Opinions on Grange Rath, Drogheda...

CreepingDeath

Hi,

I'm investigating buying a house somewhere in Drogheda and like the look of Grange Rath and the fact that Matthews Coaches service there.

Is there anything I should be aware of ?

I see there were issues with clampers but it seems that the community got together and had clamping stopped by the management company?

What's the annual service charge there per house?
Is it the same no matter what size house?
I saw a mention of €210 a few years back... is it still a similar figure?

I also saw a lot of posts about burglaries/car thefts... is it really that bad?
Or is it mostly focused on roads which are a little quieter / not overlooked in the estate?

What's the broadband access like there?
How much and what speeds are ye getting?

Is the shuttle service to the train still running?

I know there's a county wide problem with limescale/hard water supply,
does that render the water undrinkable, are you having problems with washing machines/dishwashers/central heating radiators breaking down a lot?

any replies much appreciated,
CD

Mylow

Is there anything I should be aware of ?
The estate is managed by Smith Poroperty Management on behalf of Colpe Management. There is an EGM being called to remove the directors of Colpe Management. Large outstanding debts, poor collection of maintenace fees etc.

I see there were issues with clampers but it seems that the community got together and had clamping stopped by the management company?
Not an Issue


What's the annual service charge there per house?
Is it the same no matter what size house?
I saw a mention of €210 a few years back... is it still a similar figure?
Yes

I also saw a lot of posts about burglaries/car thefts... is it really that bad?
Or is it mostly focused on roads which are a little quieter / not overlooked in the estate?
I am not aware of any burglaries in my street, possibly down to fact we all know our neighbours and have a ring round system....it has never been used. We are in cul-de-sac only one route in and out.


What's the broadband access like there?
How much and what speeds are ye getting?
Vodafone 24mb...I get 17mb. Lots of Fibre FTTC cabinets fitted in the estate last August, however Eircom wholesale site has rollout as Dec14 (includes Deepforde). Rest of Drogheda was supposed to be Dec12.

Is the shuttle service to the train still running?
No

I know there's a county wide problem with limescale/hard water supply,
does that render the water undrinkable, are you having problems with washing machines/dishwashers/central heating radiators breaking down a lot?
No break downs in 7 years....might be jinxed now

CreepingDeath

Thanks Mylow,

I really appreciate the response, and also to those who PM'd me too.

As someone mentioned, there's 900 houses in the estate, so that's the equivalent of multiple estates in Dublin, so that skews/exaggerates the perception of any crime reports.
I had got a little spooked when I read the "Grange Rath Community Unite" facebook page on attempted burglaries/car crime, but I wouldn't hear of any incidents outside a 20 house radius of me in Lucan.

Happy to hear there's a good community spirit and seems like a fine estate.

thanks again,
CD

troops

CreepingDeath wrote: »

Thanks Mylow,

I really appreciate the response, and also to those who PM'd me too.

As someone mentioned, there's 900 houses in the estate, so that's the equivalent of multiple estates in Dublin, so that skews/exaggerates the perception of any crime reports.
I had got a little spooked when I read the "Grange Rath Community Unite" facebook page on attempted burglaries/car crime, but I wouldn't hear of any incidents outside a 20 house radius of me in Lucan.

Happy to hear there's a good community spirit and seems like a fine estate.

thanks again,
CD

Hi,
Ever considered estates closer to town? It's well out of the way there. Don't know if you've kids but not much good for schools etc. Also no pubs, restaurants in walking distance. Might be an idea to rent for a while, get a feel for the place.

CreepingDeath

troops wrote: »

Hi,
Ever considered estates closer to town? It's well out of the way there. Don't know if you've kids but not much good for schools etc. Also no pubs, restaurants in walking distance. Might be an idea to rent for a while, get a feel for the place.

Thanks Troops,

yep, I appreciate what you're saying.
I'm not limiting my search to Grange Rath and have seen some interesting houses for sale all over Drogheda, North and South of the river.

My girlfriend is from Drogheda and has extension family connections there, also a number of my family moved up there from South Dublin.
So I've access to good local knowledge, but didn't know anything about Grange Rath.

Yep, ideally I'd like to be within walking distance of the bus depot, train station and town. And I am conscious of the fact that if Matthews coaches stops for any reason, Grange Rath is a bit isolated for commuting options.

All options are open at the moment, this is just some initial research.

regards,
CD

OU812

I know two people from Dublin who move there years ago. Both love it.

If I had the choice I'd move there too. Great estate.

Only issue my friends report is hassle getting out of the estate if it snows (hill).

Lord TSC

Yeah, snow can be a real downer if you live at the bottom of a hill in the estate...

...but it's free entertainment if you live at the top of that hill.

Darksaga87

Is it possible to get a bus from around Grange rath into town?

gipi

You could get the 101 from outside Deepforde or outside the new Nursing home to the bus station.

CMpunked

The matthews website says it picks up at "grange rath 2" is that the second entrance to the estate or some other rouge unknown grange rath?
But seriously, does it pick up from the entrance heading for bettystown?

Lord TSC

Yeah, it's the entrance closer to Donacarney than Southgate. Absolutely love it. Right outside my front door :P

CMpunked

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Yeah, it's the entrance closer to Donacarney than Southgate. Absolutely love it. Right outside my front door :P

Super. Gonna have to go that route while bus eireann are giving out. Have you ever had to get the 6am bus?
What time does it get in to Parnell?

Lord TSC

Never been that early, but the schedule they give is usually dead on. So it says 7 o clock, so I'd go with that

enricoh

grange rath is in a great location n very safe n good schools about. wouldnt buy a gaff there as build quality was shocking, would rent no bother tho

Lord TSC

Out of interest, what do you mean by "shocking"?

enricoh

i'll give u a hint, i dont mean shockingly good

Lord TSC

Well, I was hoping for a bit more expansion on your description of the house build as "shockingly". As in some examples.

I've lived in GR for over 10 years (we got the house new) and never found anything that could be described as "shocking" in terms of how the house was built....just wondering what makes you hold that opinion.

purplecow1977

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Well, I was hoping for a bit more expansion on your description of the house build as "shockingly". As in some examples.

I've lived in GR for over 10 years (we got the house new) and never found anything that could be described as "shocking" in terms of how the house was built....just wondering what makes you hold that opinion.

Insulation is quite poor - windows aren't great.

IN-THE-KNOW

GRANGE RATH UPDATE;

The board of directors in Grange Rath are refusing to answer any questions that have been put forward from the owners. Since the current directors were elected in March 2013, here is their achievement to date;

• Terminated the contract of the management agent.

• Terminated the contract of the gardener.

• Hired an office, hired 2 employees - employed the wife of a director and one of the directors and took control of the whole estate.

• Held an AGM, given notice to owners of 10 days and did not present the year end accounts - company solicitor allowed this to happen! Complaint issued to the Office of Directors Corporate Enforcement.

• Budget passed, the 2 employees are now getting paid of €79K between them. Office hire is €10K.

• Owners have gone on site to the office - office closed.

• It was found that the 2 employees have other full time jobs hence the appointments that must be made in advance.

• Changes to the Memos & Arts were made behind the owners back. The Secretary of Grange Rath and the company solicitor authorised those changes. Among the 16/17 changes to the document, one section was added in were all directors/committee members could be paid for their work ie travel expenses, hotel expenses and other expenses. Board meetings held every Monday - no wonder!!

• Complaint issued to the Office of Directors Corporate Enforcement - the changes were put back to the original document therefore the company name is no longer Grange Rath Limited - it's Colpe Management Company.

• Now our company is being taken to COURT – creditors not getting paid.

• The board of directors/company solicitor has NOT issued an apology to the owners - this is unacceptable.

Now the board of directors are seeking payment of service charges - WOULD YOU PAY under these circumstances??

horse7

What is the BER on the houses? Presume they are double glazed windows and internal walls insulated,plus attic.

Mylow

horse7 wrote: »

What is the BER on the houses? Presume they are double glazed windows and internal walls insulated,plus attic.

Its a legal requirement for any houses being sold or rented to have a BER certificate, check any of those on sale in Grange Rath.

everlast75

horse7 wrote: »

What is the BER on the houses? Presume they are double glazed windows and internal walls insulated,plus attic.

Just checked one - C2. A lot of the houses are detached so they don't have the protection on one/both sides

horse7

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Insulation is quite poor - windows aren't great.

What type of build are the houses,eg cavity block or solid block with cavity insulated, interior insulated drylined, attic insulated? I presume the windows are double glazed.

purplecow1977

horse7 wrote: »

What type of build are the houses,eg cavity block or solid block with cavity insulated, interior insulated drylined, attic insulated? I presume the windows are double glazed.

I was only renting and not there anymore so i'm not sure now :-(

horse7

purplecow1977 wrote: »

I was only renting and not there anymore so i'm not sure now :-(

Hopefully some owners can have the build information,also I may be wrong in thinking that co.Meath is the location,so why would this thread be in the Louth section on boards.

purplecow1977

horse7 wrote: »

Hopefully some owners can have the build information,also I may be wrong in thinking that co.Meath is the location,so why would this thread be in the Louth section on boards.

It's in Co. Meath but is VERY close to the Louth border and is situated just outside Drogheda, which is in Co. Louth.

horse7

It seems to take a long time to sell a house in grange rath.

everlast75

horse7 wrote: »

It seems to take a long time to sell a house in grange rath.

Depends on how much you are looking for. The valuations are increasing in prices now and there are a fair few "sold" signs around the Estate

ToxicPaddy

Sorry to dig up an old thread but was out looking at the estate over this weekend and I must say its a very nice estate, plenty of green areas and lots of nice houses there, common areas are well maintained etc.

Are there still issues with the mgmt company? Any end in sight if so?

I see some 4 and 5 bed houses for sale on the estate, a few have gone sale agreed over the past few months which is positive.

Any residents in here?

Would you recommend Drogheda or Laytown train stations when getting the train into Connolly?

Any issues with the estate?

All info greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

purplecow1977

Drogheda would be a stop before Laytown so probably more advisable to get on here, although I don't know how busy the trains are in the morning.

No issues with the estate, unless crappy rotten windows count.

It's a child friendly estate (can be annoying with children running after balls etc so drive slowly!) with lots of green area, and so handy for Dunnes/Southgate in general, and variety of primary schools in the area. It's only a short distance to the beach!

ToxicPaddy

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Drogheda would be a stop before Laytown so probably more advisable to get on here, although I don't know how busy the trains are in the morning.

No issues with the estate, unless crappy rotten windows count.

It's a child friendly estate (can be annoying with children running after balls etc so drive slowly!) with lots of green area, and so handy for Dunnes/Southgate in general, and variety of primary schools in the area. It's only a short distance to the beach!

What's happening with the windows?

Any other issues with the houses apart from the Windows?

How well insulated are the houses as unfortunately I've personal experience of Celtic tiger era houses that were impossible to heat and resulted in huge (€500+ every 2 months) gas bills during the winter months

Not something I want to go back to!!!