Cemetery Road, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY9

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

The area is a convenience as it is close to the townhall and has shops and food places walking distance. It is safe due to being a gated community and you need fobs to access in and out and there are cameras on every corridor. Parking is quite pricey and it is hard for guests to park cars as the parking areas around the property tend to be full on weekends. There has been roadworks continuously all around the building for the past 6 months and it has been a nuisance and it is still ongoing. It is very noisy on nights between Thursday to Sunday due to multiple nightclubs being nearby. There are a lot of drug users and substance abusers right next to the back of the building because the building behind is full of council estate people. Is it hard for maintenance workers to park their car to aspect the property due to no parking available in the area. Bin collections are usually fine but occasional you will find that the bins are all full and you have nowhere to throw your trash.

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

They have responded but have taken their time and repairs issues after ages, there are still some issues that need to be solved and we still haven’t heard anything back yet. On one occasion there was an issue with the property and maintenance wasn’t available due to the manager being away on holiday and there was no one else to monitor or assist with the problem. There was an issue with the Renzbox so receiving parcels was an hassle for about a week or 2.

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

Expect there to be issues and problems with the property. Expect the maintenance to carry out work on their own accord as it won’t be fixed as soon as possible. Expect noisy and loud a nights due to either clubs or roadworks. Expect to see drug dealing and drugs being taken near the property due to the building behind. It will be hard to park your car or have guests looking for a parking place if you don’t have your own parking residence spot (only available for the tenant and not the guests). Up until now a lot of these addresses are not registered so it will be difficult to sign up or update your address onto the new property.

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

Excellent location. Great to be so close to the town centre. 10 minutes walk to the railway station and five minutes from most shops. The area feels relatively safe, despite the urban setting. There is some noise outside on Friday and Saturday nights but generally the benefits of being so close to shops, restaurants and entertainment outweighs any negatives of noise. The main road is busy but isn't especially loud due to the slow speed of traffic. People's Park is within walking distance but the area could benefit from more green space.

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

We didn't receive a response after calling about enforcement of parking (someone had parked in our spot) however any questions asked directly to Sarah have been addressed promptly and to our satisfaction. We appreciate having someone on site.

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

Mostly as expected. Nothing in particular. We had high expectations that have generally been met.

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

In our latter years we were looking to downsize to a two bedroom bungalow (no stairs!). Most of the nearby affordable for sale bungalows were old style and required a lot of expensive work whereas other, more modern ones, had a price to match. We decided to look at new build, long term rental solution and visited the show bungalow at The Oaks a year gone November.

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

Reporting via web easy with provision to add photos. Had a couple of new build issues one was completely resolved but other was only a cheap work around solution. Feel that there is an element of interpretation in actioning of reported issues.

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

Inadequate parking* - especially for older residents with some associated mobility problems. * potential to worsen when all properties are occupied.

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

The location is perfect, particularly for commuters. We travel by train to Manchester for work and study. You can barely hear the traffic outside and everyone is very friendly in the area. Obviously you always have someone who’s had maybe 1 too many bevy’s on a Friday night in town but you feel completely safe in the building. The people inside the building are very friendly. You run into other tenants every now and then, usually in the lift or corridors and it’s always nice to introduce yourself and have a small chat, getting used to who your neighbours are. The only issues with the bins I think was inevitable and that was there being so much cardboard there was cardboard outside of the bins. However, I do believe that is inevitable when you’ve got people moving in on top of Christmas coming. We don’t drive so the transport links are a god send.

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

The building management have responded quickly and accurately to any issues we’ve raised. The are actively fixing the issue.

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

It’s strange to live so high up and it takes a bit of getting used to if you’ve never lived in a flat. However, it feels incredibly safe. I feel safe to stay home alone without the flat getting burgled and I sleep well at night now.

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

Close to town and public transport. Very close to the gym. Public car park near by which is good and it's very quiet. The roadworks outside gets a bit annoying because there's always a lot of traffic.

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

Sarah always responds within 24 hours which is great. She's super helpful. Haven't had any issues in general.

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

I was lucky that there was car parking spaces to use when moving in my stuff but I think once it gets busier it'll be a hassle to move in furniture/boxes as there's no parking right outside.