Mascalls Grange, TN12

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

Nice quiet area, friendly neighbourhood but no shops within a mile. Crime seems to be at a low level too.

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

Normally respond quickly to any issues, not had to be in contact much.

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

I wish I knew that there was not going to be any shops built like first believed

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

The street is quite but would be nice to have some street lamps as it's really dark without

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

They have been alright with some of the work that has been reported but not all

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

Could do with a shop on the estate. Bin collection is terrible as they don’t take the all the rubbish when the bin is over flowing due to people putting rubbish in our bins.

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

Would never have moved here if I knew they put drug addicts in the same block with people with children. Also it seems to be a bigger issue that toys are in the garden when they should be more concerned about the smell of cannabis with the block!!!

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

The development is placed in a quiet, green and lovely area, however it's quite a walk to the nearest shops and the village cetre-2km aprox. There is a bus stop a short walk from the development and buses to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells stop here regularly and arw dependable. There are parking spaces allocated to each flat and extra spaces for visitors. Bin collection is done every other week and there were no issues. There is not much traffic, however they are still building around so there is some noise and heavy traffic, but this is temporary.

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

Issues raised were dealt with quickly and they did their best to address any issues.

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

I wish I would have realised how far away from the village centre the development is - aprox. 2 km to the nearest shop.

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

The proximity of lovely countryside on the doorstep and in the opposite direction the High Street as well as the railway station with regular services to London are all great aspects of this development. However, restaurants and bars in Paddock Wood are incredibly limited especially as further housing developments are in progress. The development has the same entry and exit and this is rather concerning given the further homes yet to be built and will likely lead to congestion going forward. Anti social behaviour mainly noise pollution from speeding cars at any time of the day or night is an ongoing and frequent problem. Parking availability seems plentiful and bin collections are efficient.

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

The level of incompetence by customer care (After Sales Care) and their incredibly poor communication along with their blasé attitude is beyond disappointing. This is my third new build house over a thirty year period and I am very aware of snagging problems but many minor snagging issues are still to be addressed nearly two years later. A leak in the roof causing damage to two ceilings took 18 months to remedy incurring much time off work (unpaid as my holiday entitlement had been used up on this matter) only for workmen to either not attend or not have been briefed on the nature of the problem. An intermittent failure of my front door lock left me with no alternative but to leave my property unlocked day and night on many occasions and there was no sense of urgency to remedy this problem by customer care. In the end, I was left with no alternative to call out an emergency locksmith at 4am so I could go to work. One of the three loos in situ always has a problem with water continually flowing despite them being “fixed” on many occasions. These are just a few of the difficulties I have experienced with customer care. Despite all the snagging problems, I do love my home and the location.

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

I wish I had known about the appalling standard of customer care prior to moving in and how long it would take to remedy the most simple of defects.