I decided to rent a flat at Merchants Walk because of the distance away from my work as it is conveniently only a 30-minute walk away. I am tied to the Canary Wharf area because of this.
It was quite smooth moving in, there were a couple of issues but nothing too bad. They are usually fixed if you flag it quickly, so I am quite happy with the management on the site. They were quite responsive when I had a leaking window and came to fix it very quickly. We do have a concierge service, which is useful to have, who are open 4 days a week and they collect our packages. I’m not sure if we have any CCTV cameras but I have never had any issues with safety in the development. There is a lock on the front door and an additional one past the foyer. I find it to be relatively safe.
We do also have a garden on the site, which is a nice touch, but I don’t not use it that much, but it is well-kept with lots of nice trees and flowers and it’s a nice place for children to play in. I wish there was a gym included.
The building of the development has been well thought. The height of the buildings could have been better thought out as people living on one side don’t get a great view. My flat itself looks very clean and modern with all the appliances up to date because the building is new. It is a very spacious and bright flat with lovely big windows with a view towards East London. Inside we have three bedrooms, and two are very large. The other is a bit smaller, but I don’t mind. We also have two bathrooms, which is a luxury. We live in a furnished apartment but have been able to personalise our flat through adding in various home accessories. I do also have a spacious balcony, which leads out from the living room. We have put a chair and a small table on it and it’s nice to use during the summer as at least 7-10 people can fit on it. It can get very hot in the morning, above 25° especially in the summer. We are able to open our windows but there is a security feature in place, which means we can’t open them all the way. My flatmates and I now have fans in our rooms.
There are some resident events put on by the building’s management but there are more for families and I am not really interested in them.
The area is becoming better with easy access to the city via the DLR line, which goes to Bank. You can also take it to get to Stratford. It is a 30-40-minute walk to most areas, like Bromley-by-bow so it is a good compromise. There is not a lot in the area to necessarily do, apart from a couple of shops and a small Tesco only a 3-minute walk away. A larger Tesco is about a 15-minute walk away.
Everything was explained to me very well about the flat.
Management were responsive when I had a leaking window and fixed it pretty quickly.
The house on the Heathlands development in Frimley I bought from Linden Homes four years ago is the fourth new house I have owned. I can honestly say that I have never experienced such poor customer care before. Usually, when you telephone them, they either do not answer or the person you need to speak to is not there. If you email you do not get a reply.
When they finally acknowledge that you have a complaint they will eventually send someone to look at it. That person says he will make a report then you hear nothing until you are forced to contact them again and the cycle is repeated.
I had a major problem with my balcony which is still not resolved after four years. Numerous different people have been sent to look at it and they all agree it has been built to a very poor standard but nothing gets done. I eventually contacted the NHBC who took the case on and it looks like it will be sorted soon. The contractor they have assigned to the job told me that Linden Homes do not have a maintenance department so they will always drag everything out in the hope that the customer gives up.
To make things worse, they have assigned the management of the site to First Port and they are just as bad.
Frimley is a well located small town near Camberley. Almost everything you could want is within a 30 min drive.
The location is excellent but I wish I had researched Linden Homes a bit more before I decided to buy.
This has all been detailed in my statement. Both Linden Homes and First Port (The Management Company) have been my worst ever experience of Customer Service.
Upon move in we had a few issues with quality of build and repairs to have done. They took a year to be looked at as it was the developers responsibility, not the housing associations. When it was approaching the year point since moving in, the developers contacted me asking for any outstanding issues. I listed all the issues I had raised when I moved in, but had not been addressed. When they replied they said as it was now a year it was no longer their responsibility to fix! Which I found maddening and ridiculous as all had been logged previously and I had promptly replied to their email. The housing association got things resolved shortly after this. I have had ongoing issues with the pipes and drains though. Every 6 months it will start to back up in bathroom and I have to call someone out. I have been advised by the plumbers attending that the issue is with the initial build in the foundations and not to do with any misuse on my part. The angle the pipework has been laid at is incorrect. If I owned this property rather than renting I would be extremely upset about this.
We have no issues with neighbours here- everyone we’ve made have been lovely. Parking is not an issue at all, I have plenty of space where I am. We have the large Tesco’s just a stone throw away but town is around a 20 minute walk away. There are buses that run from Tesco’s to town and to the train station but can be a little unreliable. Traffic noise is non existent. Overall I love living here
The housing association maybe very slow setting up your account. I had to chase several times in first month to get them to take my money!
Also check the property over thoroughly and log any issues asap and then keep chasing them!
The Linden homes Heathland development in Frimley is a lovely community and neighbourhood. The surrounding area (within 1-5 miles) has good schools, shops, recreational facilities and woods. We moved here 3 years back in 2017 and this was our first new build buy. However the Linden home development is very disappointing. The site still not finished as Linden homes promised during the sales process. Linden homes customer service department is not responsive or professional and really hasn’t been helpful we we’ve had to go ahead and fix quite a lot of the build issues on our own.
Linden homes appointed First Port as the maintenance company for the sitt and we are yet to see any real value for the monthly maintenance fee that we are paying First Port. For us, Linden homes and First Port truly feel like big rip-offs. Most of the communal areas on the site hasn’t been maintained properly with the lawns dying out and overgrown with weeds, drainage issues, building rubble still on site and a safety issue in many areas, entrance to the estate yet to be finished after all these years. I’d strongly advise buyers to look at Linden homes and First Port reviews and talk to home owners before having anything to do with new build homes from Linden homes and properties maintained by First Port.
Beware of rip-off Linden homes and First Port maintenance.
The Linden homes Heathland development in Frimley is a lovely community and neighbourhood. The surrounding area (within 1-5 miles) has good schools, shops, recreational facilities and woods. We moved here 3 years back in 2017 and this was our first new build buy. However the Linden home development is very disappointing. The site still not finished as Linden homes promised during the sales process. Linden homes customer service department is not responsive or professional and really hasn’t been helpful we we’ve had to go ahead and fix quite a lot of the build issues on our own.
We probably should have talked to some of the owners and neighbours on their experience with Linden homes after care before buying the property. We also should have checked the quality of some of the material used in the build. Most of the handles and locks in the home had to be replaced. Lot of sensible things were not done at handover and which Linden homes refused to fix had to be sorted out on our own e.g. tiling for the bath tub walls, no splash guards in the kitchen or around wash basins etc. We probably should have also have taken some advise from professional gardeners and fencing companies on the quality of the backyard lawn and fencing work.
First Port maintenance is a rip-off. Avoid having anything to do with Linden homes and First port maintenance.
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