
Irene Studios is a collection of studio, one and two bedroom apartments in Balham, South West London. Located on the High Road, it is just a stone’s throw from the tube and train station. Also, Irene Studios is ideal to balance busy weekdays in the City, with slower weekends. You will be able to immerse yourself in the vibrancy of Balham’s community and lifestyle.
Irene Studios, SW12 Reviews
Write a Review Upload PhotosPoor after sale and building management service with unimpressive build quality.
The general design of the development is fine, however the execution of the fit-out is lacking. For example, the floor in areas are unsupported from below and bend downwards when stepped onto, and the bi-fold doors are hard to open causing friction the platform outside and subsequent damage to the doors, just to name a few.
The after sale service is very poorly managed and repairs and snagging takes too long. During the home demonstration, damage was cause to the bi-fold doors with the door key snapping in half and stuck in the keyhole as well as causing damage to the door frame itself. It took 5-6 months before this issue was addressed while the door frame damage is yet to be fixed.
The management of the property is deliberately aloof and slow. Issues are responded with automated emails and silence. And while after 10 months, I still don’t know which car parking space I actually bought…
In addition, there is a ‘Bring Me’ locker in an inaccessible area for couriers which means it’s not functional or usable by anyone. This facility is of a great cost to the residents and was ill considered.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
– Good lifestyle convenience in terms of location
– Good standard for quality of life with nice cafes and restaurants
– Bad security
– Bad noise levels
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I wish I knew the service charge itemised costs, and have a say to the items.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
I have always just received automated emails. And silence.
Beautiful design in and around the building.
Beautiful design in and around the building.
Some issues with facilities and building management including no wifi or air con in the communal areas. The noise from the hallway is extremely loud, you can hear all noise from inside and outside the flats
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Great location, good transport links and lots of bars/restaurants. Noise from trains is very loud…..
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
How loud the trains would be and how loud noise from the hallway sounds in the flats
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
They haven’t responded to my emails, awaiting response
Disappointed with all the issues not being addressed for the leaseholders
Floors were not finished properly, ARJ have admitted locks are faulty but they haven’t been replaced building-wide, Afterbuild are shockingly unresponsive, and apparently wires used for boiler are not fit for purpose. Requirement to pay for a storage cage which should have been included as part of the purchase feels corrupt. Cage selected in offer and not respected at completion.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Great transport links and shops around, so it is ideal for someone without a car. Good to have a WFH space in a block mainly consisting of studios.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Poor build quality and resultant issues have added loads of stress to my life.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Afterbuild are always pushing back on issues rather than sourcing solutions. Things that should be addressed building-wide e.g. faulty locks, floor finish, are ignored.
Beautiful flats and building, mgnt company could be better
Great design, love the WFH space (although only a few spots have two plug sockets).
A few bits have already worn like the paint on the communal door handles, and finishing touches in the flats weren’t done or pointed out for us to have to do, most of buyers being FTBs like myself won’t know this – so having to protect/ seal the floors after moving in has been a nightmare quite frankly. Paint also not good, should have been a second paint that’s longer lasting/ quality.
Good value for money overall.
Our Caretaker is amazing.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Amazing location by the station but with that has come some social issues (intruders/ thieves, drug use next door) and the property management company appointed is very very poor so it’s sometimes very concerning that they won’t help if / when needed. Quite a bit of noise from the traffic, trains and street but that does come with living centrally.
Would be great to have got some green space as part of the development – this for me is the major part that’s missing.
Bin collection is fine.
Security is a bit of an issue as mentioned above.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
The floors aren’t sealed, I would have loved to know how to treat them before I moved all my furniture in.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
EXTREMELY poorly. They ghost us all and are impossible to speak to to find resolutions. Totally useless team who give us different responses to the same topics, and are unprofessional.
Beautiful design, unbelievably bad property management company
Everyone that comes in comments on the design, it looks great. Only issue being the front door is see through and we’ve had a couple of break ins (people tailgating in) and stealing parcels as they can see them outside and the parcel lockers have never worked since day 1. Property management company is awful, never experienced such a mess. Want to get rid as soon as we are directors. I’ve marked the overall score lower because of First Port
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Balham is amazing, everything you could possibly want. I bought on the train station side and it’s noisy but what do you expect! You can get used to it. The only odd bit is how many outside bike sheds there are, we only use one and have about 8, this could have been turned into more parking
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Oil your floors before you move your furniture in! (Need to be done every couple of years) and the trains really aren’t that bad
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
No, they won’t reply to us it’s honestly terrible. Never spoken to such an incompetent company over the phone and they haven’t even provided our care taker with tools, he has done this all himself it’s wild
Great design and love the look for the property
Great design and love the look for the property, the utilities are great and heating is very cheap due to the great build of the property. The management has been awful and we have been unable to get. A lot of snags fixed and the list is ever growing
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Living in Balham is great, so close to everything and everyone nearby is great
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
How hard it is to get building aspects changed/fixed once in
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
They didn’t reply, and have been chased so much since. Whenever we see builders on site they are great though
Fantastic location
Great development in a fanatic locations. Some design features could be improved inside the house (like electric points) but these are very minor and I would recommend these developments to anyone. Very happy with my purchase.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Fantastic area to live , close to everything and well designed modern apartments.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
No, I have tried reaching out and the after service care has unfortunately been very poor.
Lovely building, terrible building management
Design is incredible, general build quality is good however clear corners cut- wooden floor not given proper protective coat and toilet flush was missing a part so kept breaking. Property management are terrible, don’t respond to you or fix things.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Local area is amazing in terms of cafés, restaurants, bars/pubs with lots of open spaces around. Negative would be high crime rate and a lot of homeless people squatting at church next door.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Local high crime rate and poor security of building – no safe space for parcels to be delivered to
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
If they reply they are very slow to fix things, there has been a stain on carpet outside my flat since moved in 5 months ago and still not been fixed