Bagel Factory, E9

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

local shops, restaurants, bars & open spaces are excellent. Parking availability, bin collections, anti-social behaviour & traffic noise are poor. There have been 2 deaths in a minutes walk from the development. Police cordons have been around the development on 3 occasions since living at the development. Travellers site has been a nightmare to live opposite, police get called to the site often and I have personally witnessed a lot of crime living in this development. Neighbours in this development throw a lot of parties.

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

Level of crime and every single year, 1-3 times a year, there are heating and hot water issues where there is no hot water for days sometimes. They have a bad heating system which will cost leaseholders thousands to replace/repair. The lifts are already faulty after 5 years. Bikes have been stolen from the bike store on 3 occasions or more.

What is the best feature of your home:

Location to station, local shops, restaurants, bars & open spaces are excellent

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

My apartment is well designed and I am very happy here. The local area has a great buzz with a variety of pubs and restaurants. We also have a great bakery, delis and other shops. Transport links are excellent.

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

This is still being pursued but has required significant effort

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

Would have been good to know that Aitch group are a classic rentier. Reviewing data at companies house suspect that Aitch group is involved in tax fraud and screwing suppliers

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

We live right next to a dual carriageway which means there's always noise no matter what time of day. Transport links are good, there's buses and train stations within walking distance. Lots of nice big parks nearby and good school links. There's no big supermarkets around which means you have to walk at least 20 min for products of good value for money. There are limited food places around, generally good social behaviour around compared to other areas of London.

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

They are very poor in this matter. We moved in Jan 2020 and since then we've had no heating and no ventilation. Walls have been cracked and damaged and they don't come and fix it

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

I wish I knew that the rent goes up by a large amount every April. I know they go up within a few months normally but for us, it went up by about 30 pounds in less thank 2 years!

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

Becoming more lively with both young and creatives and young families. Good mix of amenities, nice restaurants and cafes. Wedged between 2 huge beautiful parks and near the canal. Stone throw from all the vibrant social spots yet quiet in the immediate surroundings. Close to station. Quite a few buses. Great place if you like to travel by cycling. There are still some anti-social behaviour. Not a lot of street parking.

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

Almost none of the requests raised to Strattons was dealt with for 2 years. Caused a significant amount of problem. If any property is managed by them I would stay away. Not worth the pain. Thankfully the developer replaced them with Hawk. Things have improved.

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

I would have refused to complete unless they corrected the mistakes made in my flat. I've since had to pay for their design mistake which they acknowledged at sale, but refused to correct after the sale.

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

10 - 15 minutes walk to Stratford. Lovely bars and pubs. Cannot complain of the noise level at night. Green space around the canal, Victoria Park and the Olympic Park.

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

HomeGroup are rubbish as they and their contractors keep me waiting for repairs and donnot show up