44%

Forty-four percent of Pulte and Del Webb homeowners who reported construction defects were “Dissatisfied” or “Very Dissatisfied” with the company’s response to defects they brought to the builder’s attention.

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My name is Terry Templeton. My husband and I have a blended family altogether, seven kids, the youngest of which are twins. As our kids started getting older we outgrew our home. It was a difficult decision for us to sell our home. We had personalized it, remodeled it. We had great neighbors, great schools. Despite all that, we just didn't have the space we needed to enjoy our family. We sold our 30-year old problem-free home and signed a contract to have Pulte build our home. We invested our lives and our life's savings into our dream home.

Pulte Homes invited me to visit our home site for the pre-pour inspection. When I got there, it seemed like they had actually put our home in the wrong place. The superintendent insisted it was right, but I wouldn't sign off on the inspection. Visually, I could tell it was wrong. They agreed to check it for me. Later on, I stopped by to check on construction, I found out everything had been ripped up and moved.

Our twins were starting kindergarten that year, so we moved into a two-bedroom apartment within the same school district. Pulte told us our house would be ready in August or September, so we weren't worried. Because of the delays, we were stuck in that apartment not for five weeks, but five months.

It was December when Pulte's superintendent told me there would be another delay in the closing due to construction problems. So, the next morning, I went over to the home site. I found that the entire ceiling had fallen in my home. They didn't connect the master tub upstairs correctly, and water poured out and flooded the house, seeping into the ceiling and walls. When I saw that, I started crying.

We eventually closed on the house, but these problems were just the beginning. These are all my work orders (pictured). I had to be home for everyone of these appointments. And I'm not talking about scratches on the counter. We're talking a major electrical arc blowing out the refrigerator. A few months later, it blew out the air-conditioning unit. I had sewage backing up from my downstairs toilet. Mold as a result of the flood.

Pulte had me convinced that I was the only one. Then my neighbors started coming to me for help and we started sharing stories. I realized our problems were the same. We were being told the same thing—it's not a defect; it will be taken care of; we were the only ones with the problem.

I hope that the severity of this problem is exposed. I hope people realize the damage and destruction Pulte is doing to families -- dads, moms, kids. We are not Lot 33. We are the Templetons. Bottom line is we're people living behind these doors. Trying our best not to give up so we can get what we should have received from the very beginning.

-Terry Templeton, Pulte Presidio, Del Valle tract Sahuarita, Arizona