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Download the actual court filing from the following link: http://ow.ly/wYGy
The lawsuit filing details allegations of Pulte's dishonest, reckless, and deliberate manipulation of the housing market. It's a "MUST READ" for those considering purchasing from Pulte, and those serious students of the causes of the housing market collapse.
From the court filing:
"Defendants acts and practices as described herein constitute unlawful, fraudulent, and unfair business acts and practices, in that (1) Defendants' conduct is unlawful; (2) Defendants' conduct is immoral, unfair, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous, unconscionable, or substantially injurious to Plaintiff and members of the Class, and/or (3) the uniform conduct of Defendants has a tendency to deceive Plaintiff and the members of the Class."
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
SC Dept. of Health & Environmental Control
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Today's (Sunday, October 25) editorial in The Island Packet entitled "Reforming DHEC gets tougher as time goes by, Political will to make meaningful changes is waning" states in part:
"...change must come. DHEC officials are too timid and too quick to compromise in favor of business interests. Those business interests too often have the ear of state legislators who pressure agency regulators and control the agency's purse strings. The agency also spends too much time 'working with' businesses who have violated the law, dragging out a process that should respond quickly to threats to public health and the environment."
NEVER has this been more clear as with the Phase 5 lagoon fiasco here (which is discussed in detail in earlier posts to this blog).
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Today's (Sunday, October 25) editorial in The Island Packet entitled "Reforming DHEC gets tougher as time goes by, Political will to make meaningful changes is waning" states in part:
"...change must come. DHEC officials are too timid and too quick to compromise in favor of business interests. Those business interests too often have the ear of state legislators who pressure agency regulators and control the agency's purse strings. The agency also spends too much time 'working with' businesses who have violated the law, dragging out a process that should respond quickly to threats to public health and the environment."
NEVER has this been more clear as with the Phase 5 lagoon fiasco here (which is discussed in detail in earlier posts to this blog).
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
because they can
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Pulte builds lousy houses because they can. Unless more people speak out publicly, this will continue.
There are MANY websites where you can tell your story: HOBB, HADD, poorlybuiltbypulte.com, http://citizensrevoltagainstpulte.blogspot.com/, etc. Google “Pulte shoddy” and you’ll see more.
If enough people tell their stories PUBLICLY, then maybe some day shoddy builders and inept (or corrupt) government building inspectors will be put out of business.
Tell your story PUBLICLY, on as many websites as you can find. Tell others who you know who are victims of Pulte's shoddy construction to do the same.
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Pulte builds lousy houses because they can. Unless more people speak out publicly, this will continue.
There are MANY websites where you can tell your story: HOBB, HADD, poorlybuiltbypulte.com, http://citizensrevoltagainstpulte.blogspot.com/, etc. Google “Pulte shoddy” and you’ll see more.
If enough people tell their stories PUBLICLY, then maybe some day shoddy builders and inept (or corrupt) government building inspectors will be put out of business.
Tell your story PUBLICLY, on as many websites as you can find. Tell others who you know who are victims of Pulte's shoddy construction to do the same.
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Sunday, October 18, 2009
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Pulte, Pulte subcontractors, Pulte vendors, realtors, etc. use Twitter to advertise Pulte houses, and to pat Pulte on the back for their JD Power’s awards and their "wonderful" houses.
I use Twitter to voice the “other” side. I provide links to this blog (http://peretired.blogspot.com/), and to other sources that document Pulte’s shoddy construction.
You can too. Simply include "#Pulte" in all of your tweets. Include links to your blog and to other websites that document Pulte’s shoddy construction. You can create your own FREE blog by going to blogger.com and following the instructions.
Be sure to include "#Pulte" in all of your tweets. The hash mark (#) marks “Pulte”, so that when someone does a Twitter search for "Pulte", your tweet will be listed with all the other “Pulte” tweets.
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Pulte, Pulte subcontractors, Pulte vendors, realtors, etc. use Twitter to advertise Pulte houses, and to pat Pulte on the back for their JD Power’s awards and their "wonderful" houses.
I use Twitter to voice the “other” side. I provide links to this blog (http://peretired.blogspot.com/), and to other sources that document Pulte’s shoddy construction.
You can too. Simply include "#Pulte" in all of your tweets. Include links to your blog and to other websites that document Pulte’s shoddy construction. You can create your own FREE blog by going to blogger.com and following the instructions.
Be sure to include "#Pulte" in all of your tweets. The hash mark (#) marks “Pulte”, so that when someone does a Twitter search for "Pulte", your tweet will be listed with all the other “Pulte” tweets.
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Thursday, October 15, 2009
Do they REALLY think that we're THAT stupid?
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Two items of interest this week:
1- The SC Legislature voted this week to reject the proposal to place DHEC under the governor. The legislator from Richland County was quoted in the newspaper as saying “I don’t hear that anything is wrong with DHEC.” C’MON! The Columbia newspapers ran an ENTIRE SERIES of articles on inept DHEC. Then there's the Phase 5 lagoon fiasco here. SC Legislature, do you REALLY think that we’re THAT stupid?
2- The Island Packet reported that 668 SCHH houses had roofs that needed repair as a result of the re-inspections here two years ago. I’m reminded of a statement that Arthur Cummings, Director of the Beaufort County, SC Office of Building Code Enforcement, made at the time, which was quoted in Bluffton Today, that “a few bad connections had been found". Two years later and it’s still the status quo in the Beaufort County Office of Building Code Enforcement. C’MON, Mr. Cummings, Gary Kubic, County Executive, Beaufort County Council, and the local delegation to the SC Legislature that is WELL aware of the facts, do you REALLY think that we’re THAT stupid?
Maybe we REALLY are that stupid if we let government officials and elected representatives get away with this kind of stuff. Will ANYBODY (besides me) remember this come local election time?
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Two items of interest this week:
1- The SC Legislature voted this week to reject the proposal to place DHEC under the governor. The legislator from Richland County was quoted in the newspaper as saying “I don’t hear that anything is wrong with DHEC.” C’MON! The Columbia newspapers ran an ENTIRE SERIES of articles on inept DHEC. Then there's the Phase 5 lagoon fiasco here. SC Legislature, do you REALLY think that we’re THAT stupid?
2- The Island Packet reported that 668 SCHH houses had roofs that needed repair as a result of the re-inspections here two years ago. I’m reminded of a statement that Arthur Cummings, Director of the Beaufort County, SC Office of Building Code Enforcement, made at the time, which was quoted in Bluffton Today, that “a few bad connections had been found". Two years later and it’s still the status quo in the Beaufort County Office of Building Code Enforcement. C’MON, Mr. Cummings, Gary Kubic, County Executive, Beaufort County Council, and the local delegation to the SC Legislature that is WELL aware of the facts, do you REALLY think that we’re THAT stupid?
Maybe we REALLY are that stupid if we let government officials and elected representatives get away with this kind of stuff. Will ANYBODY (besides me) remember this come local election time?
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Monday, October 12, 2009
Who do I trust?
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With one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, purchases that I will make in my life? THAT is the question.
The fact is that to a large extent you have to trust the builder when you purchase a new home. There are MANY opportunities and MANY places to hide shoddy construction when building a new house. You, or your representative, can’t be at all places where and at all times when work is being done on your new house. You’re at the mercy of the builder. Is the builder worthy of your trust?
What about third parties, like salespersons, real estate agents, JD Power & Associates, the Better Business Bureau, the internet, experts, family, or friends? Can you trust them to give you the information that you need to make the BIGGEST purchase of your life?
Salespersons? Real estate agents? PLEASE, GIVE ME A BREAK!
What about JD Power, that gives awards based on customer satisfaction? What about the Better Business Bureau? Can JD Power or the BBB assure you that your new house will be built well?
What about the internet? The internet has LOTS of information from MANY sources. Can information obtained from the internet be trusted?
What about experts? Home inspectors? Engineers? Other experts? Can they be trusted?
Friends? Even family? Can you trust them to tell you whether or not you should trust the builder?
Who can you trust? Perhaps, in the end, only YOURSELF. BEFORE you make the biggest purchase of your life, get ALL the information that you can, sort through it the best that you can, and trust YOURSELF. There is NO substitute for due diligence.
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With one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, purchases that I will make in my life? THAT is the question.
The fact is that to a large extent you have to trust the builder when you purchase a new home. There are MANY opportunities and MANY places to hide shoddy construction when building a new house. You, or your representative, can’t be at all places where and at all times when work is being done on your new house. You’re at the mercy of the builder. Is the builder worthy of your trust?
What about third parties, like salespersons, real estate agents, JD Power & Associates, the Better Business Bureau, the internet, experts, family, or friends? Can you trust them to give you the information that you need to make the BIGGEST purchase of your life?
Salespersons? Real estate agents? PLEASE, GIVE ME A BREAK!
What about JD Power, that gives awards based on customer satisfaction? What about the Better Business Bureau? Can JD Power or the BBB assure you that your new house will be built well?
What about the internet? The internet has LOTS of information from MANY sources. Can information obtained from the internet be trusted?
What about experts? Home inspectors? Engineers? Other experts? Can they be trusted?
Friends? Even family? Can you trust them to tell you whether or not you should trust the builder?
Who can you trust? Perhaps, in the end, only YOURSELF. BEFORE you make the biggest purchase of your life, get ALL the information that you can, sort through it the best that you can, and trust YOURSELF. There is NO substitute for due diligence.
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How true!
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“You can’t tell a book by looking at its cover.”
“Beauty is only skin deep.”
“Put lipstick on a pig.”
“I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.”
“A good house needs a good foundation.”
“You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”
We’ve heard them ALL before. Some of these sayings have been around FOREVER.
Pulte houses look good at first glance; but, you can’t build a good house:
- with a poor foundation
- with lousy subcontractors
- without supervision
- without quality control
- if all that you're concerned with is "the bottom line"
Google “Pulte shoddy” and see for yourself.
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Saturday, October 10, 2009
Beaufort County, SC takes its time
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http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/995919.html
"...County Administrator Gary Kubic brought in IAS in late 2007 to review the building department after news surfaced several months earlier that trusses...were defective. The trusses weren't fastened together securely enough with metal plates and nails or they had too few wooden cross beams to provide adequate bracing. Such defects could have allowed the roofs to fly off in extreme winds, experts said.
Some of the problems that IAS turned up in Beaufort County's building department were house-keeping matters, but others were substantive. For example:
• Two of the three employees who inspect plans for homes lack the proper certification.
• The building department does not have a schedule for appraising its employees, nor do appraisals include performance goals.
• There are no policies and procedures specifying how new employees are trained, nor is training documented.
• Although employees sign statements saying that they are aware of the county's conflict-of-interest regulations, "there is no evidence that department employees have received training" on conflict of interest issues.
• Audits to determine whether the building department is adhering to policies and procedures are not conducted.
IAS reviewers interviewed employees and supervisors in the building department and also spent time with them in the field, Archer said. Contractors and homebuilders were interviewed to get their impressions of the building department. The evaluation is expected to cost the county about $15,000, county officials said.
"Our program is very thorough," Archer said. Evaluating a building department typically takes 9 to 14 months, but in Beaufort County's case it's expected to take more than two years.
One reason it took so long is that the building department spent nine months gathering some of the data IAS requested. "
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http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/995919.html
"...County Administrator Gary Kubic brought in IAS in late 2007 to review the building department after news surfaced several months earlier that trusses...were defective. The trusses weren't fastened together securely enough with metal plates and nails or they had too few wooden cross beams to provide adequate bracing. Such defects could have allowed the roofs to fly off in extreme winds, experts said.
Some of the problems that IAS turned up in Beaufort County's building department were house-keeping matters, but others were substantive. For example:
• Two of the three employees who inspect plans for homes lack the proper certification.
• The building department does not have a schedule for appraising its employees, nor do appraisals include performance goals.
• There are no policies and procedures specifying how new employees are trained, nor is training documented.
• Although employees sign statements saying that they are aware of the county's conflict-of-interest regulations, "there is no evidence that department employees have received training" on conflict of interest issues.
• Audits to determine whether the building department is adhering to policies and procedures are not conducted.
IAS reviewers interviewed employees and supervisors in the building department and also spent time with them in the field, Archer said. Contractors and homebuilders were interviewed to get their impressions of the building department. The evaluation is expected to cost the county about $15,000, county officials said.
"Our program is very thorough," Archer said. Evaluating a building department typically takes 9 to 14 months, but in Beaufort County's case it's expected to take more than two years.
One reason it took so long is that the building department spent nine months gathering some of the data IAS requested. "
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Thursday, October 8, 2009
credibility
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Who are you going to believe? Pulte? Pulte's subcontractors? JD Power? House sales agents?
Or do you believe independent house inspectors? qualified construction experts? Pulte customers who know shoddy construction when they see it? your own eyes?
Pulte, Pulte's subcontractors. JD Power, and house sales agents would have you believe that Pulte builds a quality house. Independent home inspectors, qualified construction experts, and customers who know the difference between good construction and shoddy construction say otherwise.
I'm a retired civil engineer. I started http://peretired.blogspot.com/ when I discovered faulty roof truss connections in Pulte houses in my Del Webb community. I live in Sun City Hilton Head, SC, where hurricanes are a MAJOR concern. Since discovering the faulty roof truss connections, I've discovered MUCH, MUCH more. Check out the photographs, and see for yourself.
Google “Pulte shoddy” and see for yourself what those who aren’t feeding at the Pulte trough have to say.
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Who are you going to believe? Pulte? Pulte's subcontractors? JD Power? House sales agents?
Or do you believe independent house inspectors? qualified construction experts? Pulte customers who know shoddy construction when they see it? your own eyes?
Pulte, Pulte's subcontractors. JD Power, and house sales agents would have you believe that Pulte builds a quality house. Independent home inspectors, qualified construction experts, and customers who know the difference between good construction and shoddy construction say otherwise.
I'm a retired civil engineer. I started http://peretired.blogspot.com/ when I discovered faulty roof truss connections in Pulte houses in my Del Webb community. I live in Sun City Hilton Head, SC, where hurricanes are a MAJOR concern. Since discovering the faulty roof truss connections, I've discovered MUCH, MUCH more. Check out the photographs, and see for yourself.
Google “Pulte shoddy” and see for yourself what those who aren’t feeding at the Pulte trough have to say.
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Wednesday, October 7, 2009
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When I run a Twitter search for "Pulte", I find that Twitter is full of pro-Pulte posts: sales pitches, JD Power's awards, Pulte patting Pulte on the back, etc.
However, not all of my Pulte tweets with "Pulte" in the tweet appear in a Twitter search for "Pulte". Could it be because my tweets are not pro-Pulte? Could it be that Twitter, like city-data.com, doesn't give equal sounding to all points of view? Shouldn't websites that are ostensibly "for public comment" display ALL comments, positive and negative?
Has anyone else had similar experiences?
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When I run a Twitter search for "Pulte", I find that Twitter is full of pro-Pulte posts: sales pitches, JD Power's awards, Pulte patting Pulte on the back, etc.
However, not all of my Pulte tweets with "Pulte" in the tweet appear in a Twitter search for "Pulte". Could it be because my tweets are not pro-Pulte? Could it be that Twitter, like city-data.com, doesn't give equal sounding to all points of view? Shouldn't websites that are ostensibly "for public comment" display ALL comments, positive and negative?
Has anyone else had similar experiences?
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