Aan de Wijnlanden housing complex

I would like to share my experience with everyone who is interested. This is my personal review on Aan de Wijnlanden (ADW) estate.

So many things have happened over the past 12 months whilst being a resident in ADW estate. I am an extremely unhappy property owner. My basic expectations are just not being met. Let me share some examples: When I moved in, basic safety for residents was not in place and it took the ADW team about 7 months to react to my concerns. PPE for the security team took even longer. I was told that even though the estate is about 6/7 years old, they are taking baby steps (on safety? Really?).

Our office staff (2 ladies) who really tries to manage the estate is under enormous pressure, it is crystal clear that two people is not enough to run the estate effectively – nothing is being done about this, no matter how many times we ask.

When we as residents/owners have concerns and then attempt to set up any meetings with the developer-trustees, these trustees are simply not available for us who work 8-5pm during the week, they decline meetings outside office hours, and are specifically available Tuesdays 10h30 ONLY. Bear in mind that we have 2 trustees with full time jobs and 2 trustees from the developer (who holds the majority vote for everything). Trustees also do not share any meeting minutes or inform the owners of what is in the pipeline or up for consideration in the estate – absolutely no transparency. I have asked on numerous occasions for information. Nothing received. Currently we have only 4 trustees for 450+ houses. All requests to increase the quantity of trustees were declined.

Documents available on our shared platform is outdated. Admin confirmed they had software issues for weeks on end, again, nothing was being done about the matter. Numerous times I enquired about this software issue, I was just ignored. We have a call centre (Help Desk) to log queries via an App, but there are instances where I have waited literally for several months to get some form of feedback on queries, and, some queries were just ignored, still to this day no feedback. Even better: some logged calls were merely closed to get the reported concerns off the radar! The intended Help Desk function on the App is simply not working, due to poor/lack of administration.

Tried email comms – this is definitely not working.

The call centre (Help Desk) is confidential, but it has come to my attention that some trustee/s happily discuss these confidential matters with other residents , making it exactly clear who reported what. How does this comply with the POPI act, which clearly states that it includes private correspondence? I reported this matter and it was swept under the carpet. I know exactly who said what to whom. So we have trustees on board, who clearly violates the law themselves. How fantastic is this?

Warnings and fines to residents are not regulated, issued on a “how do I feel today”-basis, extremely inconsistent.

The garden opposite my house is not maintained and the ****s are flourishing. We apparently do not have money for grass and I have to live with that. I was told left-over grass from future new houses might be suitable. When the lawn is mowed, the workers cut around all the molehills and leave it as is. Who checks? Who cares? Last year I reported an overgrown pond, polluted with ****s and reeds, more than 12 months later, nothing done about the issue, total neglect. Some areas of the garden are really embarrassing. And we continue to pay our levies and are assured that the estate’s finances are healthy…

When we try to ask questions on the various ADW Whatsapp groups available, our messages are deleted, or you are kicked off groups by admin because they felt like it – no valid reason, no warning, we did ask. I was told to my face by admin that I need to focus on “the positive” and overlook things which are wrong. (Heyy??) Do these staff members even know their salaries are paid from our levies? With these poor attitudes are they entitled to a bonus or an increase? When asking about KPI’s and SLA’s, we are told the trustees will manage that.

Trying to escalate matters via suggested channels, is simply not working.

My comments on Facebook are also deleted. The ADW team are constructing a misleading perception for everyone outside the ADW walls. Even our internal newsletter is sugar coated. There is a toxic culture at play and individuals are being targeted and victimised if they raise any form of alarm or concern.

My biggest ask is if for transparency and consistency.

Referring to all my evidence, I can say that the estate is mismanaged, owners and residents are ignored, and the fat cats are smiling at the suckers who invested. And yes, I am keeping record of everything.

I will keep reviewing Aan de Wijnlanden on this platform. Hopefully, we can see change for the better.

#aandewijnlanden #stellenbosch #unhappyowner #regret