Wicker riverside/north bank/reeds rains

[botty1963]

I was considering buying one as an investment - don't think I'll bother now:(

[jon_s_maiden]

Bit late replying but I've lived in Wicker Riverside for 3 years now and quite like it. Mail problem was sorted years ago. It's a cracking location and community has character - plus very convenient for everything. But...

 

Had plenty of issues backing onto Sadacca though - despicable group of people who have no consideration for their neighbours. They play music in their nightclub sometimes until 4 in the morning and then continually shout to each other in the car park next to the flats. To think they are funded by the Council is a disgrace.

[Gentleman]

I am thinking of moving into this block may 1st with Hitchen & Co. what is the building like now. I have been reading about all the issues and bad press. But have things got better??? Any info would be great.

[mecheng46]

I was looking on rightmove earlier today to buy a flat in there so I am wondering how is it now?

 

It will be much appreciated if people who they live or they know about the place can reply.

 

Thanks

[Fitproperty1]

For me personally, I would avoid the development as apartment buildings rarely improve overtime (in fact the opposite is generally the case)

 

If you are having problems with your letting agents lack of action (generally the case with large nationals as all maintenance issues are normally dealt with by a central call centre miles away from the property) Ask for your landlords address to write to them (they have to give you this information) and point out your issues both inside the apartment and in the communal areas of the building, also send photos of any issues.

 

I'm sure they will be grateful to know if their letting agent is doing a poor job as they pay lots of money (especially to national agents like Reeds Rains) for them to look after the property correctly, they also pay lots of money by way of a service charge to the block management company to look after the building, so if it is being run into the ground by the block management company they will want know why and why things aren't being fixed as they are paying for this after all.

 

If a building isn't being looked after properly it will have a negative effect on their investment and they will want to do something about it, either by getting a better hands on local agent to manage the property or putting pressure on the block management company to get things fixed.

 

In short if you are ever unhappy with your letting agents response or lack of action write to your landlord directly as the landlord may not even be aware of the issue and will want to know, They are then free to take action or change letting agents to someone more helpful....

[mecheng46]

For me personally, I would avoid the development as apartment buildings rarely improve overtime (in fact the opposite is generally the case)

 

If you are having problems with your letting agents lack of action (generally the case with large nationals as all maintenance issues are normally dealt with by a central call centre miles away from the property) Ask for your landlords address to write to them (they have to give you this information) and point out your issues both inside the apartment and in the communal areas of the building, also send photos of any issues.

 

I'm sure they will be grateful to know if their letting agent is doing a poor job as they pay lots of money (especially to national agents like Reeds Rains) for them to look after the property correctly, they also pay lots of money by way of a service charge to the block management company to look after the building, so if it is being run into the ground by the block management company they will want know why and why things aren't being fixed as they are paying for this after all.

 

If a building isn't being looked after properly it will have a negative effect on their investment and they will want to do something about it, either by getting a better hands on local agent to manage the property or putting pressure on the block management company to get things fixed.

 

In short if you are ever unhappy with your letting agents response or lack of action write to your landlord directly as the landlord may not even be aware of the issue and will want to know, They are then free to take action or change letting agents to someone more helpful....

 

Sorry?????

[Fitproperty1]

Hi Mecheng46,

 

My response was to the whole thread, who many be having problems with the building/their letting agent, not just your comment.

 

But in direct response to your post, I would suggest viewing the flat and drawing your own conclusion.

 

Cheers

Edited October 1, 2014 by Fitproperty1

[RutlandFlyer]

I was looking on rightmove earlier today to buy a flat in there so I am wondering how is it now?

 

It will be much appreciated if people who they live or they know about the place can reply.

 

Thanks

 

I moved out of there in 2011 and...it was a bit of a mixed bag. The flats themselves are really nice - well appointed, airy, well insulated, nice appliances etc. The only issue I had with build quality was the handles and locks on the windows, which all broke. The building has had a lot of problems over the years, most of which stem from the management companies, who change annually and seem to vary from sub-standard to downright incompetent (in one case, leading to a toddler falling to her death from the roof garden).

 

Actually living there was okay on the whole. Royal Mail did not stop delivering there, but I did have all my credit cards stopped when I changed my address to the flats because it had been a hotspot for credit card fraud. Someone had been getting cards sent to the empty flats and then fishing them out of the mailboxes. Getting parcels is a bit of a nightmare, though. I'd recommend using one of those Parcel Collect boxes that are springing up now. Some residents are too lazy to take their bins down to the basement when they're full and leave them stinking up the corridors, but that happens in every apartment block. You don't hear much noise through the walls or the floor, but I'd probably avoid the first three floors because I was regularly woken up by noise from the car park at weekends when people were leaving the SADACCA nightclub round the corner.

 

The biggest problems I had were with the car park roller doors breaking down, either leaving my car stuck inside when I needed it or stuck outside with nowhere safe to leave it, and with leaking pipes from above. This was a huge problem for the building in the first few years. The waste water pipes hadn't been put in properly and it wasn't long before they started leaking. I had a load of damp that came through the ceiling by the front door and left one radiator and a lightswitch unusable. It degenerated into a series of landlords trying to claim against each other or the builders, who were then trying to claim against the management company, who tried to claim against the previous managemnent company. I don't know what happened in the end because I moved out before anything was done. Reeds Rains were useless, but then they are in all things and I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole. They didn't manage to get the blinds I'd been promised put up in the whole year I lived there, they demanded £80 for a totally unnecessary contract renewal and their basic level of administrative competence was so poor that they almost caused my mortgage to fall through.

 

This all must sound horrifying, but it's not all bad at North Bank. For starters, for what is a very reasonable price you're getting a really big flat with secure parking. If you look at West One, you'd end up paying a great deal more and the flats are much smaller. Their management company is no great shakes, either. The location is good, too. You're handy for town, Ponds Forge, Victoria Keys, the Harlequin etc. They could've had a really nice block there, if they hadn't tried to do all the management of it on the cheap.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

What can affect such flats (esp. valuations) is:

a. the proportion of them that are owner-occupied; as opposed to

b. the proportion of them that are sub-let.

[Matt B]

I realise this is an old thread but it's the first thing that pops up if you google the building or the current owner so I think my point is relevant to anyone looking to move into the building now

 

DO NOT DO IT. LIVE ANYWHERE ELSE. SERIOUSLY. ANYWHERE

 

I have been waiting over 6 months for my balcony door to be fixed, for roughly 5 months it didn't close properly so was drafty and noisy over winter and now they've managed to bolt it half shut so it neither opens or closes properly. I've been chasing the owners (9 wicker management/SJ Group) for months about this and getting absolutely nowhere. I am in the process of sorting repairs myself and will be taking them to small claims if necessary to recover the costs. Admittedly this is a slightly trickier repair so I wasn't expecting it to be sorted in a couple of days but 6 months is crazy (and it's still not fixed)

 

On top of that my toilet seat and bath plug are broken and despite them knowing about both for about 3 months nothing has happened there either. Both are easy and cheap fixes but they refuse to do them.

 

The lift is also broken at the moment and has only been working for about 6 or 7 days out of the last 7 or 8 weeks.

 

The building does have it's good points but this has really tainted it for me, I can't wait till I'm in a situation to move out (trying to save for a mortgage deposit)

 

To sum up; it's a good building when everything is working, which is never

 

Matt

Edited May 2, 2015 by Matt B