Pulte the mendacious

Presenting the 5 most prominent prevarications propagated by >Pulte Homes of New England, LLC

1. The statement:
Nothing more benign that what's on the plan will ever be built behind your unit.

The reality:
Not sure if this really is a reality, because we're between two organizations whose statements sometimes can't be verified. At any rate, let's take a shot at reality: >Shining Rock Development, LLC says Pulte Homes of New England, LLC has always known about the features. Pulte denies it - who knows which, if either is telling the truth?

2. The statements:
All the townhomes in the Fairways at Shining Rock have sensors on the lights on the garage because a) the town of Northbridge required it and b)it's way Pulte builds all townhomes.

The reality:
The Town of Northbridge was concerned about the poor lighting in the development. The poor lighting is the result of Shining Rock Development, LLC's not getting the street lights in. Pulte Homes of New England, LLC apparently reached a compromise with the Town that allowed light from the homes to substitute, then told residents it was a requirement. The compromise was necessary for Pulte to get certificates of occupancy, a necessity in order to sell the homes.

3. The statement:
The grass behind all the townhomes will be taken care of by the landscapers who cut the yard. They'll use sprinklers to water the grass.

The reality:
According to the management company, this was never, ever part of the agreement with the landscape company.

4. The statement:
Our developments in other areas are spotless. It's Fred (Shining Rock Development, LLC) who's the problem. He's not holding up his end.

The reality:
If Pulte Homes of New England, LLC really is interested in maintaining it's supposedly high site standards, it could take care of the site itself and seek redress from the developer.

5. The statement:
If you have any problems, just call Customer Service. They will get a message to the Customer Care department, who will be right out to take care of it for you.

The reality:
There are 3 documented incidents that I know of where a resident never got a call from a Pulte rep after calling the Customer Service number.

Where reality diverges from the presentation, something is amiss.........

Another drainage problem?

Over the past couple of days, there's been a lot of attention paid to a retention pond and associated drainage close to the School St entrance. Several Shining Rock Development, LLC employees, perhaps a contractor or two and several pieces of heavy equipment have spent quite a bit of time around the pond. Readers of this blog know that this is certainly not the first drainage boondoggle brought to us by Shining Rock Development, LLC. In fact, we're kinda gettin' used to it - plugged drains, diverted water, flooded streets, etc., etc.

I bet the folks on School street get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever the heavy equipment rolls up behind their homes.

se hablo espanol?

Well, believe it or not, the good folks that are operating some of the heavy equipment for Shining Rock Development, LLC's new golf course have a little trouble with the English language. Interestingly, one of the residents was out for an early morning walk on day and passed by where the guys were gathering before starting work. Here's the way the scene was described to me:
.....I walked over the top of a hill and saw a bunch of guys gathered in the center of a clearing. They were sharing donuts and shooting the breeze - one was handing out coffee, - you know, the kind of thing you'd expect to see in a construction crew at that time of day. Then the oddest thing happened. One looked up and noticed me. He seemed to gesture to the other guys, who looked up at me, then started to scatter towards their vehicles and the construction equipment. Its the same kind of reaction you would expect from a group of guilty teenagers when a policeman approaches. I struck up a conversation with one of the guys (I know a little Spanish) and found out they're from Mexico. The interesting thing here is that the only time I've ever seen a group of visiting workers react like they did is when I lived along the border, where undocumented workers were cautious around anyone clearly Anglo in descent....

Now, we obviously don't have all the facts, since the resident didn't think it right to ask the crew chief (el heffe) for their visas. Makes one wonder, though why the group reacted the way they did. Is Shining Rock Development, LLC condoning the use of illegal labor? Is it that much cheaper than hiring skilled American heavy equipment operators? Does this explain why this crew works early in the morning, on weekends and late at night, perhaps to avoid el emigre'?

Things that make you go hhmmmmmmmm............

From June 28, 2005 - reported by one of the other residents - I understand he had to turn around because a fuel truck totally blocked off the exit. Notice the crane that's at about car top level - no barriers, cones, nothing......
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From June 24, 2005 - as often happens, vendor trucks and equipment close the exit to just over 1 car width - what would happen if we needed an ambulance up here?
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Trying to get out to go to work was made a little more difficult, as Shining Rock Development, LLC decided to create an obstacle by watering every car that went by.
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Shining Rock Golf course - what SRD says vs what they do

Much of the ol' blog has been devoted to the misadventures of Pulte Homes of New England, LLC. Today's lesson involves the ever-beloved (not!) Shining Rock Development, LLC, the folks who are responsible for putting in the streets, sidewalks, infrastructure, golf course, clubhouse and other amenities. To illustrate the methods of operating employed by Shining Rock Development, LLC, we present for your examination some interesting information -

From Shining Rock Development, LLC's web site:
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"Golf

"Mark your calendars! The first nine holes of Shining Rock's 18 hole, par 72, 6,900-yard championship golf course set to be open for play this spring, 2005."

- facts: it's past Spring, 2005 & one of the developer reps says maybe Fall....
Folks have said they've seen references to 2003 & 2004 on the web site just last year.....
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"Hiking

Shining Rock offers walking trails throughout the community and miles of beautiful hiking trails in the adjacent Upton State Forest. You can enjoy a leisurely stroll or for the more adventurous, plan day-long hike. Go for a bike ride along the trails when the sun shines or cross country skiing when the snow falls."

- facts: if there are defined trails that can be hiked or biked, the residents can't find them. Further, they are not on any version of the developer's maps that we can find.
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"The Country Club

Architecturally striking, the Shining Rock Community Center/Clubhouse will be the central gathering place for Shining Rock residents and their guests. The Community Center/Clubhouse will provide concierge service as well as all the amenities consistent with luxury golf course living."

- facts: The plans presented on the web site have yet to be approved by the town of Northbridge, yet are presented on the site. Further, Fred Ruland, Stan Pearson and others have repeatedly mentioned having a restautant or facility that serves "pub style" food. Interestingly, the plans approved and on file in the Worcester Registry of Deeds include language which specifically forbids any type of food preparation in the clubhouse.
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"Swimming

Outdoor swim club."

- facts: This recently added feature's location requires that we park on the opposite side of the clubhouse and walk our kids and pool stuff across a busy parking lot, past golfers and employees while in our swimsuits. Notice that there's no reference to a date it will be available, details on memberships, etc. Makes some wonder about the details.
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"Tennis

Tennis courts available."

- facts: Like the pool, the tennis courts are a very recent addition to the site plans that are available for inspection. Like with the pool, access may be difficult, as players may have to walk through the pool area to get to the courts. Also, the courts and pool are what some consider to be dangerously close to the golf course, raising the question of how members will be protected from flying golf balls.
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"What's New"

- facts: all that's here in the What's New section is the heading. There seems to be a pattern - clubhouse info, golf course info, upcoming events...... these don't seem to be updated
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Of course, it could be that failing to hit published dates or provide details is due to the administrative abilities of the developer. It could be that telling folks about a restaurant when food preparation is specifically prohibited is simply a mistake. It could be that the bike trails are there but we just can't find them. It could be that the details on the pool and tennis courts aren't available because they haven't been thought through.

If we ignore intent and look at impact, one conclusion that is clear is there's a lack of detail here and inaccurate information included in the marketing presented on Shining Rock Development, LLC's site. What this means is caveat emptor (buyer beware)!! Ask questions - again and again. Document the time, date, answer and who answered. Be very careful to ensure you are sure of what you are getting into.

Pulte's customer service examples

Since each individual tends to have her own view of what constitutes "great" customer service, here are some live examples from actual experience with Pulte Homes of New England, LLC from the customer's point of view.
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Situation: water valve leaking in the basement of a unit. Homeowner calls Customer Service hotline per instructions. Call is on a weekend, and the answering service employee indicates that calls of this nature are considered an emergency, and that a Pulte rep will be paged immediately.

Reaction: based on a conversation led by the homeowner several days into the next week, the Pulte rep indicated he never received the call, let alone an emergency page.
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Situation: as part of the punch list, several nail (actually, screw) pops are to be repaired. The homeowner verified that the Pulte Homes of New England, LLC Customer Service rep had the item on the punch list. Completed efficiently, the work should have been completed in 2 trips, max.

Reaction: follow up by the Pulte Homes of New England, LLC rep was absent to inconsistent. All in all, it took about 16 trips to the home over several months to complete the job. Obstacles included inviting the wrong vendor, vendors' not having their tools when they showed up, vendors' having to leave to do other, more important work and what the homeowners perceive as a lack of holding vendors accountable.

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Situation: Contractors working at 7am on Sunday mornings. According to the plans filed in the Registry of Deeds, and we're told, from town ordinance of Northbridge, MA, work of this type is prohibeted on Sundays.

Reaction: The Sales Manager for the site told a homeowner that the contractors are probably behind due to recent rains. No, they should not be working, but one or two may slip in from time to time. There's no way to monitor, because no one from Pulte Homes of New England, LLC is going to come up there on the weekends to check the site. Besides, they may be behind.
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Situation: A sprinkler system is part of the development. It is being installed by Pulte Homes of New England, LLC. The project has been going on for about 8 weeks. Over the weeeks, we've had various ditches, holes, things sticking up out of the ground, wires strung about, sinkholes, etc. The project just never seems to come to a close, so we asked the Pulte Homes of New England, LLC rep when it would be completed.

Reaction: Well, they don't know who actually is doing the work, because it may be a sub of a sub of a sub(whatever that means), so they don't know who to call. No one seems to be able to answer the basic questions - what's going on with installation & whan will it be finished?
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Situation: As a result of not having the sprinklers on one side of the street (the side with the models was installed first - go figure), Pulte Homes of New England, LLC said they are going to water the dry side by hand and pay for the water.

Reaction: Pulte Homes of New England, LLC watered the dry yards once that can be verified, then left the grass to the mercy of summer weather.
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The lessons here? The simplest of things is doing what you say you are going to do and taking responsibility when something goes awry.

You be the judge as to where Pulte Homes of New England, LLC falls out here with these examples.

This is from 6/3/05. Try getting around this slow moving behemoth. Contractor working for Shining Rock Development, LLC.
Posted by Hello

Here's one from 5/21/05. The two guys in the way stopped to chat while residents waited patiently to get out. They already were at work, so what do they care if we're late? Pulte Homes of New England, LLC's contractors just don't care about the lives of the residents.
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As if having just the cement mixer in the way wasn't enough. Pulte Homes of New England, LLC's contractors strike again.
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From 4/7/05 - imagine trying to get out of your house to face New England traffic, only to find that you have to get around this first.
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From 6/21/05 - later in the day. One truck moves and another takes its place. Still very difficult for the residents to get to work. Pulte simply does not seem to care.
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Here we go again - 6/22/05 - this time, the red truck in front of the car stops, the driver gets out, leaving the door open. The driver steps over to talk to one of his buds. I was late this morning - wish they understand that people LIVE here. Unfortunately, Pulte says there's nothing they can do - but wait, don't these people WORK for Pulte?
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It's not unusual to have to fight through a maze of trucks just to get to work in the morning. Imagine getting around this curve while dodging half-dressed workers, incoming 18 wheelers and heavy equipment, all while needing to get to work. Taken on 6/21/05
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It's just not unusual to see this cloud of dust as trucks speed through the development. The contractors seem to see this as their workplace, not a place where people live. This dirt ends up in our homes. The developer is responsible for cleaning the roads EACH DAY. It may be done once a week.
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As you can see, the site is very dirty. It'
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Notice the curbs in the foreground, then look at the next section. They're just as crooked as the sidewalk. Again, a "Luxury" town home brought to you by Pulte Homes. Curbing provided courtesy of Shining Rock Development, LLC.
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Take a look down the line of the sidewalk. Notice how crooked the sidewalk is poured. Remember, this is a "Luxury" town home by Pulte. Sidewalks provided by Shining Rock Development, LLC.
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And, finally - drum roll please - this drain is closest to the construction of new town homes. Seems clogged to me.
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it seems clear that no one looks at these things - this has been this way for a long, long time.....
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Just don't see how any water could flow into this one.
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You should see how many rocks are down in this drain.
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What do you think happens when heavy rains hit the development?
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How does a drain drain when it's full of this stuff?
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bv wireless - who are they?

There's a relatively new computer wireless service in Northbridge. It's called BV Wireless. We think it's owned or primarily operated by a Patrick Smith. Though we have not been able to find record of the business' being registered, the Planning Board President said Mr. Smith is running it out of his home. The Town of Northbridge has some pretty strict rules on business registration, and I'm sure Mr. Smith is abiding by all of them, though we've been unable to find proof by talking to town officials.

At any rate, there's a group of wireless providers whose mission is providing free and open networks to foster widespread use and free speech. BV Wireless is listed as one of the free providers, though BV Wireless says there will be a monthly charge once out of beta testing.

Some unanswered questions on this service are:
- is it secure?
- can the host or others use the network to take personal information from our home computers?
- if BV Wireless is a member of the group promoting free and open use, why do they plan to charge?
- what kinds of regulations are needed for this kind of business?
- if BV Wireless is a business partner of Shining Rock Development, LLC, does this mean they can break the rules of the association, like putting up antennae, door to door soliciting, etc.?
- wonder what kind of benefit Shining Rock Development, LLC gets from the distribution of wireless?

As usual, more questions than answers.

Pulte Homes of New England, LLC and the lawns

Pulte Homes of New England, LLC today told one of the neighbors that sprinklers along the odd numbered side of the street (opposite the models, of course) probably won't be installed until a new group of homes is completed. Not sure what that means, but, according to the sales manager for the development, some of these won't be occupied until next spring. The local customer service rep for Pulte Homes of New England, LLC mentioned that they may ask the residents to water their own grass.

The frustrating part of this comes from the fact that our association fees include watering of the front of the condos. No answer from the management company on how this is to play out, or the contigency plan......

Another lawn boondoggle.................

Pulte Homes of New England, LLC the grass killers

Well, it's been about 6 weeks since the whole sprinkler system began installation. It started with heavy equipment tearing up the lawns and breaking the driveways, then moved on to uncovered holes left in the ground for a couple of weeks. Now, the holes are covered, but the contractor discovered that one of the driveways had to be excavated in order to re-lay a section of pipe.

It turns out the original chase wasn't as thick as called for in the specs. As a result, the traffic on the driveway (e.g. front end loader used to clear snow in the 15' driveways) exceeded the stress limits of the infrastructure. In other words, the pipe was crushed. So... the cure is digging up a 3' wide section of driveway, laying the correct pipe (can you say inefficiencies of re-work?), and running whatever lines need to be pushed through it.

It's been a week since whatever lines were run. Not sure what's going on now and neither is our Pulte rep. Just to remind you, the site supervisor already has said that they have trouble getting the contractors back in to finish their work, and that they really don't know who is responsible for the sprinkler system.

At any rate, the grass guys showed up just before it got really hot to hydroseed the yards. We're trying to figure out just how long the seed can survive without water, as the sprinkler system isn't working on one side of the street. I think the stuff is already dead.

Another Pulte Homes of New England, LLC boondoggle, brought to you in conjunction with Shining Rock Development, LLC.

Shining Rock - a resident's viewpoint

This site is brought to you by the residents of The Fairways at Shining Rock. It is our hope that exposing Pulte Homes of New England, LLC, Shining Rock Development, LLC and other players in our community will provide education so that others may be saved the stress and frustration we've encountered.
You should have interest in these stories if you:

• are considering a home in The Fairways at Shining Rock or the Shining Rock Golf Community in Northbridge, MA
• have purchased a home in The Fairways at Shining Rock or the Shining Rock Golf Community
• are interested in the business practices or ethics of Pulte Homes of New England, LLC or or Shining Rock Development, LLC
• are considering a home by Pulte Homes, Pulte Homes of New England, LLC or one of the other divisions
• have interest in how the town of Northbridge, MA has handled what has been described as a difficult development
• would like insight into the customer service performance of the Pulte team versus the gold standard to which they say they aspire

The information you will find in here is presented as factual where appropriate and opinion where it is such. You will be able to draw your own conclusions from publicly available information, testimonials and transcripts. We may be dropping a few pictures as well.

Come back often, as there's a great deal of information to come.

Your feedback is welcome.

Another pretty picture, as a reddish looking petroleum substance floats in a pool inside the golf course at Shining Rock Development, LLC's Northbridge, MA course under construction.
Posted by Hello

2nd pool also apparently covered with a petroleum distillate - guess Shining Rock Development, LLC isn't concerned about the environment, as this has been here for a long time

Pulte Homes of New England, LLC kills the landscaping

The usual.......Arrived home Monday afternoon to find the driveway partially blocked by a pickup with the name of an irrigation company on the door. A healthy looking worker was in my yard, poking the ground next to the driveway with a shovel. As I spoke to a couple of neighbors, he got on his Nextel, spoke to someone for several minutes, then dropped his shovel and left. Don't know much about the conversation, but it seemed that whoever was on the other end was trying to tell the guy in my yard where to find the already installed sprinkler system. If this is the case, it's interesting that he couldn't find an already installed system. Aren't there plans for this kind of thing?

The worker returned several minutes later, dropped about 100' of some kind of tubing in the neighbor's yard, dug three holes and left for the day. Now we have several tripping hazards with no idea when the job will be completed. This is not unlike Pulte....one of the neighbors had a spool of wire and a big hole from this project in his yard for over 3 weeks. About a week ago, someone replaced the spool and hole with a pile of rocks. It's been 2 weeks and the rock pile is still there. Again, a tripping hazard.

Last time anyone asked Pulte about the schedule, the construction site manager said Pulte really doesn't know who is working in the community, as subs hire subs who may hire subs, etc., etc. Since they don't know who is doing the work, they apparently can't get the schedule; at any rate, it seems Pulte has zero control over some aspects of construction in their own buildings.

Interestingly, though that one of the first two buildings built has sprinklers. Now that the summer heat is on, only one building is being watered - the one with Pulte's models. go figure. The lawn in the other buildings is getting brown & dry. Guess it pays to own the community.

It's really disappointing that Pulte Homes of New England, LLC seems to care so little about the residents yet is so forward with taking care of its own interests. Hazards in the neighborhood don't seem to matter, either.

Another day, another exciting event........................

storm drains in the fairways at shining rock - about half of them are full of soil and debris, blocking drainage.

90 degrees, brand new home, no air conditioning

If you owned a 6-month old home built by a national company who stresses quality of work and gold standard customer service, would you expect the air conditioning to work? With the recent onset of summer, temperatures reached the 90's in The Fairways at Shining Rock. Imagine our surprise when we learned the air conditioning condensers did not work!


Following protocol, a call was placed to Pulte's 24 hour customer service hotline on the evening of Friday, June 3. The call center employee mentioned that heating/air conditioning calls are considered an emergency. She said she would page a Pulte rep immediately. As of Sunday, June 5, no one had called, so a second call was placed to the Pulte customer service line. The call center employee said they had received several calls from the community and had been instructed to STOP PAGING PULTE REPRESENTATIVES. Pushed to honor their commitment to adequate emergency response, the call center employee agreed to page a Pulte rep. She said as she agreed that it's unlikely Pulte would respond.

Guess what? As of Monday morning, Pulte has yet to respond - to some of the residents. Not sure how Pulte decided who to work with and who to ignore, but some of the residents received a response.

Just hope Pulte gets around to calling back - New England summers can be brutal, especially to older citizens. Pulte considers air conditioning a luxury. Wonder if the retired folk living here agree?

a typical traffic scene in the Fairways at Shining Rock as heavy equipment rules the road, stirring dirt and dust from the construction mess. It's not unusual to be late getting out to work, errands, etc. as the roads are blocked.