Xchange Point, N7

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

The area is fantastic. Close to Islington, King’s Cross and Hampstead heath . Lots of shops and close to the tube for central London

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

Gloria has been fantastic to deal with and Catalin is always good at any maintenance issues

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

The hot water / heating system is communal and doesn’t fall under the usual consumer protection you’d expect so it is more expensive than being able to shop around for normal gas / electricity.

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

It’s a relatively central location (one stop from Kings Cross), but has a very residential feel. There are plenty of parks nearby, so the area is very green. Market road is great, there is a tennis centre, gym and football pitches - the road itself is also very green. There’s not plenty of food options to my liking in the immediate area, but it’s easy to get to Camden or Angel with a short bus ride, where you get a plethora of options

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

The development has a handyman onsite most days, relatively prompt to fix issues, but you have to go through the letting agent/management. I think the problems are not 100% fixed, but it’s ok

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

The heating bill is extremely high, and my flat is not well insulated - it’s different for different flats though.

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

The location of the building is great in terms of commuting to work. It is only 3 mins walk to the tube station and there are different buses to the city centre, which is very convenient. It is not a problem if you hang out with your friends late enough on the weekends. However that means traffic noise is heavy if you are a sensitive person. We need to close the window to reduce the noise. The area is close to King's Cross and Camden Town which it only takes 20-30 mins to walk there. It's also good to have parks and sports facilities (e.g. tennis court) nearby. There is a gym inside the building so it's handy for exercising. Sainsbury's and Tesco are around if you need to grab the normal groceries but not enough if you are looking for uncommon items, need to walk to Holloway/Angel for Waitrose/M&S. Sometimes there are homeless people in front of the tube station and groceries in which it might be a little bothering to nearby residents. I have also had bad experience with a person with mental issue who tried to attack me. It only happened once but it shows that this area is a bit rough.

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

The building management responds very quick to any problem arose in our apartment.

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

The management team of the building is not the same team/company as the estate agent. It's not too big a problem as both teams are fine. It was just a bit surprising to have received a message from the estate agent that if we have any problem we need to contact the management team.

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

Lovely area well connected, it’s just that some parts are still a bit dangerous to be in after a certain time

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

Great in most cases, smooth and supportive in resolving it

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

Nothing in particular that l can think of, good experience overall

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

There’s quite a few small shops (Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Nisa Local) within 5 minutes, and 10-15min away there’s several restaurants on Caledonian Road, and 20min away you have the upscale Upper Street full of excellent bars and restaurants. Transport routes are great given the Caledonian Road tube station, Caledonian Road and Barnsbury overground station, and multiple bus routes nearby. However the tenants from 12 Market road and the Chinese shop next door often leave their rubbish outside, which most days fills the street with litter. Traffic can get a bit noisy during peak hours, but the nearby parks offer a great place to unwind. I’ve not personally been affected, but I’ve been told by concierge and neighbours that there’s pickpockets operating on market road due to the nearby student accommodations (unfortunately students are frequent victims as they’re new in town)

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

Letting management is excellent and within days addresses all issues thanks to the onsite repairperson (thanks Cat for your hard work!). Block management hasn’t been so great. My flat (located under the building's roof, ie. no flat on top of me) experienced a leak that wasn’t fixed after months of back&forth, even though multiple attempts were made. Also, they’re replacing some of the defective cladding since 2020, only recently have works started (not all their fault, there’s a nearby rail line that apparently contributed to the delay, there’s was a hearing at Islington Council to reassure tenants as progress/roadblocks weren’t being communicated clearly)

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

Heating is expensive, and not covered by the Energy Price Cap. Hot water is provided by a communal heating network that has exclusivity rights (ie. you can’t switch providers). Prices are high when compared to other flats nearby (using data from heattrust.org). The building management did say they’ll do a study later on 2024 on whether they can change providers to have better pricing, still waiting. Regulation is coming to hear networks by Ofgem, but won’t be here until 2025.