Barnwell, Hansfield, near Ongar, Dublin 15

dubdec99

Anyone interested in getting broadband or switching providers might be interested in the wimax broadband product from www.imagine.ie The more people who register with them, the more likely they can upgrade our area to wimax. I'm not affiliated with these in any way, i just thought it'd be of interest to some people

duran

Hi all,

I've just moved into Barnwell and have a quick question. i had a look in the attic, don't see any visible insulation i.e. between floor joists - same with everyone else?

many thanks and hope everyone is settling well.

paddyred9

I have a 4 bed detached and there's insullation in the attic..

duran

thanks for replying paddyred9. hopefully the builder will put it right........:eek:

thanks again and hope you are enjoying your new home.

Bookkeeper09

Hi all,
Boyfriends van was broken into over the weekend and heard another one on the estate was as well!
Gards said there has been a lot of them in the Ongar over the last few weeks.
Mainly seems to be looking for tools etc!
Tradesmen watch out!!!

Posy

Will be going to see some of these houses on view this weekend and have two quick questions if you don't mind..
How close is the development to amenities? Like a supermarket/spar/pub etc...?
Is there meant to be a train station coming to the development? (Getting the 39 every morning to work in the city centre looks like it would be a bit of a trek.)

Thanks!

Bookkeeper09

Shops(Dunnes Stores) are 5 minute walk from the housing estate.
Nearest pub is a bit further, 5 mins by car.
rain line into city centre is supposed to be opening in Autumn 2010

AP85

my boyfriend's van was broken into too so be careful. just wanted to ask if anyone else got a letter from fingal in relation to sky dishes on the front of house?

Bookkeeper09

Havent heard anything from Fingal about the sky dish. Have had one on the front of the house since last november.

AP85

yeh we have ours up over a year now. a girl from fingal knocked round the doors a few months ago maybe we got a letter cos we answered the door to her?? the letter says we'll be brought to court over it and they will check within 90 days to see if its removed. they can hardly bring everyone in the estate to court but i still dont know what to do.

duran

hi neighbours,

has anyone put down wood or laminate flooring, if so, were you able to remove the skirting boards - i had quick try but they seem to be welded on. did any of you use beading instead - any good? des kelly insist that these are removed before they lay the floors so need to sort it quickly.

thanks in advance.

Bookkeeper09

Took off all the skirting to fit tiles wooden floors etc and replaced it all. Cost about €100 to replace(materials). Boyfriend is a carpenter so he fitted. Not a big fan of beading but thats just me.

Gaspode

duran wrote: »

hi neighbours,

has anyone put down wood or laminate flooring, if so, were you able to remove the skirting boards - i had quick try but they seem to be welded on. did any of you use beading instead - any good? des kelly insist that these are removed before they lay the floors so need to sort it quickly.

thanks in advance.

It might be worth asking in the DIY forum for advice on how to get the skirting off. They can be difficult to remove without taking chunks of the wall away too!

ghusk

Bookkeeper09 wrote: »

Living in Barnwell since last December. Havent had any notes through door etc re sky dish(is on the front of the house)

Was on to the plumbing foreman regarding the leaky extractor fan in the ensuite last year also. Got nowhere. Was basically told that it was something with it dripping in the cold weather and pretty much told there was nothing he could do about it!!! Think they could have repainted over the wet patch in the ceiling!! I didnt puch very far with it...just wanted them out of the house! Found them disastrous to deal with from the time I did up my snag list!

The reason for the leaky extractor fan is the hose in the attic from the roof into the extractor is probably not tight. If you can get into the attic have a look.
We were getting flooring in the attic last week and the guy noticed that there was about a bucket full of water in each of the hoses and told us it would lead to leaks if not straightened out. Easy to fix and problem solved! There should be no bends in the hoses at all and as much run as possible to avoid a build up of water from the condensation.

In terms of break in's in the estate, there have been a few incidents in the estate over the past few months. The street lighting was off, so this probably led to an increased number as the area is quite dark without the street lighting. Mine and my neighbours car were broken into over the New Year and about 2 weeks ago a wheel was stolen from another neighbours car. However, the other half is a guard and has said that break in's have increased a lot over the past few months as people are getting desperate for money.

The issue with the sky dishes is a bit of a sticky one! The contract you signed to buy the house details that you cannot install anything on the front of your house, but does not mention the side or back. There was information on this thread in early 2009 relating to approaching the communications regulator as Manor Park are not giving us our right to choose service provider by not allowing NTL to use the lines in situ already.

This thread seems to be getting busier, it might be an idea to arrange a meeting of the neighbours to set up a residents association so that any issues that we have can be brought to the attention of Manor Park by the association rather than an individual person as we might have more leverage as a group. I am happy enough to have people over to my house for a cup of tea and a chat to try and arrange something.

duran

thanks for the replies everyone, very helpful.

Ghusk, great idea about residents getting together, we'll definitely achieve more as a group rather than individuals.

thanks again.

dubdec99

I'd be up for that alright...

Also, Who do I contact re finding out what our management fees go to? The solicitors?

Pat Dunne

dubdec99 wrote: »

I'd be up for that alright...

Also, Who do I contact re finding out what our management fees go to? The solicitors?

Your management company fees go to your Management Company which you became a member of when you purchased your home, all the information you need will be in you purchase documents.

Bear in mind that the developer will control your mamangement comapny and will employ a Management Company Agent to administer the day to day business of the Management Company

I would suggest that your Residents Group speak with the Ongar Residents as they have a lot of experience with dealing with their Management Company and Management Company Agents.

Could I suggest that you have a read through the earlier pages of this post as there is a massive amount useful information posted and is a great journal for any future residents representitive group.

greg70

I'd be up for that as well alright would be good to meet up with some people on the estate... has anyone been approached about management fees yet
when do we have to start paying them.

Bookkeeper09

Would also be up for that!!
As far as I know the first years management fees was included in the purchase price of the house.
Havent had anyone contact me about management fees since then tho

marksquirt

All,

The management company for our estate is Wallis Property - 01 6629000.

I spoke to David Wallis this afternoon and he said there is a letter going out next week with information on the management fees.
A following letter will then be sent detailing what everyone has to pay.

I'll be checking everything closely as this is my area of expertise (for my sins!). I will put up posts if there is anything that doesn't look right.

We should keep good track of the management company and make sure that everything is up to speed. They are, after all, getting paid by us!!

Ghusk's suggestion is great for the meeting. Can I suggest that we wait until Wallis' get in touch and that way any concerns can be raised at this meeting???

duran

Hi all,

I agree with marksquirt in waiting to hear back.

i won't be rushing into paying wallis a managment fee. i am paying them to manage a property in ongar for the last seven years and have gotten absolutely nothing for it. ours is a townhouse so they don't clean or paint anything or have anything to maintain and charge nearly €700 for the pleasure. they actually stopped cleaning the green areas at one point saying they had no money yet if you are late with fees you will receive a solictor's letter (which they will charge extra for) demanding you pay. you will recall on the day barnwell was launched the residents of ongar picketed the site - with good reason i feel.

i believe the residents of castlecurragh will set a precedent soon in ousting their management company and replacing them, this could be good for estates such as ours. there is very little to be done by a management company in barnwell as the majority of units are houses and therefore maintained by the owners.

this probably sounds harsh but it seems like money for jam paying such a fee and hopefully the governing laws will change change in favour of the purchasers.

Regards.

marksquirt

Agreed with Duran!

For all who aren't up to speed on the Castlecurragh situation check out the community voice newspaper put in the doors yesterday as there is an article on it.

If you've already recycled it there's a link below to the website!

http://www.communityvoice.ie/pages/CV152/CV152n08.htm

dubdec99

marksquirt wrote: »

Agreed with Duran!

For all who aren't up to speed on the Castlecurragh situation check out the community voice newspaper put in the doors yesterday as there is an article on it.

If you've already recycled it there's a link below to the website!

http://www.communityvoice.ie/pages/CV152/CV152n08.htm

Interesting....The apartments and townhouses in barnwell are all 'own door' from what i've seen - i wonder if what castlecurragh are doing can be applied to all dwellings in Barnwell (not just the houses as seems to be the case in castlecurragh), if the desire is there of course

Pat Dunne

dubdec99 wrote: »

Interesting....The apartments and townhouses in barnwell are all 'own door' from what i've seen - i wonder if what castlecurragh are doing can be applied to all dwellings in Barnwell (not just the houses as seems to be the case in castlecurragh), if the desire is there of course

I'm afraid that you will not be able to achieve what is happening in Castlecurragh as your Management Company is constituted in a competely different way.

You will find that the developer controls a majority share of the voting rights when it comes to any decisions made at your AGM's. Another thing to bear in mind is that along as your developer retains an interest in just one property in the area that constitutes you Management Company. The developer can stay in control of your management company and even with just one property the developer can retain a controlling majority in your Management Company.

There is proposed legislation going through the Dail at present entitled the Multi Units Development Bill. However this proposed legisation if it ever becomes law will only apply to new Management Companies that are constituted after the legislation is enacted and becomes law. Basically the current Bill before the Dail, if it remains in it's current state will do nothing to alter the lot of residents and home owners that are members of existing Management Companies. Don't let any one tell you otherwise!

dubdec99

Pat, you seem to know a bit about management companies, perhaps you could help with the following please:

Do we, as members of the management company, get to see a set of accounts that show exactly what our money is being spent on? How much is in the sinking fund etc etc?

What rights & entitlements do we have as members of the management company?

Will the developers keep us informed of management company business?

And if the developers will always have a controlling share of the management company, what use is it us being members of it?

Cheers for all your help

marksquirt

Dub dec

I know we are entitled to see full audited accounts for year end. These will determine whether we are due to pay more based on budget v actual spend or whether we are due a credit (if a credit it to be issued it will more than likely be put of the next years charges)
Ditto for the sinking fund we should be able to see how much of a contribution is being made to it and how much is in it at any given time.
I asked David Wallis the other day had audited accounts been done and he said that they had and that details would be included in the correspondence he was sending out.
I work for a management company so I would know about the accounts end of things and what should be done and what we can see.
The below link is a document drafted by the consumer agency and should answer any questions people have on the management company and what their role is.
http://www.consumerproperty.ie/PDFs/multi-unit.pdf

Another concern that I have is the developers contribution to the service charge as there are still a number of empty units in this development. This might sound harsh but I'm not paying for the grounds of the empty units to be kept and therefore the developer should be contributing to these "voids".

dubdec99

Cheers Mark...

I've heard in other developments that the cost for maintaining the empty units & environs is spread amongst the residents of the other dwellings

marksquirt

The amount of vacant units on this development though is substantial and I'm not prepared to pay for their upkeep. I believe the developer should be even making a contribution.

Bookkeeper09

marksquirt wrote: »

The amount of vacant units on this development though is substantial and I'm not prepared to pay for their upkeep. I believe the developer should be even making a contribution.

Was walking around the estate the other night and would be surprised if even half of the units are occupied

greg70

From what I hear I think they may be selling again they sold 4 units this month.Hopefully this will continue I wouldn't want half the houses in the estate rented out.Does anyone know when the station will be finished?