immediately, wanting to finally see the house we were purchasing, we drove out to Chandler Pointe. On initial inspection we found a few things but were assured this would be covered by the warranty and proceeded with the purchase.

The afternoon of April 20th, we completed the sale and started moving in. The truck with the furniture was delivered April 21st. Dishes had to be washed and so we used the dishwasher. When we went to unload the dishwasher, there was a sound of water under the brand new hardwood floors. Step on the floor in front of the dishwasher and there was a slosh sound. The superintendent came out and found a spray arm had come disconnected during installation. He said the dishwasher had been run at least twice prior to this and there was no problem. Obviously, there was a problem but it had not been discovered. However, a repair crew arrived and replaced the flooring and dried the area with fans. We went to use the dishwasher again and had to catch it because it had not been secured to the cabinet. The superintendent came out again the next day and inspected the dishwasher to make sure nothing had come undone and secured it to the cabinet.

WATER METER

The next issue was the water meter, which was noticeably above ground level. When I questioned the superintendent about this I was told nothing could be done and the set had set the grade for the water meter.

Very few others in the neighborhood seemed to have such an eyesore so I contacted the city to check it out. They could fix it for the staggering price of $36.05 and confirmed it was not set to the proper grade. Just prior to this, I had had a conversation with the superintendent and notified of my intention to get the city involved and the exposed water meter was both a tripping hazard and how I would hate to see someone fall over it and get hurt. He said he felt he could get Pulte to pay to have the water meter lowered to ground level.

THE MAIN ENTRY WAY (FRONT DOOR)

The above picture is the locking mechanism for the front door. Obviously, the installer decided the door did not fit right and made adjustments to the door lock plates. The adjustments are crude and look terrible, when just the handle lock is used the door fits loosely to the frame. The dead bolt tightens the door but the appearance is so poor, the will have to be replaced.

The front door has been installed and does not properly line up. This causes the door to stick and rub against the frame when opening and closing. Examine the pictures and it is easily seen how the door has excessive gapping at the top right and both left of the door. Quality control seems to be an issue.

The floor plate and kick plate are more examples of questionable construction practices and quality control inspection. The exterior kick plate is poorly installed and shows signs of excessive usage. The interior of the front door floor plate is poorly painted and again just demonstrates mass production and poor quality control.

Trim around the front door is poorly installed and shows gapping which will allow the intrusion of weather and insects. Again poor construction and installation by either non-trained personnel or personnel that didn't care about their reputation and quality control. Either way, this must be reinstalled to properly line and function as intended.

The above picture demonstrates either a lack of pride and craftsmanship or simply a don't give a d**n attitude about the job that is done. Either way, your sub-contractors did lousy work and your company is being held liable for repairs.

THE METAL WORK and TRIM

The sheet metal trim has been poorly installed and fitted to the house. The reason why shingles were not trimmed was to keep out water. The bottom line is they were not trimmed trying to hide a miserable installation. The trim (which I must assume has a function also) does not meet the roofing and is unpainted. Corners are poorly trimmed and do not properly aligned. Channels are poorly installed and probably do not function as designed.

Sloppy installation or poor material or poor quality control? This type of quality is not what we purchased based on recommendations and Pulte Homes reputation in other market areas.

Some of the above items can probably be fixed by your sub-contractors with minor adjustments but I we purchased a new home from a quality builder and these repairs are the builders responsibility, not ours. Again there is a total lack of pride in workmanship.

NAIL POPS

I really don't understand how someone that is floating and taping a sheet rock wall and would fail to drive nails into place. But it seems this happens a lot, and we are not exclusive to this problem. There a too many nail pops in our home to address on an individual basis-it would take many pages. However, we will gladly inspect the house with your representative to point out all the defects and we fully expect these to be repaired immediately. We would like to start painting the inside of the house to the wall colors we have chosen and not wait a year before this occurs.

THE MANTLE

The central focus point for the living room is the fireplace and mantle. I am sure this was an architectural design to make the main first floor room very impressive to both the owners and their guest. And I am sure it will fulfill this purpose once it is repaired.

The floor plate for the mantle does not sit flush with the molding. Not sure if it was poorly installed or it is warped or whatever the reason, but the bottom line is it has to be fixed.

A piece of trim molding was installed. Not sure if the nails were not counter sunk or when the hole was filled, it was not sanded smooth with the wood surface, but this also needs to be finished.

And when you look at the mantle from the side, you can see where a section was repainted but either it was slightly different in color or gloss but it can also be seen.

THE ROOF and ATTIC

A major part of any home is the quality of the roof. It protects the home from the elements, both the interior and exterior. Also, it is a major part of the overall appearance of the home from the street. A good quality roof enhances both the appearance and the value of the home. Defects in the roof conversely, deter from the appearance and the value of the home. It makes owners and buyers question the overall construction of the home.

Our roof has issues. I have pointed out my concerns to your representative, Mike Kennedy, but got pretty much the same response as I got with the water meter. There is nothing wrong with the roof. The wavy lines and depression could not be seen. Well, I can see it and I have concerns. I am willing to bet that the building plans for the house did not design a roller coaster appearance with the roof trusses showing through the shingles, when the sun is just right on it.

Per your warranty statement, you use common sense. My question to you, if this were your home, your dream, would you accept this type of construction. I would hope your response would be you would expect what you paid for. I feel we have not gotten what we paid for. The homes in the front part of Chandler Pointe do not show these defects. But I have seen many in my area that have issues. Not sure if it was a different contractor, different roofing material, or just plain sloppiness but the bottom line is we have issues with the installation and quality of the roof. And we feel the defects will continue to worsen and manifest themselves through the year; with the life expectancy of the roof severely reduced.

The problems that manifest themselves on the outside may be caused by problems under the surface. A nail gun speeds up work but with a nail gun, one can never tell if the nail hit the stud or just the particleboard. You look at these pictures and tell me how securely the roof is attached the frame of the house. Yes there are clips in place but if this were sufficient to secure the roof, then there would be no nails needed.

The nails are not only not holding anything. But the points are exposed in the interior of the attic that will eventually cause physical injury or death to someone that makes the mistake of standing up into one of them or turns the wrong way or simply doesn't see them, because there are so many. Additionally, the nails not securing anything makes me feel the roof waviness may be contributory this problem with the exterior roof.

Moreover, the support structure for the roof may have some issues but an engineer would be better to determine this matter.

Over the main entry, the shingles were "intentionally cut long to hide a problem, the particle board for the roof is exposed to the elements.

BEDROOM OVER GARAGE

This may or may not be an issue, but there is no phone jack installed in this room. This does limit us a bit, but it can be overcome. However, if the plans called for a phone jack, then it would be easier on us and I would like it installed.

BACK SLIDING DOOR

This issue was initially pointed out by our real estate agent to the your selling agent. The kick board, weather stripping at the base of the back sliding door is gapped and does not represent quality construction.

It almost looks like something that was temporarily installed but never got replaced.

This letter could continue but I feel this has made a point. The construction SEEMS solid but the trim and quality of craftsmanship is sorely missing. Where there is a joint in the house, there is glob of putty to fill poor carpentry. And instead of filling the poorly fitted joint and sanding it to resemble a good fit, it is filled and painted over.

Listed below are some of the items we feel need immediate attention. By no means does this complete the repairs needed to be done, but everywhere we look something else needs to be done. Once these repairs are completed, a smaller, more complete list can be prepared for final fixes.

1) Floor chip from garage entry

2) Sliding door weathered board

3) Roof shingles & paint

4) Exterior trim outside garage bedroom-holes in trim

5) Back corner of property-sinking

6) Water meter too high cost to repair from city of Mt. Juliet $36.05

7) Floor trim around dishwasher

8) Plaster on exterior of vinyl surface over whole house-needs washing

9) Master bathroom-tub creaks by drain

10) Stair wall needs redone

11) Master suite closet door does not latch

12) Main entry around light switch, cracking and peeling paint

13) Kick board on main entry

14) Overhead light in kitchen and by light switch needs redoing

15) Quarter round in kitchen needs replacing-split

16) Master suite door frame and knob

17) Main entry door-door frame and latches

18) Garage bedroom-no phone line

19) Too many nail pops to mention

20) Mantle-paint discoloration

21) Light switch in living area, only works on top outlet

22) Garage entry door-door frame damaged by dead bolt

23) Sliding glass door-no key for lock

24) Master bathroom-flooring cut too short

25) Downstairs bathroom-door

26) Kitchen sink scratched

27) Lock cylinder for garage door not centered

28) Gas line trim not attached

29) Gas line too long

30) Yard not filled with 6 of top soil

31) The sod laid in the front yard is irregular and gapped

32) The roof

We understand there are always issues with a new home but feel these issues are possibly the tip of an iceberg and as we live here, more problems will arise.

Also, we understand that feelings may be hurt and insulted. Understand we are not going to be on each other's Christmas card list, nor are we going to be life long friends. This is business and we merely expect what we paid for. I have found in this area, everyone is very nice and polite. But the two statements I hear all the time are sorry and there is nothing that can be done about this. Well, there is always something that can be done about this and we expect all deficiencies to correct to our satisfaction.

Bart

Mount Juliet, Tennessee
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Pulte Home Builders


3 Updates & Rebuttals

Lori

Ft. Leonardwood,
Missouri,
U.S.A.
Ever heard of a Punch List?

#2Consumer Comment

Tue, August 23, 2005

Did you EVER see the house before closing on it? Standard practice is to have walk-thru's prior to closing. There are usually some items that escape the superintendants notice that the homeowners would like fixed prior to closing. Many of these things sound like punch items. And many items sound cosmetic. Cosmetic items are never warrantied as far as I know. Paint chipping near a light switch plate, was it like that before you moved in and had furniture bumping walls, etc? the light switch in the living room only working the top outlet - this is standard practice as it is for a table lamp. These are tiny things. The bigger things, the roof having nails you can see if you were in the attic. Do you know how many nails the roofers use? Thousands on a single roof. They can't see the trusses under the sheathing when they are nailing. They always nail alot because they know they aren't hitting it all the time. And as for saying someone can hit their head and "cause death" is hilarious. Thanks for the laugh. I have stood up into these nails and other than a headache and some blood if I ripped the skin, I usually kick myself for not being more careful. Nail pops are usually not warrantied. I don't know why they would be. Sheetrockers hang the sheetrock and nail into studs, right? Some nails may be not in the stud perfectly and could be sitting just on the side of the stud or slightly into the stud. After the house settles, these nails that may be slightly to the side, sometimes work their way out of the wall a bit. There are very specific nailing patterns that the sheetrockers are held to and a few nail pops in every piece of sheetrock is not an issue. Take a hammer and pound once, take a finger and dip it in spackle, wait for it to dry and touch it up. You probably have spackle ( or something similar) and paint in your touch up kit for these types of things. The first thing you mention is the water meter. Are you aware NOW that the city is responsible for the water meter? The builder cannot touch it. So if it was installed a bit higher than the grade, why are you blaming the builder and why would you want the builder to pay the $36.05? The builder was telling the truth that nothing could be done. Nothing can be done on his side. This is a city issue. You have so many issues. You should have never bought the house if you felt this way. Bottom line. If the issues were there before closing, then you shouldn't have closed on the house until the items were addressed. If it was because you had no where left to live, I am sure there were many other houses to buy and or built-ready to move into (spec homes). I have not addressed all your issues obviously and it is probable that you have valid complaints. Just be reasonable and courteous and you will get results. A builder won't fix something that isn't wrong, so accept "no" as long as it has an explanation and you understand why it is no..... I have only heard good things about Pulte Homes. I am not an employee. I have never worked for Pulte Homes. I am just a person who has over 10 years of superintendant experience with a national builder.


Arthur

Ringwood,
New Jersey,
U.S.A.
Pulte Service/ Northern NJ area, poor work, Improperly functioning heating/cooling, A number of cracks I'd give Pulte of NJ 4.5 out of 5

#3Consumer Comment

Thu, June 30, 2005

I have purchased a house from Pulte in October 2003, build was completed November 2004. The construction seems to be solid, minor issues do exist: - Poor work on shower stall mud bath (appeard to be liner leak) - Improperly functioning heating/cooling zones - A number of cracks / finish issues on exterior | interior The warrantee department addressed mud work in the master shower stall. The bottom of tiled shower stall was ripped out and re-done (I'm stunned - no quick fixes like grout reseal). A few minor issues with a new build (shower stall ledge tilted the wrong way) - I'm assured this will get fixed. Heating / Cooling zones, - pending resolution Minor cracks and shifts while the house is settling are expected. Overall, I can not call the construction perfect, but nothing is. A modern house is a complex system and anyone venturing into purchasing one should expect a thing or two. Overall, I'd give Pulte of NJ 4.5 out of 5. I have no vested interest in Pulte or its associates, I have no way of benefiting from positive advertisement, I'm just a homeowner that paid 800k for a house with certain levels of expectation.


Cory

San Antonio,
Texas,
U.S.A.
I Have To Hand It To You

#4Consumer Comment

Mon, June 13, 2005

I have to hand it to you. I wouldn't have the courage to spend $100,000 on something I hadn't seen. Those "houses" in the front, those are the first ones people see so they make those the best. Same with "model" homes. The way they write their contracts, won't be much help either. Good luck and let us know how it plays out.

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