East Wall, Dublin 3

candyman

have been on to Derek and he is going to have a look at the cctv footage of the exits for last friday night.

i reported it to store street guards but apart from that, there doesnt seem to be much else i can do unfortunately.

ur dead right oldschool, keep the bike up in the apt!

Begs

lighthousedave wrote:

Have any of you guys had any success with getting internet in your apartments? I have been trying for 6 weeks now and am getting no-where.

What providers are you with? Can NTL provide a package with a phoneline?

I signed up to Clearwire last week. TBH its pretty poor at download speeds - between 50-80kbps!?! However I am no computer techy, and it maybe a problem with me rather than clearwire!!

I have the engineers monitoring speeds for the next 48 hours and unless they can resolve the problems in the next few days I'll be cancelling it and going to eircom, which I had prior to moving to LH.

Begs

candyman wrote:

have been on to Derek and he is going to have a look at the cctv footage of the exits for last friday night.

i reported it to store street guards but apart from that, there doesnt seem to be much else i can do unfortunately.

ur dead right oldschool, keep the bike up in the apt!

Sorry to hear that your bike was stolen, that really is annoying - I hope Derek has captured it on the CCTV.

I leave a motorbike underground - did you have any luck with ODPM re the bike rack?

I was also thinking that perhaps it could be caged - my brother has this in his apartment block in Switzerland - although over there it is more for storing winter tyres etc.

Begs

I got a reply from Sarah Jane acknwledging my query.

It is to do with an additional lapse in the security, one that she said she has already been brought to the developers attention but they have not yet rectified. She is now chasing them again...

p.s. I am being deliberately vague about the nature of the lapse - you never know who is reading this!!

Vivienne

Hi, is there anywhere close to east wall that does Christmas trees & is open late? I need some christmas spirit in my house

risteardo

This might not be of so much interest to those of you in the Lighthouse complex, as you probably walk to Annesley Bridge if you're getting a bus to town. But to those of us living in East Wall, there's a new bus route that will be of interest, route 151. It starts at the new Docklands Station. From there it goes along the North Qualys, crosses over at Matt Talbot Bridge, up D'Olier St and along Dame St towards Christchurch. If you're heading up that side of town, it's definitely worth the 5 minute walk from East Wall to catch it.

Check it out....

http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey/viewer.asp?route=151

oldschool

Hello Lighthouse residents - are you going to be there? Any of you going for the management committee?

oldschool

And I can't get used to it being 2007, either

clodo

Yes I will be at the meeting next week. I take it you will be there too!!

oldschool

Yep, I'll be there - dead handy for me as I work in IFSC. Will you wear a name badge with 'CLODO' on it, so I can spot you?

clodo

I was thinking more alone the lines of a large banner. In keeping with the St Patrick's day Festival!!!:D

clodo

Sorry I could not make the Lighthouse meeting. Got stuck behind a broken down dart. Took me three hours to get home. Missed it completly. Any one want to fill me in on what happened and what was said??

red19

Hi I missed the meeting also, had to work late

Was anything important said?

Any word on how much the fees will be and so on.

The gate keeps breaking as do the lifts - I wonder will the sinking fund cover it or will the fees be going up?

I phoned them today about the ladder and the dead shrubs outside. Looks awful

candyman

Hi guys,
If anyone hears what the fees are and when they are due, could ye let me know.

Cheers

oldschool

This just in from Sarah Jane Mullarney:

'Jimmy Quinn is on site 8-4 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and work till 10-6 on Thursday. 087 4158283


We are currently working on the new contract with the security and will be issuing a notice to all residents with regard to the Security Role, times and contact number.'

red19

thanks a million for the thorough update. Seems outrageous about the security. That was never part of the 'deal'. The recent Law Reform Commission and National Consumer Agency report has a lot to say about this type of thing!!!

aaronquigley

oldschool wrote:

Re: Security guys - Collen have paid for the security guards up to now, but from now on we will be paying for them - this raised a few hackles as a few people questioned the need for 24 hour security (when they don't seem to do much) and that we will now be paying for what is essentially building site security. Someone asked whether Collen would at least agree to split the security bill with the residents; Sarah Jane said she would put this to them, but as the billing for this year's charge is underway, I don't see it happening.

Hi,
I was just reading up on what is happening in this area as we looked at a lighhouse unit there about 2 months ago. When I say "looked at" let me explain.

We drove over to the apartment complex and someone let us in the gate. We walked around the buildings to see if they look nice (I have to say they look very nice and the fittings look good from looking in a window). We walked upto one of the doors and it was without a lock so we wandered in to the corridor area to look at the layout, carpet, lifts, garage and doors etc. When we got to the door of the apartment we knocked but nobody was home.

At this point we both asked each other.. errr.. are we trespassing here? Since we were not sure we beat a hasty retreat out to the front gate where your paid security gave us a wave as we buzzed ourselves out.

Frankly, the experience put us off totally buying there. People just let us in, the doors don't have blots fitted, the gate can be hopped over, the garage is very exposed and you can buzz yourself out and your security well.. who knows what they are doing.

We have a place in Sydney with a similar layout and we had to get 16 security cameras installed on a loop with monitoring and you need swipe cards to get in and out of the building. (Swipe cards + video == you know which of your neighbours just held the door open for the thief. This makes people a lot more careful about who they hold the door open for!). It also means you need to swipe to get out which makes it harder to nick stuff.

Your garage is nice and open but it's way too easy to access. The ground floor units are a thieves delight.

We are in the process of buying a unit in the city and we are going to
do our upmost to bring a bit of international best practice to how these places should be managed. They are spending your money on running the place so they should do a good job or be booted. Our residents group did just this once in Australia, booted the management group and got a new one with a performance management contract. ie. bonus if robberies went down due to hiring good security and putting in good equipment etc.

Apartment living is great, I love it but in Ireland people don't take control of it enough and leave it up to others to fix. As a result the place we are currently renting in which is a lovely building is VERY rough around the edges and is only 6 years old... This isn't what I want to happen in my new place.

Good luck with getting your place up and running it's a very pretty complex and the finish looks top notch.

Aaron.

red19

Has anyone received the letter from ODPM yet?
What do you think?

As can be seen below, this site is extremely public, and what someone reads here could make the difference between them buying an apartment or not should one of us choose to sell.

Instead of discussing it on the boards, do you think it is time to actually arrange a meeting to discuss the latest letter and charges instead of discussing in public? I would be very interested to discuss the managing of the development with fellow residents.

Thanks

aaronquigley wrote:

Hi,
I was just reading up on what is happening in this area as we looked at a lighhouse unit there about 2 months ago. When I say "looked at" let me explain.

We drove over to the apartment complex and someone let us in the gate. We walked around the buildings to see if they look nice (I have to say they look very nice and the fittings look good from looking in a window). We walked upto one of the doors and it was without a lock so we wandered in to the corridor area to look at the layout, carpet, lifts, garage and doors etc. When we got to the door of the apartment we knocked but nobody was home.

At this point we both asked each other.. errr.. are we trespassing here? Since we were not sure we beat a hasty retreat out to the front gate where your paid security gave us a wave as we buzzed ourselves out.

Frankly, the experience put us off totally buying there. People just let us in, the doors don't have blots fitted, the gate can be hopped over, the garage is very exposed and you can buzz yourself out and your security well.. who knows what they are doing.

We have a place in Sydney with a similar layout and we had to get 16 security cameras installed on a loop with monitoring and you need swipe cards to get in and out of the building. (Swipe cards + video == you know which of your neighbours just held the door open for the thief. This makes people a lot more careful about who they hold the door open for!). It also means you need to swipe to get out which makes it harder to nick stuff.

Your garage is nice and open but it's way too easy to access. The ground floor units are a thieves delight.

We are in the process of buying a unit in the city and we are going to
do our upmost to bring a bit of international best practice to how these places should be managed. They are spending your money on running the place so they should do a good job or be booted. Our residents group did just this once in Australia, booted the management group and got a new one with a performance management contract. ie. bonus if robberies went down due to hiring good security and putting in good equipment etc.

Apartment living is great, I love it but in Ireland people don't take control of it enough and leave it up to others to fix. As a result the place we are currently renting in which is a lovely building is VERY rough around the edges and is only 6 years old... This isn't what I want to happen in my new place.

Good luck with getting your place up and running it's a very pretty complex and the finish looks top notch.

Aaron.

Rufus78

Hi neighbours. Thanks for entertaining me since I put my deposit down on a unit in LH2 - I've found this thread very informative and entertaining since!:D

I finally decided to contribute having got my management service charge quote - up €300 from last year. Kind of focuses the mind of what we're paying for. I find ODPM relatively good and responsive, but this is a large jump with no discernible increase in services.

I missed the AGM due to work commitments, but would be happy to meet red19 and anyone else. I see that Neil Collen and Pamela Collen are still the sole directors of Lighthouse Apartment Management Limited...

oldschool

Yeah, I'd be on for getting together and cobbling some issues together - who's got the biggest apartment and the best biscuits?

sharon b

Hi all, I just found this forum. I live in Lighthouse 2 but couldn't go to the AGM. I have been wondering what happened at it and also about the 25% increase in management fee and how others felt about it, what Sarah Jane had to say about it etc. The cost of security looks like its adding on the 25% but do we need security?
Is there separate security for the building site? if not surely Collen should pay at least half.
Also the ground floors are still dirty, the screaming bratty children are playing all over and security guy says he can do nothing about them, and I didn't see window cleaning covered in the expenses.

Has there been any further development with the fees/security/residents meeting up?

red19

Just to let you know that a few of us have signed a letter setting out our complaints/queries to the Management Company/Managing Agents regarding the fees for this year. The letter was sent today. If you would like to see a copy of it, please private message me.

Thanks

candyman

red19 wrote:

Just to let you know that a few of us have signed a letter setting out our complaints/queries to the Management Company/Managing Agents regarding the fees for this year. The letter was sent today. If you would like to see a copy of it, please private message me.
Thanks

Fair play red, keep us posted on any developments on this. Sorry again i cant be more supportive to ye!

cossieaustralia

you all sound like a bunch off women. eastwall is a top place, lived there for 17 years.loved it,ok its a bit rough around the edges but a top place.

Begs

red19 wrote:

Just to let you know that a few of us have signed a letter setting out our complaints/queries to the Management Company/Managing Agents regarding the fees for this year. The letter was sent today. If you would like to see a copy of it, please private message me.

Thanks

Hi,

Did you get a reply to your letter? I haven't paid yet either, I think the charge for 24 hour security very unfair. Collon seem to abusing their position here. There is no need for security in the residential part of the complex, I guess Collon are simply passing the charge for the building site security to the residents - check out all the new cameras that have gone up in the building site - who do you think is monitoring these? :rolleyes:

Beijingjean

I came accross these posts on East Wall and have read with interest. I moved back to Ireland after 10 year abroad and bought a house in East Wall, and love it. My neighbours are about the nicest and most down to earth people I have met, (regular beers in someone's garden after work if the sun is out and no need for a handiman, they help me out with everything) I'm on a quite street within walking distance of work in Ballsbridge and the city centre (no M50 fiasco to deal with), and the Seabank is a great pub. First night in there myself and my father got our Seabank pen, diary and bottle opener. I have brought a lot of sceptical friends in for pints, and have always had a good time there. My parents nearly collapsed when they heard where I was buying....but now love it.

With the market sliding, East Wall will certainly hold value. With Cahill printers site to be developed (177 apts & houses), East Road, the Point Depot development (shopping centre/hotel/apts) and the National Conference Centre at Spencer Dock, the whole area is being rejuvenated - it's great to see. The interconnector with Hueston Station will be at spencer dock, and luas going along Mayor st to the Point. The area is not the most beautiful at present, but in terms of a convenient and friendly place to live with value potential and a lot of improvement going on, can't beat it.

sharon b

Hi all, any update on anything from OPDM (if that's what they are called)? Also are you all aware of the bicycle robberies about 3 weeks ago? they took 3 apparently (2 were ours so that seems a little unfair) and security couldn't do anything as they had a knife. Now I like the security guys but in fairness I'm not sure I see the point of them. I don't feel any more secure when I see them walking around then if they weren't there at all. And obviously the thieving m****rf***ers aren't too worried about them.

rosiec

Hi,

Myself and my friend are thinking of renting on Merchants Road, just off East Wall Road. How safe is the area for 2 girls on their own? What amenities are in the area?. Any information would be great.

risteardo

rosiec wrote: »

Hi,

Myself and my friend are thinking of renting on Merchants Road, just off East Wall Road. How safe is the area for 2 girls on their own? What amenities are in the area?. Any information would be great.

Isn't Merchants Road a cul de sac? Think I went looking at a house there. Seems very safe, it's a bit away from the main part of East Wall.

East Wall is very close to other areas that have amenities, but doesn't have very many itself. The opening of Londis on East Road and Centra on Church Road has trebled the number of local shops and was cause for great excitement . But you can get nbr 53 bus at top of Merchants Road, will take you to town in 10 mins. Or you can walk to Fairview in 10 mins. I live in East Wall, but there's nothing to tempt me to socialise there.

lightening

Slutboy wrote: »

I live in East Wall, but there's nothing to tempt me to socialise there.

I lived there for 12 years, great neighbours, some remain good friends. Alot of country people won't socialise with the locals for some reason, I don't know if its a snob thing or what.

I'm guessing by Slutboys name that he wouldn't be arsed drinking or knocking about the area when town is so close (him being slut and all!).

Merchants Road is great, you have nothing to fear. You are so close to town, you will love it.