Highams Green, E4

Overall happy with where I am but attention to detail with maintenance is needed. In terms of cleaning and pest control in the bin stores and gardens. Living location and local amenities is perfect, neighbours and community is great but increasing maintenance fees for cleaning that isn’t done properly isn’t great.

On-site management is very good, they are attentive to the residents. However, the liaison with the head office (Mainstay) is very poor. They are unable to budget correctly and service charge bills increased by 50% as well as frequently going into deficit. They also cannot seem to prioritise urgent work vs. non-urgent work. When scrutinised they refuse to answer any questions and somehow think they are above this. Head office also threaten to fine residents for superficial reasons (i.e. putting the washing out to dry, but still refuse to paint the exterior of the building even though it really needs to be done). Timing of communications also doesn't seem to be their forte. They demanded £1000 from every resident when the country went into lockdown even though a lot of people started to lose their jobs. Wasn't until told that local councillors and MP had been made aware of their behaviour that they offered to compromise. In addition, advertising that you're still going to a trade show in a different country when people are worried about how they're going to pay the service charge isn't very appropriate in my opinion. Perhaps money should be spent to help residents/avoid future deficits.

Highams Green development continues to be well maintained by the management company, which responds quite quickly to issues that arise. The flats in my building are spacious, airy and all have decent sized balconies for a slice of outdoor living. The development is clean and feels secure. There's a children's play area that's also well maintained. The big Tesco next door makes food shopping a doddle. Thankfully the Tesco offers three hours of free parking, because the one huge negative about the area is the lack of parking spaces. I need my car for work, so hopping on a bike is never going to work for me. There's always a bit or anxiety driving home as there's no guarantee of finding somewhere to park, even after paying for a residential permit. I don't have children living with me, so can't comment on the facilities for children, however there are schools near the library and there are lots of families in the area. The area is well placed for shopping, with IKEA, Costco and a number of retail parks less than 10 minutes' drive away. The wonderful Epping forest is only a walking distance away as is the lake. This is my second year in the area and although the parking problem is almost a deal breaker, I expect to be here for many more years.

Our development is modern with a welcoming communal garden that our neighbours share, mostly in the summer: badminton on the grass, kids cycling, strength training; there is a variety of flowers and a herb garden. We have a view of Epping Forest from our balcony, which is absolutely beautiful. The building management company are usually prompt to deal with any queries.

The layout of the flat is nice, with new furniture. It is well insulated and it has a great soundproofing. There is a family next door with kids and I never hear a thing! The flat itself is comfortable and had a big window door for ventilation. The development looks nice but many details are in poor quality and wear out quickly, such as door handles and rails which got rusty and broke down. For every sort of issue we can easily reached out to the management which had an office just round the corner and provides quick and efficient service. I chose this development because it's close to where I work and near to amenities.