Roseberry Hill Newbridge

[orles]

Hi Pippi

I know exactly how you feel. Like you we are first time buyers and put our deposit down on our house last July and were given a date of December. We were so excited to think that we would be in our first home together for Christmas. December started to approach fast and we realised that we had no word from the estate agent regarding our choices and we started to get a little worried. I phoned them to ask if they had any update and they said "oh that has been changed to March" and they were sending out our choices to us. I was a little annoyed to think that they didn't even call us to mention this change and that it was up to me to call them. We received our choices the day before Christmas Eve. We were concious that they had told us March that our house would be ready so we rushed out as soon as business's re-opened after the xmas break to choose our kitchen and fireplace. Then March started to come very close and still no word so again it was up to us to contact the estate agent. We were then told May/June. We happened to phone the developer one day about a request we put in to be done to the house and they told us that the date had now changed to August. We were really annoyed at the fact that firstly the estate agent did not ring us once to tell us of the many date changes and secondly that it had now gone from December to August, a year since we had put out deposit down. I would have preferred if they had told us that we could be waiting up to a year before completion. At least then we wouldn't have had such a big let down each month that we thought we were to move in. It really takes the excitment out of buying your first home. Hopefully they will surprise us and tell us a nearer date than August but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

[Hem]

It's also worrying to see that it took FOUR snagg list to get somebody's house ready for final sale, which obviously is once again slowing the whole thing down.

This is what I think is causing the delay for so many people. We have snagged our house awhile ago and our snag list was substantial. I doubt when we go to look at our house again that it will be up to par, so to speak and will have to be snagged yet again. It's like they threw the construction up hoping that the buyer wouldn't notice all the faults and what at times appears to be a blatant rush job. I don't know whether to blame this on the builders or the management of builders who isn't keeping an eye on the process in order to have the house up to standard. I would say to anybody who is going to snag - make sure you become very familiar with what the standard is for new housing developments. The builder has a tendancy to come back to you with a 'we only have to build it to standard'. Make sure you know exactly what that standard is.

 

[jur]

Hi,

We did our first snag last week and enlisted the help of a builder to snag our house with us. He was rather impressed and commented that the workmanship was of high standards. This put our minds to rest! It had been worth the wait. We found the house in much better condition than we had expected. We did find some minor things but nothing of major concern. The kitchen was only half in, which a previous post here forewarned us about.

Hem, how many snags have you carried out to date? Have you found serious issues with the house? We did notice the paintwork required a touch-up as this seemed to have been done in a rush. A couple of toilets seemed to be leaking. Some vents were blocked. Gardens/fencing were incomplete. Besides that everything we picked out was rather finicky.

 

[Hem]

Hem, how many snags have you carried out to date? Have you found serious issues with the house? We did notice the paintwork required a touch-up as this seemed to have been done in a rush. A couple of toilets seemed to be leaking. Some vents were blocked. Gardens/fencing were incomplete. Besides that everything we picked out was rather finicky.

Only 2 snags to-date. I probably sounded a bit harsh in my above post, I didn't mean to come across as that if I did. Without going into detail - there were 2 structural issues that needed to be dealt with that were fairly major. As most snags go, it really is a case of mostly cosmetic changes to the house. It just took me by surprise of the 2 specific issues we came across. I'm aware that this may not be the case for everyone and is probably in all likelihood a once-off. We had used a 'recommended' snag list which was very thorough and I'm quite glad we did. It took us the better part of 3 hours to go through the house on our first snag.

 

[Oilean Beag]

Having read the above posts, I contacted the 'sales agents' again to see how our already extended completion date was coming along.... now facing another two -three month wait which had it not been for this forum, I would have remained completely uninformed. Now one full calendar year, from the time we put our deposit on! has anyone else had problems re; the appliances you were meant to get if you signed within 21 days?

 

[a&r]

Hi to all who have posted on this website that I just came across today.

We too have purchased a property in Roseberry hill and all your replies make interesting reading - many of you would be glad that I didn't find this forum earlier or all of you would of had to endure my constant winge about Sullivans - the most unprofessional people I have delat with in my short life. Upon grabing our deposit money last August whilst advising we would be in our new house in January, ha no such luck, we will be lucky to be in this August. We have to make constant drives from Dublin to Newbridge to see how the development is getting on because I wouldn't trust a word they say. Although Milbank advised that they are attempting completion towards the end of June /July.

Ok thats the rant over, we visited site last weekend and there appears to be a lot done, althoug the landscaping company still appear to have a lot to do, hopefully they will get a run of good weather which will help them. There seemded to be a lot of houses ready for move in - does anyone know what the dealys are?

I would also like to know if anyone was permitted to allow their own electrician on site to carry out additional works prior to moving in?

Also upon checking some other web sites today, the mangement company - Wiltshire are advertising 2 bed townhouses for rent for €1000 per month and also attempting to hit the Rydercup market whilst in town. Is anyone aware if Roseberry is going to be a rental estate ?

Any replies / information about this development is much appreicated. Also those who are heading towards the long awaited final stage of receiving your keys if you can give me any tips or pitfalls to watch out for.

 

[Chris123]

Hi there,

Just wondering if people who have finished their snagging process would be able to recommend any good snaggers. As is evident from the posts in this website, it looks like we'll need some real good snaggers and any help in this regard would be very hellpful to all those who are waiting on their houses. Also, snaggers who have inspected houses in the estate before would have a better idea of what to look for.

Thanks.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

hi all

i too have purchased a house in roseberry hill and moved into it around 2 weeks ago.
we too endured delays but our snag only involved minor items.

just some words of warning

- the gas and the electrcity have been connected in your name by the builders. which to my knowledge is illegal.
expect a bill from both the ESB and gas crowd when u arrive for the usage by the builders.
on the day we got our keys there was an ESB bill in the post box for usage from Christmas!! others i know who have also moved in last week had bills for over €200 waiting for them.

- the envi crowd are not yet set up in the estate.

- bring a small car!! the parking availiable is poor - the road widths are rubbish - they will only allow one car to park on the road and one to pass (just)

but i do reckon when it is finished there won't be an estate in Newbridge to rival it for location, quality or presentation

 

[jur]

Hi
I presume you objected to the bills? What was the builder's stance on this?

Do you know what the story is with envi? When do they expect to be set up? Do we have to go with them or could we get a Sky dish for example?

Is the natural gas in yet or are you still on LPG?

Sorry for all the questions but its great having someone on the inside (so to speak)!

Thanks!

 

[techy]

Hi
Do you know what the story is with envi? When do they expect to be set up? Do we have to go with them or could we get a Sky dish for example?

Is the natural gas in yet or are you still on LPG?

Thanks!

Hi Jur, I rang E-nvi yesterday and I was told that it would be ready by next week. They are hoping to finish the work this week itself. You can take the subset of offerings from e-nvi if you want. Eg:- You can take Broadband from E-nvi €19.99 per month and subscribe SKY/Chorus if you want. E-nvi also gives phone but it is not necessary to take phone connection from them. There are lot of Voip providers(Blueface,Perlico, E-nvi etc.) so you can shop around for a good deal. Only thing you have to bare in mind is each one has different call rates. So when you inquire you should ask for the call rates as well. Ireland and UK calls generally be free of charge so if you make lot of international calls then it is worth checking the call rates. Blueface is €15 flat per month + Ireland and UK free calls anytime + Very low international call rate + Free Installation. You can also keep your current number with you if you are going for Voip. Porting takes approximately 1 month. for instance if you have 01-xxxxxxx number you can keep the same number including area code. Hope this helps.

We are still on LPG and it appears that we are going to continue with this for the next couple of months atleast.

 

[a&r]

To joey joejoe
Congratulations on your purchase

We hope to be moving in later in the year, I am concerned about gas and the electrcity been connected in our name by the builders, as far as I am aware they should not do this as you are then liable for all bills for that property, they are just been greedy and getting away without paying a big bill at the end of the development. Did you have much diffculty with the ESB and GAS people concerning this?


Regarading the car parking spaces, is there not enough communal parking available ?

 

[DaithiOg]

We are still on LPG and it appears that we are going to continue with this for the next couple of months atleast.

Hi Techy,
I haven't rang Flogas yet, but the contract they have given us states that we are signing for a 5 year contract with them("the initial term" I think its called). Did you ask them about that, ie has the builder sorted it with them so we can get off LPG whenever natural gas becomes available? I know the builders have said they will move everyone over to natural, but hey, they are builders and will say anything to make you happy!!
Thanks

 

[peadar1]

Hi,

I got a call this week, at long last, to say that our house was ready for snagging. Of those of you who are fortunate enough to already be in their houses is there anything in particular I should keep an eye out for that ye may have noticed while snagging?

Any info is appreciated

Thanks

 

[orles]

Hi,

I got a call this week, at long last, to say that our house was ready for snagging. Of those of you who are fortunate enough to already be in their houses is there anything in particular I should keep an eye out for that ye may have noticed while snagging?

Any info is appreciated

Thanks

Hi Paedar 1
Great to hear that you are one step closer to moving into your new home. Do you mind me asking how far your house is located located in the estate. Looking at the site plan, we are located at the back and we have been told that it's going to be August. As we have been put back so many times, I'm not keeping my hopes up

 

[peadar1]

Hi Orles,
Like everyone else, we too were put off again and again.
As you look at the site map, we are situated at the top of the site, over towards the right hand corner

 

[a&r]

Is anyone aware that Millbank have advised that no additional works are permitted to be carried out by the Electrical or Plumbing Contractors on site ?

To phrase the lady from, Millbank - "the houses are built and drawn to spec and are to remain that way, no changes are permitted" - these are the same people who now admit to having a spec and drawing for a house but when you go to find out final dimensions etc of rooms they wont give them to you.

 

[Flash]

Hi to all who have posted on this website that I just came across today.

We too have purchased a property in Roseberry hill and all your replies make interesting reading - many of you would be glad that I didn't find this forum earlier or all of you would of had to endure my constant winge about Sullivans - the most unprofessional people I have delat with in my short life. Upon grabing our deposit money last August whilst advising we would be in our new house in January, ha no such luck, we will be lucky to be in this August. We have to make constant drives from Dublin to Newbridge to see how the development is getting on because I wouldn't trust a word they say. Although Milbank advised that they are attempting completion towards the end of June /July.

.....

.

I couldn't agree more. We have gotten nothing but the run-around from the estate agents. It must be either a great place to work or a terrible place to work, as whenever I call, whoever I am loooking for is either on holidays or sick, as such they are unavailable and I am promised that I will be rang back. However it appears their phones are broken and incapable of making outgoing calls.....

Anyway, onto the reasonas to why I am posting..

I am in pretty much the same situation as most of you. I put on a deposit last August and was initially told our house would be ready for snagging by January, then it was May, then July, then I was told "realistically I think they are running late so it may well be August". We are first time buyers so we have become very didillusioned by the whole thing, but last week it took yet another turn for the worse.

As I said, we paid for our house in August and at that time we were promised a free kitchen appliance if we closed within 21 days, a sort of "welcome to the hill" if you will. As we are first time-buyers, you can imagine we are fairly strapped for cash so anything like this on offer would be great, so we scraped together the money and closed on time. However last week we were told no, there was no way we were getting anything, despite being told in August we would.

So I am wondering is it just us, or is anyone else in a similar situation?
If so, have you done anything about it?

Thanks
.
.
.
Oh by the way there will be a house-warming party in my house in January, or I mean May, no wait July, although would August suit better, or how about Christmas...

 

[nemesis2001]

So glad to finally find a forum about Roseberry Hill. I was searching for it ages and trying to find something in boards.ie but there was nothing there.
We 2 have purchased in Roseberry Hill.
Below is our nightmare.

• Signed contract at the end of August. We had to ask about the american style fridge freezer as the property consultants did not mention it. Even then, had to get the solicitors involved (as weird as it may sound, Sullivan said that this was done through builder's and our solicitors). Our solicitor confirmed that we signed within 21 days and were getting it.
• First finishing date was AFAIK, November, than January, March, April etc. In April, we decided to drive down from Dublin and see for ourselves. The place where our house was supposed to stand was "packed" with makeshift offices, water containers etc so no sight of anything resembling the house. Emailed Sullivan and got a call back soon. Apparently many people were complaining!
• A few days ago went to Roseberry Hill again and the makeshift offices etc were gone and the foundations down. At this stage, I presume they have started erecting the house.
• Finishing day? I dare not ask such stupid questions anymore as nobody seems to know or care about our misery. The important thing is they got the deposit from us (you and me) and now can fiddle around with us just as they like. I am hoping that we will be in the house by September but again, that is just an assumption (the mother of all screw ups).
• We even ordered furniture which we not have in bedrooms and garages of our extended family. Never thought it would take them so long to build just over 120 houses when they claim that they have over 200 builders on site every day.
• As far as the dimensions of the house, we never got them even after writing to Mr. Fergal Lynch (MB1, poster on first page, he is the chief architect) even though he claims that they endevour to reply to every query. There was no Sycamore house and we were wondering what our kitchen would look like. Guess what, we went to Navan and managed to get the layout from Chris Curtis, the kitchen supply company! Now at least we know something.

The electricians are charging 75 Eu for an extra socket in the upstairs landing.
The plumbers are asking for 150 to install a single (mixer) tap downstairs, instead of the neolithic 2 tap one supplied in the downstairs bathroom. The plumbers also want 150 Eu for an outside tap.
As far as e-nvi is concerned, I wrote to them in November asking about broadband, contention ratio, download speeds, Sky + etc. Their package looks Ok (nothing special) but I asked them to introduce Sky+ or something identical (for a higher price) and was told they would consider. Their download speeds are notorious at present so I hope they increase them. If not, will stick with BT Plus (42 Eu for line rental and 3 MB service) and than if I want, I can use Skype or another voip service.

I must say that the houses look nice and the area planned well. This was all in paper. Disappointed if they have decreased the parking space, not top mention the green area.
I think we should be on to Sullivan and Milbank and force them do their job better than they are.

A few questions that I have:
- Where is the creche and the shop going to be located?
- Is the second phase going to use the access road currently used by phase 1 or is i ttrue that they will have a separate road?
- Can someone give a list of good snaggers and what are the most common (big) findings. How long does it take the builders to fix any problem.
- Does the 3B Sycamore house have a glass and steel extractor fan oris it glas or steel extractor? The glass and steel looks nicer.
- Is the attic a normal size (can U stand up) as we are planning to use it for stosrage?

I will post more questions if I have them and endeavor to answer anyone's query if I have the info.

 

[nemesis2001]

Roseberry Hill – Question and Answer briefing


Thank you for your enquiry with regard to the services available from E-nvi Communications at the Roseberry Hill development in Newbridge.

In the interests of answering as many queries for as many customers as possible, we have collated your questions together into this one briefing and expect the answers will be of interest to everyone.

Some initial points on your development:

Each development that E-nvi supplies service to, can come to us at a different point in its build process. In some developments we get in at green field stage, which is ideal as we can offer maximum consultancy on creating a Digitally Enabled Home.

At Roseberry Hill we were contracted into the development later in the fit out. As a result this impact our ability to showcase end customer technology and may also restrict what cabling infrastructure is included as standard in the house. Had we the opportunity to fit out the show house with High Definition TVs, Media Center PCs, Media Extenders, Multi room sound systems etc. that would have given you a good idea of the hardware packages we can offer for the customer to exploit the triple play services. Additionally the developer has chosen to wire the house rather than have E-nvi provide this service, so the cabling and where it runs within your home will need to be confirmed with the builder.

Now to your questions:

Q. What is the download and upload speed offered by your service and what are the monthly restrictions on this?
A. The service offered runs on ADSL2+ technology which will initially offer a basic service of 1Mb download and 1Mb upload. It is however our intention to offer stepped upgrade packages to those that require higher throughput. The monthly restrictions on downloading data will be set at 50Gb. This will be reviewed on a regular basis and upped for customers who request higher capacity packages.

Q. The package costs €39.99 pre-paid for the first year, does it revert to €49.99 per month after the first 12 months?
A. Yes – however please note a special offer that we will be delivering at Roseberry Hill (next question).

Q. Is it possible to subscribe to Sky+ rather than just the basic package?
A. Initially no, as we are currently developing our enhanced service offering which will include a much larger channel package by July 2006. To compensate our customers at Roseberry Hill, our plan is to offer the 20 channel basic package FREE until July 2006, thus you will only be paying for broadband and telephony services initially. Pricing details will be forwarded to you.

Q. Is the internet access restricted to some type of e-nvi filtering or can I use broadband for normal web surfing.
A. Your internet access is yours to utilise as you wish and there will be no restrictions on web surfing.

Q. How do I get info/prices on plasma TVs and other entertainment technology?
A. Unfortunately we did not get the opportunity to install our technology package at the showhouse, so it is difficult for customers to envisage our entertainment hardware in a home setting. As a result your best options on attaining pricing and info on hardware packages is to detail to us your tastes, requirements and budget. We will then work with you on completing a package/install quote for your home. Since hardware pricing is always changing (thankfully going down for the most part), the latest pricing will also likely be the best.

Q. Do I have to get an Eircom line into my house and pay your phone bill on top of that?
A. NO! You do not need an Eircom line and you can forget about paying line rental. E-nvi will deliver a VOIP telephone service to you on standard IP enabled telephones. Calls to your neighbours VOIP to VOIP will be free and you will get the most competitive rates for calls to land and mobile lines locally and internationally. Since pricing is being reviewed on an almost daily basis, any tariff information we provide you will be guideline only. Pricing continues to improve but you can take it that it will be significantly less expensive that the traditional phone service providers.

Q. I am confused as to whether it is CAT 6 or CAT 7 cabling in the house, can you clarify?
A. Unfortunately E-nvi was not contracted for the cabling of the homes. The builder has done this for you. Please confirm with the builder as to where data points will be installed in your home. All we can confirm to you is that CAT 5e has been installed and that is adequate for carrying our data throughout your home.

Q. What is the minimum contract period?
A. 12 months – but as stated above, the fee will be discounted until July 2006.

Q. Can I get Sky service as well as your standard 20 channels?
A. Initially no, but this will form part of our enhanced service roll out mid year. At Roseberry Hill we were not contracted to Sky enable the homes at fit out, which involves additional cabling.

Q. What are the 20 Channels being offered initially?
A. RTE 1, RTE 2, TV3, TG4, UTV, BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4, Living TV, Living TV 2, MTV, VH1, National Geographic, CNN, Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2, FTN, Nick Junior, Nickelodeon, Nick Toons TV.


Q. I don’t use a PC, can I get TV Channels and phone service only?
A. Yes – you can take a subset of service offerings and do not have to take everything. Please contact info@e-nvi.com for details.

Q. Who will provide the IP telephony?
A. The supplier will be E-nvi and our core technology infrastructure will consist of Allied Telesyn and Cisco equipment.
------------
Above are some Q&A received by e-nvi on 27.01.2006. I hope it will be helpful for some.

 

[jme]

Roseberry looked ok but then if you have lived around Naas/Newbridge you would have heard that the council have planning permission for upto 300 social and affordable housing right across the road. If there anything like the ones already built in the county then I would not want to live within a mile of them as I have seen the problems they create. But I am sure it will be ok.