https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3052466448585769837&postID=4402949646143873349
"FOOD FOR THOUGHT" FOR ALL OF US.
Pulte's product doesn't back up their hype; neither does the Silver Spring Transit Center in Montgomery County, MD:
http://silverspringtransitcenter.blogspot.com/
Video status report:
http://youtu.be/31bAYkx9eBY
10 comments:
Hi Ray, I'm writing because Pulte is building a community in Wellington Florida called Castellina, and it's one of the communities we're considering purchasing in. But of course reading through blogs such as yours and so many other stories gives us great pause. I notice most of these stories are 2013 and older - I'd love to know your opinion on whether things have changed for the better...and if perhaps they might have, and assuming we want to go forward, how could we best protect ourselves? Having an inspector visit the construction site many times during building? Reading the contracts with a fine tooth comb? Buying a home warranty separate from what's included? I'd love to know your take on this. Thank you for all the time and effort you've put into letting people know what's going on.
Late 2011 we put our SCHH house up for sale and left SC; it sold in mid 2013. I can't say if things are better there. IMHO "due diligence" BEFORE you buy is about all that you can do. You can't protect yourself by hiring someone to visit the house while it's being constructed. They can't be there all the time that work is being done. Even if they could, if work is going on in two places in the house, you can't watch both. County inspections don't protect you IMHO. If you're like me (not a lawyer) I can read contracts all day long and still be unprotected. You may get some protection from a separate home warranty. IMHO about the best thing that you can do after the fact is to get a reputable home inspector to go over the home with a fine tooth comb; however, if you read their fine print you'll realize that you're still unprotected. I regret that I didn't do my "due diligence" before I bought from Pulte.
There’s a wealth of information online. After our Pulte experience, I pay more attention to it. I look at customer reviews. If there are just a few (positive or negative), then I don't give them much weight. They could have been written by the owner(s) or by a disgruntled employee(s). However, if there are lots of customer reviews, then I pay attention. I don’t know how much that there was online about Pulte in 2004 when we signed the contract because I either didn’t look or didn’t pay attention—a lack of “due diligence” on my part. I learned my lesson.
Thank you, Ray, I appreciate you getting back to me. I agree, there's only so much you can do...and that you can catch. There are some comments on their FB page from 2014 that appear to be legit...I'll keep my eye out on those.If we buy from them, I'll keep you updated on the experience, good or bad. Thanks again for all the documentation you have put together. I hope you're enjoying your retirement.
You're welcome. We are enjoying retirement. We just celebrated one grandson's graduation from HS and another's 2nd birthday. Life is good. :)
Good luck! You're doing your "due diligence", which is about all you can do. I hope that it all works out well for you.
Another thing… Hidden defects in new houses can take years to discover. At SCHH (Sun City Hilton Head) it took years for defective stucco to show up on some houses. Also, Pulte substituted nails for hurricane clips connecting roof trusses for years before I discovered it. Thousands of homes. Those houses with roof trusses connected by nails instead of hurricane clips could have been destroyed by a Cat 5 hurricane. Owners wouldn’t have known that it was because Pulte substituted nails for hurricane clips. Beaufort County SC building inspectors should have known, and they should have stopped it. It was corrected only when I went to The Island Packet (after nothing happened when I went to Pulte and to Beaufort County beforehand).
PS Are any of the comments on Pulte's FB page negative? I'd be surprised if there are. When we bought from Pulte there was an incentive to complete a satisfaction survey within a short time after closing. Looking back I realize how clever that is. First, the incentive. Second, soon after closing, before all the problems start showing up. I don't put much weight in sales talk; it's predictable. I only value "no strings" customer reviews where customers aren't being given incentives by the seller to provide their comments quickly.
I lived in Sun City Hilton Head from 2008 to 2013. My stucco house was built in 2005. I started to address the cracks in the stucco in 2011 having an infrared study done by a resident in Sun City. It passed the initial home inspection. The first year was ok but with sections on the border of failure. In 2012 the test revealed a failure and Pulte had to replace one side. The problem here is that they did not change the location of the expansion joints around the windows and set up another failure in the future and the other sides were headed for failure. Pulte did not charge me anything because they want to mitigate the class action suit but there is no guarantee that they will continue to fix stucco problems free of charge. Infrared test costs are paid by the homeowner and have to be done once a year or once every two years at a cost of @ $200. Furthermore, I had cracks in the foundation, and the overall quality of the house for being built in 2005 was poor. The HVAC system and roof were going to need replacement earlier than one would expect. I had cracked tiles and window leaks. All things that you would think I would have seen or read about in the home inspection when I bought the house. But you get caught up with the allure of Sun City and a house on a lagoon that you put the practical side on the back burner. The major reason I moved back north was that I felt that within 10 years I would be spending a chunk of my retirement savings to maintain a house that was fairly new.
Plus, Sun City was not the best fit for me. Politically, it is tea party conservative and I felt I was living in a large nursing home at times because there is a large segment of the population who have owned there for twenty years and are now in their 80s. Also the expense of having three golf courses would increase the POA at some point. This is just my opinion and I also felt that a large segment of the residents felt self-entitled. I worked for the management company there in a customer service position for 5 years which added to my perception. I guess the bottom line is that I am highly suspect over the construction quality of all the homes built there (even the new section) and would recommend that perspective buyers look at the overall fit of moving into a large, and aging senior community.
2020 - Anybody still paying attention? I'm looking at possibly buying a pre-2002 SCHH non-stucco home to avoid the problems I have read about and am wondering if those older pre-Pulte homes were built better. My biggest concern is cracking slabs since soil preparation, vapor barrier, reinforcing and finishing has to be done correctly or problems develope. Everyone seems to enjoy living there so I am wondering if building probllems are very widespread and can they be caught in the inspection process while making a purchase.
Any information or opinion regarding the quality of the slab homes in SCHH built prior to Pulte taking over construction in 2002 ?
good comments. due diligence is the answer. due diligence and accepting "the handwriting on the wall".
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