Welsh Streets, L8

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

For the distance to the city, it seems a fairly quiet place to live; however, recently there has been an uptick in crime, with several car break ins and a home break in. There is some street noise, and cars drive too fast along the end streets. There is enough street parking, although Placefirst lists this as a benefit with the houses but does not handle any issues that arise, saying it's for the council. There are shops and bus stops fairly close (5-10 min walk). One problem is that on Google Maps, it shows a bus link from a nearby stop which does not exist, and neither the bus company nor Google has corrected this information. My favourite aspect is the enclosed back garden area, which is generally peaceful.

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

I have raised questions or issues with the management company several times, and nearly every time it has been a long drawn out process where they obfuscate and try to avoid the issue. There has been only one instance where someone communicated with me clearly and transparently. The company says it's here to be helpful and has dedicated email support, but in my experience it has just been a runaround.

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

So many things, to be honest. Mainly, that they would try to raise my rent by >10% after the first year, and they have made it clear that they intend to raise rents as much as they can get away with every year. They have no specified policy for rent rises (a common policy is CPI + 1%, for example). There has been relatively high turnover of residents, as people move in and then are priced out after 1 year. If you are looking for a long-term place to live, beware of this!

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

Good: Perfect local for parks and nature. Close to good amenities and really good location for ordering takeout. Bad: street parking is becoming a bit of a nightmare now. I don’t think people are responsible or considerate. Noticed some rats but contacted the maintainence team and they were quick to respond, unsure if this is now been resolved though as did not receive updates.

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

I have not raised the concern about the temperature gauge in the family bathroom as of yet, unsure if this would be a matter of being changed or that it is because it is a family bathroom. Unsure of the rules here. But otherwise when raising a concern, they have attended and responded quickly

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

Ensure when viewing you scan the room closely. Ensure that if any painting needs to be done it needs to be completed at a higher specification and that they are communicating throughly when it comes to their audit checks before moving in. We had a delay on our moving day due to someone else’s error who now doesn’t work there but this could of been done within the week the property was empty or before the keys were handed back. That’s from personal experience but nothing they didn’t sort out that day! They were very apologetic towards the situation

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

We have limited amount of corner shops after one closed last year but they are open late. 15 minutes walk or a few minutes drive from Tesco, Lidl. Not many cafes and bars around the immediate area but we are equal distance from the georgain quarter and lark lane which has a great selection of bars and restaurants. You can always get a parking space on your road or at the end if arriving home late. Bin collections are consistent, it is more that people tend to block the gates with their bins rather than take them to the very end of the street which is frustrating.

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

I have not had any issues to raise with my building manager or the team.

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

Nothing, I am very happy living here and it has been better than I expected.

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

Local shops are good, not many restaurants. The transport links are really good, you can get into town easily.

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

I haven't raised any problems because I haven't had any yet.

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

We weren't sure if we were going to have a dishwasher or not, that might have been more our fault than

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

Traffic noise - high/ green spaces - good. Too much litter - like awful. Locals have an obsession with leaving dog waste around.

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

Slowly but it does get done in the end. We had to wait 10 days for a replacement fridge and they didn’t even install it right

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

That the local first- long term renting for all marketing was exactly that marketing. They have moved to a profit first, everything as cheap as possible model. And they keep trying to steal residents security deposits