Back to reality

[buffetslayer]

Hi
I moved into DS a month ago, and I have been watching this site with interest. I love living here, it is the best place I have ever rented. However, I have never come across such a collection of whinge-ing, self centred, selfish in-breds, with such a lack of reality as in this place!!!

Moans such as "I can't wear my nightie down to the on site pool", "i heard someone on a mobile phone in the garden" and my favourite "they're getting rid of some of the porters, so who is going to carry my shopping?"!!!!!!!!!.

GET REAL PEOPLE! DO you realise that in the real world people put their rubbish out in the street once a week? I can't think of another block of flats with its own (excellent!) summer fete?

For heavens sake, we are lucky enough to live in a superbly appointed block of flats with wonderful facilities and on the whole, good staff. Stop harking back to the old days and realise that we have got nothing to moan about!!!!

[chimneybottler]

Hear hear!!
It does make for amusing reading .... let them complain and moan about such trivial matters. Nobody actually uses this message board for anything else, so it may as well exist for my amusement

[virore]

What a lovely breath of fresh air the last two posts have been.
I suspect, as new tenants, that you missed the Great Chip Debate- life became less interesting when that ground to a halt.

[chimneybottler]

I did actually happen to see that one whilst amusing myself looking back through the archives.
The best bit was seeing someone describe a bowl of chips at £3 (was it?) as extortionately expensive yet then explained that £2.50 would have been much more reasonable ;D

[709]

New tenants, welcome to DS. But be warned, your opinions may change after you have been here a year and the good staff raise your rent 20%. Best start saving every 50p you can!

[rupertgregory]

Having just moved here from urban Stratford, I'm just revelling in the lack of fried chicken shops and crack dealers on BMX's.

[chimneybottler]

Jun 19, 2008 14:10:44 GMT rupertgregory said:

Having just moved here from urban Stratford, I'm just revelling in the lack of fried chicken shops and crack dealers on BMX's.

Hahaha, somehow the thought of a crack dealer on a BMX is a very amusing image ......

Jun 19, 2008 12:54:15 GMT 709 said:

New tenants, welcome to DS. But be warned, your opinions may change after you have been here a year and the good staff raise your rent 20%. Best start saving every 50p you can!

Well if they try do raise the rent by 20% they will actually be getting 0% from me .....

[nick]

A word to the wise Chimney Bottler:
Rent strikes only work when landlords need the strikers as their tenants.
If market rents rise 20% and the landlord is confident that he can secure a new tenant who will pay 20% more than the striking one, the landlord's attitude to the rent-striker is likely to be rather "robust"!
Sadly, during periods of falling residential property prices, rental demand (and hence rents) typically rise.
Fortunately for you however, the much trumpeted "20% rent rises" were experienced by a relatively small number of tenants, who moved in shortly after the takeover, when the landlord had to let a large number of flats in a building that was one large construction site and offered cheap incentive rents to incoming tenants.

[Brendan Martin]

Wise words, Nick. Rent strikes rarely work - especially where demand exceeds supply.

[nic]

Well I am happy to be a moaner. I moved here last year and we were so pleased to be living here - the atmoshpere was great and even though some of the services were low spec they were not overcharging so it didn't matter. Our rent went up 25% in fact, our gym and pool charges are now more than double what they were, the lovely Georges are gone and security have managed to lose three of our packages since they took over (not that I blame them as they have a full-time job to do without the parcels), we are getting a far lesser service from maintenance and the rubbish people (who were in fact quite rubbish but have improved slowly) and we even had to put our own cable in to get a BT line and pay for it ourselves (basic, expected services really people) etc etc. So we are now in an overpriced low spec flat. In fact we have lived in Pimlico for eight years now in several flats and have never, ever had to take our rubbish out to the road, neither have we ever been without a washing machine or dishwasher. In fact in the real world we would not be paying £390 a week for a very low spec one bedroom flat. Perhaps the saddest thing about Dolphin Square is that when we moved here there was much more of a neighbourly feel about the place - the main topic of conversation now is how badly people are being treated and I sympathise as you can see. We are greatly disappointed at the fact that we will simply have to leave - nobody wants to overpay for substandard services and neither should we have to.

[nic]

Oh and before anybody starts the 'market rate' argument that Mantilla uses frequently - we have lived here a long time and are well aware that we could get much better value around here for our money. Its just a great pity that we will have to leave.

[Brendan Martin]

It is always sad to read that the new tenants, such as yourself Nic, are thinking of moving out due to lack of service or a hike in the rent. Dolphin Square will find it hard to regain its sense of community if there is such a fast turnover in the new blood.

[nic]

Its a pity Brendan because we really did enjoy being here when we first got here. We would stay until we buy which we don't expect to do until end 2009, beginning 2010 but we can't justify the prices. That's to say we can afford them - we just don't want to unjustifiably be lining Mantilla's pockets for substandard services.
We have met such lovely people here and will be sad to leave. I can't believe the change since we arrived only one and a half years ago.