A guide to living in Bedfordshire

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

This apartment complex is basically at the heart of Bedford, so everything is accessible - 2 minute walk to lidls for groceries, 8 minutes to Howard Centre which has a variety of stores/restaurants, and 8 minute walk to the bus station to get wherever you want. Despite being at the centre of Bedford, the apartment itself is actually rather quiet and you don't have to worry about loud busy streets or rowdy neighbors!

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

I haven't had any issues as of yet so I do not have a review for this.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I think the only thing I wish I had known was how much the security deposit was as it was not clearly stated so i could of budgeted more.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The range of shops in the area is quite limited. At the moment, we only have a Co-op, which tends to be expensive. It would be great to have an additional store, like a Tesco Express, to provide more affordable options. I don’t have any issues with traffic noise currently. However, I do have some concerns about the potential increase in traffic once the new houses at the bottom of the road are completed and Southern Cross is opened all the way through. I really love the location of my home, and the neighbors are very friendly — it’s a lovely community. I’ve had no problems with parking. Bin collections haven’t been great in the past, but they are improving.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

The management have addressed my issues, however I am still waiting on a few responses.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I wish I had known more about using Allsop as a landlord, as the process seemed slightly different from the standard rental experience. There was no holding deposit or contract provided until around 4–5 days before I received the keys, which felt quite last-minute and uncertain. As someone who had never rented before, this may partly be due to my own lack of knowledge about the rental market. However, clearer communication and earlier documentation would have helped ease the process and set expectations better.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The house is perfectly situated, not too far from main roads but far enough away to be a quiet, safe space to live with my children. Close to parks, a local shop and amenities.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

It was unfortunate that my broadband installation had faults and I struggled to get access to my broadband which took several calls, an engineer and a 16 day wait to resolve. Exasperated as I work from home and we had no signal in Wixams to even use data, so that was a particularly painful element to the house move. I can't fault our property manager who has been very attentive but she relied on external parties and we've had challenges booking and receiving resolution with cleaning, electrical issues and snagging. We didn't have any front door keys for two weeks but they were found in the end.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Don't assume the broadband works (I'm sure it does for most people) - have a back up plan if you're dependent on it as you're unlikely to get any signal in Wixams.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Ideal location all amenities walking distance. Parking is extra but at least available in busy town. Antisocial behaviour has significantly lowered score. Trespassers in building on regular basis, smoking potential drug use and reside in building corner. Kept me awake few times already and I've called police early morning and not resolved yet. Also when we first moved in our fault we locked ourselves out in the evening and the emergency helpline was totaly unhelpful with no empathy esp as wexhad atoddler needing her medicine . The helpline manager did call back and was more empathetic but improved out of hours process would be better.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Again Kinga is the best. Maintenance is responsive but sometimes havw to come back for same problem or has to be reported multiple times.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

As above. Clarifying Internet is included in rent and that there is actually plenty of parking space!

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Dirty, no bills, no help from the Vonder office. Lots of attitude given from the office. The worst treatment I've ever received professionally is from *Name Removed*. They should be terminated.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Poorly. Slowly. Not completely. The issue reporting process is a nightmare.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The management company, Vonder, acts in a completely disorganized, ineffective & unprofessional manner. Their entire office staff is as useful as a screen door on a submarine. A well-placed phone call from an attorney might get you positive results, but otherwise, you are treated as a waste of their time. Thanks for the chance to leave the review. No one has asked my opinion once since I've been in the property.