Pulte Homes is lowest--no surprise there

http://www.mysmartrend.com/news-briefs/news-watch/shares-pulte-homes-rank-lowest-terms-sales-growth-homebuilding-industry-phm-n

just might be because Pulte Homes builds shoddy houses and treats their customers poorly.
DUH!

RENT! Don't buy a Pulte house

http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/341510-mad-hedge-fund-trader/908411-more-hard-truths-about-residential-real-estate


"Look at the stock chart for Pulte Homes (PHM) and it resembles my flight path just before I crashed a twin engine Cessna into the Australian Alps (my engine failed).

According to a survey by Zillow.com, a real estate appraisal website, 5 million homeowners plan to sell on any improvement in prices. Add 4 million existing homes now on the market, 1 million new homes flogged by companies like Lennar (LEN) and Pulte Homes, and 1 million bank owned properties. Another 8 million mortgage owners are late on their payments and are on the verge of foreclosure, bringing the total overhang to 19 million homes.

I sold everything in 2005 when my research threw up these numbers, and have been happily renting ever since. And, if the toilet blocks up, I just call the landlord."

"...no brainer..."


Yep. "no brainer"--RENT!
Don't buy a house from Pulte Homes.

Pulte Homes' statistics

One could argue that a few houses with failed foundations are statistically insignificant with the number of houses that Pulte Homes builds. That is, unless you own one of Pulte Home's houses with a failed foundation:

http://www.kens5.com/news/Shifting-and-shuffling-Fairhaven-residents-complain-their-foundations-are-slipping-162115165.html


However, thousands of Pulte Homes’ houses with failed foundations are not statistically insignificant.

“Michael Dicks, a Phoenix construction-defect attorney, believes that ‘thousands upon thousands’ of homes have been affected by soil problems -- or will be showing damage in the near future.” 

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2006-03-16/news/cracked-houses/


Neither are thousands of Pulte Homes' houses with failed stucco.

“…4,300 homeowners …” 

http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/07/14/2134568/judge-lawyers-in-stucco-suit-can.html


or inadequate roof truss connections.

“… 2,600 homes …” 

http://www.lowcountrynewspapers.net/archive/node/14423


Don’t buy a house from Pulte Homes.

Odds are NOT in your favor.

dishonest, reckless and arrogant Pulte Homes

When problems occur with Pulte Homes' houses (they do regularly), Pulte Homes always says: "Pulte Homes is fully committed to customer satisfaction and quality."

Really?

If that’s the case, then why did Pulte Homes deliberately build thousands of houses with unreinforced concrete foundations on expansive soils in Arizona in the early 2000s, and then do the same thing in Texas years later, leaving customers in Arizona and Texas to deal with devastating consequences of failed foundations? Why did Pulte Homes deliberately substitute nails for hurricane clips in thousands of houses in coastal South Carolina? Why did Pulte Homes install defective stucco in thousands of houses at the same location?

There are widespread problems with Pulte Homes' houses at many other locations. Pulte Homes’ mantra is always the same: "Pulte Homes is fully committed to customer satisfaction and quality."

Dishonest, reckless and arrogant Pulte Homes

dishonest, reckless and arrogant Pulte Homes

In the early 2000s Pulte Homes deliberately built houses on marginal soils in Arizona. Unreinforced concrete foundations failed, and unsuspecting homeowners are left with the consequences.

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2006-03-16/news/cracked-houses/


"Petroulakis declined an interview, but issued a written statement saying that the company, a division of Pulte Homes, is 'fully committed to customer satisfaction and quality.' "


Years later Pulte Homes deliberately built houses on marginal soils in the Fairhaven development in Schertz, TX. Unreinforced concrete foundations failed, and unsuspecting homeowners are left with the consequences.

http://www.kens5.com/news/Shifting-and-shuffling-Fairhaven-residents-complain-their-foundations-are-slipping-162115165.html


dishonest, reckless and arrogant Pulte Homes

disposable Pulte Homes

disposable diapers.
disposable bottles.
disposable cups.
disposable tableware.
disposable razors.
disposable lighters.
disposable contact lenses.
disposable gloves.
disposable cameras.
disposable cell phones.

and now, from Pulte Homes:

disposable houses ( http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2006-03-16/news/cracked-houses/ ,http://www.hobb.org/index.php?searchword=fairhaven&option=com_search&Itemid=  )

We live in a disposable world.
(maybe it's time to dispose of Pulte Homes.)

NOTHING has changed with Pulte Homes

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2006-03-16/news/cracked-houses/

http://www.hobb.org/index.php?searchword=fairhaven&option=com_search&Itemid=

Pulte problems--SOS (Same Old S____)

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2006-03-16/news/cracked-houses/

March 16, 2006--a mere 6+ years ago!

"Del Webb's attorney, Roger W. Strassburg, referred all questions to a company spokeswoman, Jacque Petroulakis. Petroulakis declined an interview, but issued a written statement saying that the company, a division of Pulte Homes, is "' fully committed to customer satisfaction and quality.' "

S.O.S.
NOTHING has changed with Pulte Homes:
http://www.hobb.org/index.php?searchword=fairhaven&option=com_search&Itemid=

Pulte's strategy: deny, deny, deny; delay, delay, delay

http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/07/19/2140069/hundreds-of-sun-city-homeowners.html

"That's their strategy: Delay, delay, delay," Seekings (Attorney Michael Seekings of Leath, Bouch & Seekings law firm in Charleston) said."

Yep. That's what I said almost THREE YEARS ago:

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/07/19/2140069/hundreds-of-sun-city-homeowners.html#storylink=cpy

http://peretired.blogspot.com/2009/09/pulte-playbook.html

another dissatisfied Pulte customer

http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Buyers_Agents_Be_Aware_Pulte_has_changed_HVAC_sys-409456-p_1-recent?answerId=1498234#left_content


"Pulte Homes has an extensive history of this sort of thing. I know—I own a Pulte house—in a Pulte development on the SC coast. In 2006 I discovered that roof truss connections in these houses were woefully inadequate. I’m a retired civil engineer. The building code requires that houses in this location must be capable of withstanding a 130 mph hurricane force wind. It was obvious to me when I saw the roof truss connections that they could not. I came to find out that Pulte decided to substitute two nails for the hurricane clip called for on construction drawings. That’s bad enough; but, many of the connections that I saw had no nails, one nail, nails that completely missed their target, nails in split wood, etc.—woefully inadequate.


Currently, in Schertz TX, foundations for homes in a Pulte development have completely failed due to expansive soils, and the fact that the foundations don’t have steel reinforcement (rebars). Unlike our houses a completely failed foundation is fatal.


If you want to know more about Pulte’s shoddy construction, see my blog: http://peretired.blogspot.com/ . Good luck with Pulte Homes. Most of us have found that Pulte’s SOP is to deny, deny, deny and delay, delay, delay. If the problems are “manageable”, then most of us have fixed them ourselves."

Typical--Pulte Homes hiding from their customers

http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/264265/8/Sinkhole-worries-continue-in-Hernando-County

Pulte, the Prevaricator

Anyone who has ever contracted with Pulte Homes to build them a house knows that Pulte Homes lies to their customers. Now, let's see if the Feds can make it stick. Will the Feds be influenced in their investigation by Pulte Homes and their pocket politicians? Time will tell.

Also, it would seem that the homeowners have grounds to sue Pulte for fraud, which would be outside the binding arbitration clause for construction issues that is included in Pulte's sales contract.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/community/northeast/news/article/FBI-looking-into-Fairhaven-3714329.php

Pulte screws their customers

http://www.lowcountrynewspapers.net/archive/node/14423

Building inspectors have reviewed more than 1,270 attics since Beaufort County launched an investigation earlier this summer to check whether roof trusses in 2,600 homes were installed properly.
   
    Out of 739 homes reviewed by inspectors in July, 668 required at least one repair, according to inspection records. Many of those repairs were minimal, requiring the addition of a few screws to fasten trusses together.

    Other repairs were more extensive, requiring dozens of screws and additional lumber to close gaps between trusses, according to inspection reports.

Of the 668 homes repaired in July:

Trusses in 319 homes needed between one to nine screws.

Trusses in 266 homes needed between 10 to 29 screws.

Trusses in 60 homes needed between 30 and 49 screws.

Twenty-two homes needed 50 or more screws.

136 of the 668 homes also needed additional lumber to close gaps between trusses. The trusses are supposed to rest on top of each other.

    Inspectors also made other observations. For example, they noted that several homes were missing a valley truss.

 The trusses in Sun City resident Rick McCollough's home were deemed "unsatisfactory" by county building inspectors during a preliminary inspection in May because of gaps between several trusses and multiple places where nails didn't fasten trusses together properly.

    When the independent inspector returned two months later, he ordered 50 screws installed to secure the trusses. The inspector also had 11 pieces of wood installed to close the gaps between trusses, according to the inspection reports.

    Even after the repairs, however, a Packet reporter saw some trusses with gaps between them and some not connected securely with nails.

    "It's very arbitrary," McCollough said, "and they wouldn't have put this many (screws) in here if I hadn't been up here pointing them out."
   
    Pulte used to fasten trusses together using metal brackets called hurricane clips, but switched to a different method after Jan. 1, 2004. Pulte's engineer said hurricane clips were not necessary and instead recommended using nails.

    However, in some cases the nails didn't thoroughly penetrate the trusses or they split the wood, weakening the connection. Some connections had no nails or only one nail instead of the two ordered by the engineer.

    To fix the problem, Pulte's engineer recommended switching from nails to screws. Pulte took that advice this spring and began using screws to fasten trusses in new homes.

    But Pulte decided to switch back to hurricane clips this summer, Cherry said, because clips are easier for inspectors to see. Clips are attached to trusses with multiple nails, and have more holding strength than nails alone.

    Homeowners whose attics were repaired with screws rather than clips shouldn't be concerned, Cherry said.

    "It's not one method is better than the other -- they're all acceptable," Cherry said. "We just want to make sure this mistake does not occur ever again."

    McCollough and his next door neighbor aren't convinced. They plan to hire someone to install hurricane clips in their homes, he said.

    "We've put too much money into this to leave it to chance," McCollough said.


Guess who got screwed?
answer: Pulte's customers.

Read more here: http://www.lowcountrynewspapers.net/archive/node/14423#storylink=cpy

Judge rules against Pulte Homes

http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/07/14/2134568/judge-lawyers-in-stucco-suit-can.html


"South Carolina State Plastering LLC, the lead defendant, applied stucco to about 4,300 Sun City homes from late 1998 to July 2007, and there are potential defects in each, the plaintiffs' lawyers say.

According to court filings, the plaintiffs also want Pulte and Del Webb to stop repairs on homes with defective stucco that could be included in the class action, repairs they say amount to covering up evidence. Pulte and Del Webb also are requiring homeowners who receive the repairs to sign a form opting out of any present or future class-action lawsuits; an agreement form is included in court filings."


Don't contract with Pulte Homes for a new home.

If you do, you'll be sorry that you did.

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/07/14/2134568/judge-lawyers-in-stucco-suit-can.html#storylink=cpy

"Proactive" Pulte Homes

http://kgnb.am/news/pulte-homes-target-fbi-investigation


"Pulte representatives say they ... have proactively contacted federal authorities about the complaints."

Pulte is proactive when it comes to investigations by the FBI.
Pulte is proactive when it comes to sales.
Pulte is proactive when it comes to denying that there are serious defects with their houses.

Pulte isn't proactive when it comes to standing behind their product.
Pulte isn't proactive when it comes to treating their customers well.
Pulte isn't proactive when it comes to buying back their grossly defective houses.

http://www.hobb.org/content/view/3792/304/

Pulte Homes: Lemon Builder

http://www.kens5.com/news/Shifting-and-shuffling-Fairhaven-residents-complain-their-foundations-are-slipping-162115165.html

http://seguingazette.com/news/article_6b219dee-cade-11e1-b519-0019bb2963f4.html

Pulte Homes' crack laboratory

http://www.kens5.com/news/Shifting-and-shuffling-Fairhaven-residents-complain-their-foundations-are-slipping-162115165.html

How would you like to live in a Pulte Homes' house that is falling apart? How would you like it if Pulte Homes, the so-called "Master Builder", kept coming back time and time again, and can't fix the problem?

"...repurchasing the home is exactly what Ruiz wants. She said Pulte has already fixed her floor 4 times."

“I don’t want Pulte to come in here and continue fixing things for the rest of my life or the rest of this home’s life because it’s under warranty," she said. "I don’t want Pulte in my life. I’m sorry, but I don’t. I want to move on.”

Don't apologize, Ms. Ruiz. Apparently, Pulte Homes hasn't heard of "3 strikes and you're OUT"! I don't blame you. I wouldn't want Pulte Homes in my life either. I'd want to move on too. If Pulte Homes was a decent company that stood behind their product, and treated their customers well, then Pulte Homes would buy back their defective house.

which is more worthless? Pulte Homes or Schertz TX council?

http://seguingazette.com/news/article_6b219dee-cade-11e1-b519-0019bb2963f4.html

"Schertz officials advised the homeowners to hire a lawyer, and after they engaged a lawyer, Pulte Homes representatives said they could not meet with them if a lawyer was present, Fitzgerald said."

Which is more worthless? a good-for-nothing builder? or a good-for-nothing city council?

"...some of the homes have been repaired three or four times without satisfactory results, and the homeowners are prevented from filing lawsuits because their contracts to buy the homes call for disputes to be resolved by binding arbitration."

Don't buy a house from Pulte Homes.

"Assistant County Attorney Bob Etlinger advised members of the court about not responding to the speakers or discussing the topic."

Government working for its citizens--NOT!

Don't drink Pulte's Kool-Aid!!

The award for the BEST on-line comment goes to...

(drum roll)

gmama

(applause and cheers)

for her 6/17/2012 comment
"Don't drink Pulte's Kool-Aid!!"
attached to the story at
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/articleComments/Pulte-repairing-problems-in-homes-3637907.php


Congratulations, gmama!
You REALLY hit the nail on the head!
(excuse the pun)


For you whippersnappers who don't know what it means:
http://www.raptureready.com/rr-kool-aid.html