It's all water under the bridge
Case Study: Ron Cooper, Professional Artist
Development - Boardwalk Place
Ron Cooper has rented an apartment in Boardwalk Place, a 417 unit development in E14, for 6 years.
Ron has had first hand experience of previous managing agents at Boardwalk. He says of the previous company, "We had almost no contact with them - we would email them and get a reply a month later, if at all. They were based down in Southampton, so they tried to manage the building over the phone and were hardly ever on site. Problems were neglected; for instance, there was a fountain in the grounds of the site, which straddles a gated area and a public footpath. Children would come and play in the fountain, and vandalise the grounds. Antisocial behaviour was a real problem."
He continues, "Chainbow took over in May 2005 and have made a huge impact on the development. Following consultation with the residents, they changed the fountain into a smaller, more manageable water feature, which has been enclosed within the grounds so it doesn’t attract local youths and can’t be vandalised. Boardwalk Place is a much more pleasant place to live now."
Ron says that communication from Chainbow is excellent. He explains further, "They always respond to emails straight away, and we have direct contact with them. We have regularly updated notices in the foyer of the building, informing us of any developments and news, and if there’s anything serious to report, we receive a letter and notification via the website as well. When you’ve experienced issues as severe as disappearing sinking funds, poor site security, and residents renting out their car parking spaces to city workers, this becomes even more important! What’s nice is that even when there’s no news, and things are going well, tenants are still kept informed of this."
