Evergreen Gardens, SG14

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

The heart of the town is over 20 minutes away although well connected with a regular bus route. There is a local co-op, post office and fish & chip shop closer by. Street parking is ok but there is no dedicated visitor parking spaces on the estate. Bin collections are ok. The area surrounding the estate is a bit rough with anti-social behaviour being common and a fair amount of noise and loud cars that drive by.

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

The development is well-build and a good choice to move into, but be prepared for rapidly increasing service charge costs way beyond inflation and expectations.

What is the best feature of your home:

Sound insulation. Never hear a word from any neighbours, nor pets, music or tv.

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

I love my area. It is easy to get to the local train station, there are local shops and it is easy to reach nearby towns. I have parking space and there are free spaces around. Unfortunately I have received parking fines for my own designated parking spot though, for honest mistakes with my permit, which I think is really poor. Otherwise, I am very happy with the location.

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

I wish I knew more about costs and management. It would have been better to know and understand how costs are passed on to residents, I think I underestimated this, but it does not seem as bad as in other shared ownership or flat developments I have read about.

What is the best feature of your home:

The best feature is the design. It feels well considered, bright and modern. I have plenty of space and storage. It has been wonderful to have my own interesting space to personalise and make my own.

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

Parking is poor 1 space per household and lots of fines for the owners. The car park is a playground and a football for children everyday Meaning late noise disturbance and damage to vehicles. Don’t use public transport so cannot comment. Bin collection is hit and miss if they do collect the security doors are normally left open

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

Service charge fees are a joke they skyrocket on a regular basis for no extra service. Hidden costs such as having to pay for a permit to park in a space that is part of the property, also the service charge being seriously miscalculated has made life difficult.

What is the best feature of your home:

Size of flat and balcony is great however layout isn’t great and my other points certainly outweigh the positives

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

Unfortunately there is no visitor parking and only 1 allocated spot per flat. Also you have to pay for a permit to park in your spot. We didn’t get a permit in time and received multiple parking tickets for parking in the spot that we paid for. There is a lot of anti social behaviour that we have complained about (children playing football in the carpark and smashing car windows). Network homes have unfortunately said there is nothing they can do and they refuse to put ‘no ball games’ signs up.

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

We wish the service charge would have been estimated more accurately as we have ended up paying thousands of pounds extra than what was estimated.

What is the best feature of your home:

We do love our balcony and the size of the flat but there are so many issues that it’s hard to see the positives.

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

The housing estate is in a good area with a local parade of shops & bus service. Walking distance to the train station & town centre.

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

We had some of our issues resolved but not all of them. The front door needs replaced

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

Can be quite a noisy estate especially at the weekends