Willow Grove, MK42

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

The range of shops in the area is quite limited. At the moment, we only have a Co-op, which tends to be expensive. It would be great to have an additional store, like a Tesco Express, to provide more affordable options. I don’t have any issues with traffic noise currently. However, I do have some concerns about the potential increase in traffic once the new houses at the bottom of the road are completed and Southern Cross is opened all the way through. I really love the location of my home, and the neighbors are very friendly — it’s a lovely community. I’ve had no problems with parking. Bin collections haven’t been great in the past, but they are improving.

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

The management have addressed my issues, however I am still waiting on a few responses.

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

I wish I had known more about using Allsop as a landlord, as the process seemed slightly different from the standard rental experience. There was no holding deposit or contract provided until around 4–5 days before I received the keys, which felt quite last-minute and uncertain. As someone who had never rented before, this may partly be due to my own lack of knowledge about the rental market. However, clearer communication and earlier documentation would have helped ease the process and set expectations better.

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

The house is perfectly situated, not too far from main roads but far enough away to be a quiet, safe space to live with my children. Close to parks, a local shop and amenities.

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

It was unfortunate that my broadband installation had faults and I struggled to get access to my broadband which took several calls, an engineer and a 16 day wait to resolve. Exasperated as I work from home and we had no signal in Wixams to even use data, so that was a particularly painful element to the house move. I can't fault our property manager who has been very attentive but she relied on external parties and we've had challenges booking and receiving resolution with cleaning, electrical issues and snagging. We didn't have any front door keys for two weeks but they were found in the end.

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

Don't assume the broadband works (I'm sure it does for most people) - have a back up plan if you're dependent on it as you're unlikely to get any signal in Wixams.