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Hey All,
I saw a thread just like this in Charlotte and tried to reinvigorate it, but have received little feedback, so I thought I would start one in this forum. I apologize in advance for the redundancy. But we really need some information.
After a lot of back and forth visiting various builders around Indian Land and Fort Mill, my wife and I are really starting to fall in love with Audubon Lake by Pulte on Barberville Rd. To us, it has everything - the design plans we want, excellent location(in Indian Land, but not on 160), decent size lots and a development that will not be too big.
Could anyone weigh in here? We don't know a lot about Pulte and that concerns us. Has anyone ever built with them and do they have any problems. What has been the response of Pulte to those problems? Does anyone live or know someone who lives in the actual Audubon Lake Development? How is life there? I know there are no amenities as of yet. The Pulte rep said they are supposed to be in by next spring. Does anyone have the lowdown on the amenities? My wife works South Tryon right off of 485. How would her commute be?
I appreciate any all feedback - good, bad or indifferent.
From what I've heard Pulte is among the better builders in the area. I've driven by there a few times cutting through Barberville. That road isn't too busy, but I do know that though it's not 160 people use it as a cut through. That location is going to be a little further away from shopping and other conveniences. I don't know how important it is for you to be near a grocery store.
I don't know anyone that lives there. I can tell you the commute might be a bear since you won't be near any main roads and will have to do a crazy amount of backroads and cutting through Pineville (nightmare of epic proportions), or going north through Ballantyne to get on 485 West (another nightmare) or get on 160 to get on 77 north to take 485.
Have you driven from there to your wife's job and timed it? I would make that suggestion before settling on a location.
If she can tolerate the commute then I would say go for it!
From what I've heard Pulte is among the better builders in the area. I've driven by there a few times cutting through Barberville. That road isn't too busy, but I do know that though it's not 160 people use it as a cut through. That location is going to be a little further away from shopping and other conveniences. I don't know how important it is for you to be near a grocery store.
I don't know anyone that lives there. I can tell you the commute might be a bear since you won't be near any main roads and will have to do a crazy amount of backroads and cutting through Pineville (nightmare of epic proportions), or going north through Ballantyne to get on 485 West (another nightmare) or get on 160 to get on 77 north to take 485.
Have you driven from there to your wife's job and timed it? I would make that suggestion before settling on a location.
If she can tolerate the commute then I would say go for it!
Thanks. We are already 5 minutes away from the development right now, so I don't think it will make that much of a difference in her commute. The problem now is I have heard a lot of negative things on Pulte - both reading on the web and from friends of friends that I am now a bit spooked. The location is so ideal, because it is close to Ballantyne, but I also don't want a house that is going to fall apart. I have also heard nightmares about dealing with them to fix building errors and their mortgage company. Ugggg....
This is going back a good 10 years or more, but I once worked with a woman whose friend built a home with Pulte and they had nothing but problems. One of the problems was that the house was uneven - actually tilted to the side a few inches. I know nothing of home building, but I know houses settle. I don't know what's normal or not. But apparently you could stand in front of this
house and see it was uneven.
This is going back a good 10 years or more, but I once worked with a woman whose friend built a home with Pulte and they had nothing but problems. One of the problems was that the house was uneven - actually tilted to the side a few inches. I know nothing of home building, but I know houses settle. I don't know what's normal or not. But apparently you could stand in front of this
house and see it was uneven.
That's a shame. I would think that if it was when they first built it it would have been caught since nothing in the house would have been square. Sounds like a settling issue and a bad foundation.
As for the OP. Since you're already living near to where the house will be you're at an advantage that many people building a house aren't. We had a similar situation in that our house that we're building (and in the process of completing and closing by end of month) is less than 5 minutes from the apartment we're staying in. Early in the foundation and framing we were there pretty much every day and now go every few days to check on things. We've caught a few issues here and there and mentioned them to the project manager. Maybe he would have had them corrected had we not been there, but I think being there as often as we did helped a lot.
There weren't any complaints with this builder (not Pulte) when we signed our contract with them back in September but for whatever reason they had a build up of them in the fall. Most had to do with contract issues, not structure issues.
Do your research as to what the complaints are about. Some of what I read on-line made me shake my head. Many complaints sounded like they were primarily buyers remorse though there were valid ones as well. Also remember that you'll see more complaints on-line than kudos. Most people that are happy with their homes don't go raving on-line about it, it skews perception.
Thanks. We are already 5 minutes away from the development right now, so I don't think it will make that much of a difference in her commute. The problem now is I have heard a lot of negative things on Pulte - both reading on the web and from friends of friends that I am now a bit spooked. The location is so ideal, because it is close to Ballantyne, but I also don't want a house that is going to fall apart. I have also heard nightmares about dealing with them to fix building errors and their mortgage company. Ugggg....
I drive Barberville often (for over 10 years now). When they first started building Audubon Lake it seemed to sell quite well.
If you really like this development, and the location works for you my suggestion would be to speak directly to the people that live there. With the two homes we have owned we spoke to the people that lived in the neighborhood prior to moving into our homes, and the folks were all very nice and helpful. I have also had people stop and ask me questions now, and I am more than happy to share with them what I know.
I think if you keep listening to the friend of a friend, and internet complaint sites, etc., you are going to drive your self crazy with all of the hearsay. Heck if we had listened to all of the horror stories people told us about the Carolina's we would have never moved here...and what a shame that would have been.
I know two families that live there now and they both love the neighborhood. I haven't heard any negative comments towards the neighborhood or the builder. We are considering this neighborhood for our next move.
We looked at a home there a few years back when Shea Homes had the property.... We liked the location and overall feel of the neighborhood, just concerned with the unknown wooded area just past the developement and the home that we looked at backed to this area. I noticed a few weeks ago that Pulte had removed all of the natural area and is now marketing it as the "estate." SO glad that we did not purchase that home, as we would have backed to a huge hill and more homes...
I drive Barberville often (for over 10 years now). When they first started building Audubon Lake it seemed to sell quite well.
If you really like this development, and the location works for you my suggestion would be to speak directly to the people that live there. With the two homes we have owned we spoke to the people that lived in the neighborhood prior to moving into our homes, and the folks were all very nice and helpful. I have also had people stop and ask me questions now, and I am more than happy to share with them what I know.
I think if you keep listening to the friend of a friend, and internet complaint sites, etc., you are going to drive your self crazy with all of the hearsay. Heck if we had listened to all of the horror stories people told us about the Carolina's we would have never moved here...and what a shame that would have been.
Good Luck to you!
I just saw that Audubon Lake is having a community Yard Sale this Satuday (May 17th). It may be a great time to find a lot of the neighbors out and about.
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