DiVosta Homes Reviews in Sarasota Bradenton, FL

My home was not completed before I moved in.

This is our second DiVosta house at Island Walk. There were many “issues” with our first house and we were reluctant to purchase another DiVosta house but we really liked Island Walk so we decided to give them a second chance. The resulting experience, from design issues, quality of building products, attempts to rectify problems prior to and now subsequent to settlement has been frustrating at best. Whenever we identified design limitations (this second house is one of the most expensive properties in Island Walk) there was little if any attempts by the builders representatives to make corrections or to go that extra step to make helpful changes, even though the remediation would be relatively inexpensive. When design issues or build quality issues, came to light we were given excuses or lame attempts to justify how those problems arose. I could go on but its just not worth our time. ... More

Seemed to me that the base house was pretty basic and almost everything was considered an upgrade. Everything had to be done on their schedule with little to no consideration for us.

I had many issues when I moved in my new house and having a very difficult time getting Pulte to fix these issues. Some of my issues: poor paint job, electrical issues: lights flickering, power goes off when washer is turned on, Tile finished poorly- missing tile on backsplash, hazing. Threshold loose. Pavers are stained- have foot prints across my lanai pavers, front driveway pavers are stained. Hole in ceiling in my garage. All my LED lights are clicking when they are turned off. Pulte needs to do a better job before they turn over their houses to their customers.

Very poor job installing drywall, tile and wood trim. Foundation not flat. Cabinets came in beat up. Told up front they use wood 2X4 studs - not true unless you have a 2nd floor - they use metal - I would not have bought if I'd know that. 2 stars on trustworthiness because of that. So far they have been very good at correcting the deficiencies.

We have had several issues and mostly they are fixed...except the refrigerator. It has been out since we moved in on September 6th. We have had Flamingo out here 6 times. We finally got a new one on Friday and it is much louder than the first one. We have to sleep with out bedroom door shut. I have to work with my office door shut. We have to turn the tv up because we can’t here it over the noise.

I love my house, but DiVosta clearly doesn’t want to fix anything that is wrong, and the finishing contractors were somewhat sloppy. For instance, I had no hot water for two days when I moved in, and only an emergency call brought the plumber, who said the hot water heater was never set up. He shook his head in amazement, and it took a third day for the hot water to kick in. I’m still waiting for the crown molding to be installed in the guest bedrooms—molding that I paid for but never got. How did this place ever pass inspection? You have to wonder.

Buying and build process was mostly seamless until there were issues. Our project manager rarely got back to us and when we were finally able to do a walk through, the things he promised to have done by closing, were never address. The warranty person we deal with promises to return email the next day and we don’t hear from him for days until we reach back out. Our house also has no insulation in the attic above over half of the house. We expected issues but the follow through has been terrible as best. I’m sure things will get done but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

We were Divosta’s best friend until the day we closed. Since then calling customer service I’m met with inflexibility by the employees. Electrical wiring was done incorrectly creating a fire hazard. That should have been caught during routine inspection. Underwater pool light was connected to HOUSE & POOL breaker box causing a short inside the walls. I called to report it & was told someone would be out following week. We have red ants in the house QA response was hmmm. Must report problems more than once to get action. Received conflicting info at various times. Total lack of flexibility on closing date. We were told $250 daily penalty but neighbors adjusted their closing date with no problem OR penalty. ... More

Tile floor is horrible. Grout and cement everywhere Cleaners are horrible. Painting horrible as well. Had to hire new cleaners and they still can’t get the grout clean. For what we paid 1.3 million you would think quality would be better.

The home and community are gorgeous, but the lack of pride in the workmanship is a disaster. I know times are bad finding proper trades, but you need to do better!! Plus once the home is built trying to get your punch list address is a disgrace. It is disorganized, and the right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing. Very frustrating!

I’m still waiting for the warranty work to be done on the 20 December. The builder, Scott, has been a great addition to the Pulte team. He has brought it all together the way it should have been done from the start!

Our third Pulte home and not a great experience. Please do not over promise and under deliver. 18 months to close with many delays and frustrating issues- changing construction managers, sales contacts and financial people with no continuity. No amenity center finished on promise. Lets see how they do with my 30 day punch list of items that need attention. We do love the community however.

We had many delays during the home building experience which stretched to 21 months. We went through 3 or 4 construction managers, with only the last one being responsive. Most of the items we identified on the final walk through were not remedied before closing. The process for choosing cabinets countertops flooring, etc. is much too opaque and rushed. Also, it is disappointing the many items that are tied together such as cabinet pulls and bathroom faucets.

My experience buying a home post pandemic could have been better. The salesperson and her manager were not helpful, sent me video of the wrong house, communicated poorly, acted impatiently with my questions, etc My salesperson was sent to another home community in the middle of construction so things went downhill even more rapidly. Communication was poor from the beginning. Salesperson was NOT knowledgeable with the building process and was unable to explain the vidéos she sent to me. I love my home but I would not recommend Pulte as a result of my poor experience with sales department. Salesperson never sent congratulations note when I moved in. Her manager was not helpful either and at times, he responded with insolence. I would be happy to discuss further in person. ... More

Poor quality. Trades rushed through to get closing date. Numerous issues needed to be addressed by warranty after closing. Many neighbors are sharing the same experience. DiVosta needs to slow down and make sure the quality of the finished product meets consumer expectations. I would not recommend this builder until they get priorities in line.

Overall, we have no regrets about moving to Beachwalk. It’s a well-built, beautiful community with great access to the beach and excellent amenities. However, we were very disappointed with the sales and build process. During the sales process, we were told the build would be completed in March, which fit our timeline. Immediately after paying our deposit, the completion date was moved up to mid-January. Our construction manager later told us that the sales team knew the actual build timelines (we would have picked another unit). We also discovered that the sales team had misrepresented the pricing of our unit. In addition, the construction manager left a warranty item unresolved that should have been fixed prior to closing, which required considerable time and effort on my part to address. There was no reason to leave us dealing with damaged appliances that clearly could have been replaced before closing. In summary, our experience with DiVosta lacked transparency, and it often felt like they would say whatever was necessary to secure the sale. While we’re happy with our decision to purchase at Beachwalk, the purchase and build process was unnecessarily stressful and disappointing. I even asked for someone to contact me about these issues and never received a response, which reflected a lack of consideration and care from the builder. ... More

We identified an HVAC issue during the walk-through and were told it was fixed prior to close. It was not. Hard to understate the importance of your AC in Florida. As the new owner, we were obligated to take the lead in the repair effort. (Time and headaches) DiVosta/Pulte's local vendor was sent out 4-5 times to repair - always with temporary success. Our best resolution now is a functioning AC with replacement parts. Given the misrepresentation that the problem was repaired prior to closing and Pulte's strong relationship with the product supplier, I would have expected Pulte to be more proactive in the repair or replacement of the unit after the second or third failure. ... More

Kept calling my future HOME a production build house. I kept stressing for them to take their time and do it right the first time. They told me they had a schedule to keep. Needless to say there were over 65 issues with the house are own inspector we hired found and still trying to get things done good luck.

We are disappointed in the overall experience and the net result. We should have been told about the rifle range next door. The delay on the restaurants was also a negative surprise. The strict "production builder" excuse is inefficient and certainly not customer friendly. DiVosta is not responsible for the overall declining market but reality is that we paid more than the house is worth.

Divosta is not a custom home builder. If you want to have 1-3 options to pick from this is the home for you. Our home was over $1.3 million and we found it very frustrating that we weren't able to customize the way we wanted it. The upcharges for paint and cabinets is high so you won't pick them. The selections are limited and they lock you into your design picks very early and they do NOT allow any changes. The building supervisor did a great job, we were just unhappy with the outcome of the home since we wanted a custom home. The community is done very nicely and it was disappointing that we will not be living in the home but we decided to sell it and start over with another builder that allowed us to customize the way we wanted. ... More

Cost of home considering workmanship was poor. Sales office was poor. Design center was very poor. Beachwalk amenities extremely nice but the homes don’t do not match the quality of what they should. A million dollar home is not reflected in this community.

This is the 7th house we have bought and was by far the worst experience. Workmanship is poor. Still have blue tape all over the house 6 weeks after closing. Construction manager was terrible and flat out lied about several things. Was coerced into signing form that house was "100%" at closing or they would not close when we literally had a moving truck coming in and had no where to go. Was told that 100% meant "100% structurally sound" but would not allow us to add that in . Was told punch lost items at preclosing would completed for closing and 6 weeks later still waiting. Sub contractors are subpar especially drywall and paint. Texturing is awful and overspray everywhere. House was filthy when we were given the keys. Our relator was so embarrassed she paid out her own pocket to have a team of people come clean it. here was still construction debris in the house. Paint stains pointed out in pinch list at preclosing in one of the bathtubs looks like it was cleaned with 50 grit sandpaper damaging the tube so bad it now has to be resurfaced or replaced. I can go on and on. The toilet handle fell off after first flush!! ... More

To start we had 3 different CMs on our job. The first CM never contacted us and after 4 months we realized he was moved to other houses inBeachwalk. Then our pad was poured and trusses and roof and roof paper were placed on the home. Then we waited almost 6 months for anything else to happen to the house. We then lured that our second CM just up and quit and we moved to number 3 CM. He at least made contact and was available for questions. The following is a list of items where we question the price we paid for this home: 1) Roof tiles sat on the paper for almost 6 months. We contacted Builders Supply and asked how long the paper can be exposed and they said max 6 months. 2) There were no Sheetrock hangers available after hurricane IAN because they all went to Lee County where they were paid more to work. After waiting over 4 months our rock was hung by a crew from Colorado. And anyone can see that the rock was hung poorly. There are beads of caulk that vary from 1/8 to 3/4 all around the house where the rock meets the baseboard. 3) We have a major issue with our zero triple slider. They first said it was dirt, then a roller issue and now they don’t know what is causing the triple door to be so hard to open. 4) Our front door ($2,400 upgrade) is not installed properly. You can see sunlight from floor to ceiling on the handle side. So the door jam is too big and the door does not seed properly meaning we loose substantial air while hot air causes the temperatures at the door to be over 85 degrees according to the AC tech. 5) Our AC has has to have 2 complete refills of Freon in less than 3 weeks. The Freon was dripping inside at the blower because the soldering job was so poor. They also installed the inside drain right over the filter box so that unit had to be moved and resealed again. And while repairing the compressor outside they split the seal tape around the coil thus causing a drop in efficiency. 6) We got a CO 2 hours before closing because the house was not done until closing day. 7) The master pocket door is not set correctly and is being scratched by nails or staples inside the pocket. 8) We had leaks in the pool….since fixed. Coast to Coast is great! 9) We have 4 broken roof tiles and our insurance company said they will cancel our brand new policy if not fixed immediately. Many calls to Warrenty team have occurred. This is the 5th NEW home we have purchased in the last 10 years and by far the most expensive yet the poorest constructed of the 5…by far! We love Beachwalkand our sales person (Lori) we’re great. The construction and quality are poor at best. ... More

At this time, the above "stars" are all I can give. Overpriced homes and we haven't lived here for more than 6 weeks and already our HOA has gone up. Our sales manager didn't even meet and greet us to give us a "congratulation" and hand us our keys and papers and now we fell through the cracks with HOA issues. Our construction manager did the best he could with vendors not coming by to get the house in order for the closing. Our warranty person is useless. He doesn't even remember coming to our home and meeting us to discuss things that need repaired and looked into. Today, he just sent me a schedule of repairs that is wrong. We are frustrated to say the least. Landscaping is included. It's just little $10 plants for the most part.....fillers. We spent $550,000+ on our retirement home and feel like the "little" guy in the million dollar neighborhood. ... More