Woodberry Down, N4

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

very disappointed with my home purchase at Woodberry down. the management that hand the building over is so bad carpet dirty and doors all cracked around the frames. the first floor carpet of Residence tower was replace with a cgeap one compared that what Berkley put when i bought the flat. THEY KEEP INCREASING SERVICE CHARGES WITHOUT BEING TRANSPARENT. YOU WILL BE HIT WILL FALSE BILLS AND SO MUCH SERVICE CHARGES

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

That the management will be so bad and making money on top as the service charges are too much and not transparent

What is the best feature of your home:

Nothing special as the quality is cheap tape and joint on all wall and its not being skimmed on hallways and busy area and now Residence Tower look so bad. the steel of all balcony is rusted and no one is taking care.

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

There is so much potential with this neighbourhood. beautiful greenery and proximity to Piccadilly line. Positives ends there. - the service charge in this developments are sky rocketing year over year and there are back log deficits up to 2 years with notable amounts being requested from leaseholders. - the crime rate in the neighbourhood is getting worse and worse (phone snatching multiple cases / day and even a Murder in May). BH reaction was to stop security funding for phase 1 of its buildings and pass it to leaseholders. - to have heating / hot water you still need to manually monitor and top up your meter (in 2025!). to make it worse, the supplier is forced and apart from higher than average rates, charges every unit over £100 / year just for the manual top up service! I know probably BH will write the generic comment below. but I please ask for this review to be escalated to the management. over the past Months, there has been several emails sent by leaseholders and residents to BH and managing company on the issues and even a meeting held to hear the concerns but so far absolutely no action resulting in actual improvement of costs or other complaints mentioned above has been taken.

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

Extreme poor management company without any care for the funds / abnormal and way above average increase to service charge amount (now reaching almost £6k in 2025) for a 2 bed without parking, bike storage, Pool, Gym, meeting room or any other facility. let alone for units with such amenities... Owner are forced to use single heating supplier with manual top up metering system

What is the best feature of your home:

Location and natural surroundings / better than average build quality of the buildings.

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

The neighborhood is beautiful, but it's gotten pretty insecure with time. On May 2025 an 87 year old got robbed and murdered. And phone theft is pretty recurring. There's plenty of stores around, and a gym, which is nice. The buildings have spaces for businesses that haven't been occupied for years.

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

The management agency will go all the way to get more money out of you. And there's nothing short of legal measures that you can do to prevent it, because you cannot change the managing agency or some services' supplier.

What is the best feature of your home:

The nature in the area is beatiful. There's the reservoir, and the gardens are all well maintained.

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

A positive aspect is the convenient location within Zone 2; however, a significant drawback is the high crime rate, with incidents such as phone snatching and shop theft occurring almost daily.

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

Never buy a leasehold in my view , that’s the biggest regret I’ve had .

What is the best feature of your home:

Honestly, I struggle to identify any standout positive features. Once you purchase a leasehold property, you’re essentially locked into a system where the developer remains the ultimate landlord. Despite being called a “homeowner,” you’re effectively just a long-term tenant, subject to ongoing charges and restrictions that undermine the very idea of ownership.

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

The area has a lovely variety of local shops and restaurants. It feels like a small town where everyone knows everyone. At one of the cafe's you get a discount if you decide to work from there for the day if you work from home. Also not seeing any of the big branded restaurants is very refreshing

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

I did wish i understood the service charge in the older buildings a bit more as i dont really like swimming and i dont go gym. But for when my friends come its fine

What is the best feature of your home:

The peace and quiet in the apartment. I cant hear anything outside