Hove Gardens, BN3

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

Location is perfect, due to working in london 2/3 times a week there is easy access to the trains. The area is very quiet, and there is no noise!

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

Never had any, just a few maintenance issues, but all sorted.

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

It would be nice to move to a bigger apartmants but looks like there are never any 3 beds.

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

The building has a modern and stylish design, and all of the staff are friendly, welcoming and always happy to help. There is also plenty to enjoy, including regular resident events, co-working spaces and communal areas. When we first moved in, we did experience a maintenance issue however, this was dealt and resolved very quickly by the team. Overall, Hove Gardens is a great place to live, with a brilliant location, modern facilities and a helpful team.

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

Yes, all dealt with straight away by Mark and Dan

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

After spending the day in a north facing apartmant, you cannot here any noise from the train station!

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

The area is amazing, great location, fantastic building and the terrace and working spaces are great. It’s definitely a shame parking is not included in the rent, but I parked at hove station which was perfect! Highly recommend this flat!

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

Building management were great. I valued the updates via email when things weren’t working.

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

I don’t have any, I think this place is perfect in terms of transparency and knowing what you are renting.

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

It is safe , friendly and clean and maintained well . It is convenient for transport and shopping . Parking can be tricky but there is a carpark if reaidents prefer to pay the cost . Bin and recycling is regular . Only noise atm is the Briggton and hove bus depot development . Has been an issue with noise and dust . Otherwise we havent experienced any anti social behaviour as management are strict on that with good security . . The resident entertainment provided creates a nice family vibe .

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

Considering there are constant requests around the building the staff manage this very well .

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

Staff were really helpful with supporting us with the moving in process .

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

The location of Hove Gardens is great in terms of transport and amenities. Within 2 minutes you're at Hove Station or one of the main bus stops in Hove, so it's incredibly well connected to London & Brighton. You're a 5 minute walk down to George Street or 15 minutes to the sea. There are plenty of supermarkets close by too (big Tescos and Lidl within a 10minute walk). Despite it being on quite a quiet street, it can be loud outside from time to time. The block is directly opposite a bus depot, so the buses will park up for the evening and then all leave at 5/6am the next day. It's also on one of the main cut throughs to get out of Hove, so the traffic in the morning and evenings can surprisingly busy too. Outside of this, it's generally pretty quiet.

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

My main ongoing issue has been the lack of access to the post room. The normal process is a code gets generated, but often I don't receive one and when I try and access it using my email address I get an error message. Every time I raise it with the front desk it's acknowledged but no further action taken. I haven't had any maintenance issues with my flat in the 5 months I've lived here, so I can't comment on the speed or quality of the maintenance team. Mark the maintenance guy is very friendly and lovely though.

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

I wish I had asked more questions about the energy bills. These are based on your own usage eventually but you will automatically be put on a direct debit based on the size of your flat. For me, a one bedroom flat was £156 a month to start with. I live on my own and this is significantly more than I have used or was expecting to pay. I've had to wait for my first bill to arrive (3 months in) before I've been able to change it (now down to £80). I also wished I asked more about the access and fobs. Only named tenants on the tenancy agreement get a fob (so there's no way of buying an additional one for a partner or an emergency spare for a family member). This is really tricky when guests are staying. The intercom for your flat will only let guests into the lobby, as there is a secondary entry door which requires a fob which they then need to pass through to access the apartments. This means you need to go down to the lobby and let every guest in. This may be common in BTR properties, but when you're used to private renting it's a bit of a shock (and sometimes logistical nightmare) to have to accompany your guests everywhere. I also wished I asked more about the front of house service/team. When are they available, how are they contacted, what are the response times, what can they help with. Since living here I've found out they cant help with deliveries, food orders, letting guests in etc. That's been a bit of a shock and disappointment from what was advertised. Finally, if you are looking at the wheelchair accessible flats, I would take your time asking what on-site help is on offer. Front of house have strict rules around not accepting deliveries and not letting people in without a resident coming down, and I know some vulnerable residents really struggle with no additional support to help them (carers etc.).