Recently, Jon Cherry, Division President for Pulte Homes Southeast Division, said: “Pulte Homes/Del Webb takes pride in our reputation in the building industry and our track record of building high quality homes.“

Construction problems with Pulte houses are well documented on this (HOBB’s) website, on http://peretired.blogspot.com/, and on other websites.

Bill Pulte, founder and Chairman of Pulte Homes, said in an interview with public radio:

“RYSSDAL: When you go to somebody's house, whether it's for dinner or for some function or an event, what's a sign to you that it's a well-built house?

PULTE: You really can't tell because all you're seeing is the cosmetic finishes, which doesn't really make a good house. That's where a lot of people go wrong. They think that the cosmetic finishes make a good house or the better house. It starts with understanding what the soil the house is going to go on. You must understand what that soil is and secondly you must build the foundation. Third is the framing structure has to be correctly built. Then the correct mechanical system, meaning plumbing and heating; they got to be in correctly, and the wiring has got to be in correctly. The roof is the next important thing, because if you have a bad roof it's going to leak. And then the least important is the cosmetic finishes that you see but it isn't really the important stuff because I could take a good shell and do a miserable job with the finish -- people won't like it as well, or I can take a lousy shell and do a good job with the finish and people love it except when they've lived in it a few years and all of a sudden you've got a lot of problems."

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/07/28/bill_pulte/

Here’s my reply to Mr. Pulte:

Ah, well, YES, Mr. Pulte, cosmetic finishes don’t make a good house. And, YES, you must understand the soil and the foundation for the house. Or else, the foundation slab may crack, or, worse yet, the house may sink. And, YES, the framing must be built correctly, including putting in bracing and hurricane clips on roof truss connections in a hurricane-prone area. And, YES, a bad roof is going to leak. I can PERSONALLY vouch for this one! This is GREAT advice! Why doesn’t your company follow it?

And, YES, Mr. Pulte, you can take a lousy shell and do a good job with the finish and people love it except when they've lived in it a few years and all of a sudden you've got a lot of problems. And, Mr. Pulte, what would you say about the quality of such a house?

I'd seen the quality statement, I think from Susan's site. Must make buyers feel really good when they see that their home was not just built wrong, but Pulte knows and knew better from the very start and does/did it anyway. Why would they knowingly do something so bad?  Just because they can.