Cala Homes North Counties estate agents in Waterbeach, Chelmsford, Great Bentley and 2 more

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great staff very professional but also…

Great staff very professional but also good a dealing with one of most important decisions in your life

Kim_Dorby · 22 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

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The sales team at Cala Buckler's Park…

The sales team at Cala Buckler's Park is efficient, helpfull and very friendly. Making a stressful exercise of buying a home much more pleasant.

Poppy_Susanto · 22 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

The help I received from the staff A plus

The help I received from the staff at the Leith office was so helpful.they spent a lot of time with me ,I was very grateful

Camilla_Pollok-Mccall · 21 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 4/5

Google

Rating only, no written review.

L · 21 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Kelvedon

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Rating only, no written review.

Mark · 21 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Kelvedon

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Friendly knowledgeable staff . Site layout very nice seems to have space as opposed to craming properties in. Looking forward to the next stages

CHRISTINE · 21 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Kelvedon

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

St Peter’s Quarter, flooding, avoid!

Poor aftercare, the local council had objected to planning permission on the grounds of flood risks, development has gone ahead anyway. Residents complaints about submerged gardens and flash floods are largely ignored 2 years into home ownership.

Simon · 20 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Recommended, really helpful sales and onsite staff

I'd have liked to give a score for Cala's people on site (sales and builders)..which would be 5+ separate from the Corporate Cala team.which would be less. The good stuff..from first contact to date Kerry Gibb from the sales team has been outstanding. Proactive, solutions focused, so helpful, a wealth of knowledge and experience, addressed all issues that came up competently, she saved the day on more than one occasion. Her colleagues Sam and Caroline played their part too, though our main poc was Kerry and we felt very fortunate. The site team from Cahill onwards have been incredibly helpful in getting us settled in and sorting the few wee issues that cropped up. Kenny is a very responsive onsite team lead and fixed/reassured where required. Scott similarly was friendly, engaging, responsive and efficient. Everyone on site is helpful and offers help..even if it's just offering to take a load of boxes away for you. There's been a couple of things which lost the point from 5 to 4 but none of them caused by the onsite team. Cala want to demonstrate green credentials, bamboo loo roll and smol products for move in day. I'd rather they provided better than 'f' rated fridge and freezer appliances. Managing information could do with a spruce up as well.All in all, buying a Cala property has been a positive experience and one I'd recommend!

Frequent · 16 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Decent houses and friendly service

We just bought a house from Cala. Never bought a new house before and it was actually very easy. Sunnie and Dawn are super friendly and made the whole expreience a breeze. The houses are decent and well thought out and they seem very attentive. Thumbs up.

Rory · 15 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Inchcolmgreen, Aberdour.

The on-site team (Sunnie and Dawn) have been fantastic. They could not have done more or been more helpful in our opinion. Our experience of buying a Cala house at Inchcolmgreen has been flawless, and credit for this rests squarely with Sunnie and Dawn. Thank you both.

Hunt · 14 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Excellent

Excellent Outstanding service and knowledge . I have recently purchased a Flat from this housing company and the service I received from the sales staff was superb .Jack and Daisy are a breath of fresh air !!They made the purchase extremely easy and overcame any minor obstacles with instant solutions , making this a stress free easy process . Thankyou , it’s soo good to deal with professional helpful people , which seems to be very rare these days .

LAWRENCE · 13 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Mislead and false promises by sales.

Mislead and false promises by sales.. The experience of hearing your neighbors in a Cala home.I purchased an apartment in Buckler's Park whilst having concerns around the amount of noise that would be heard within the building. The sales team at Cala advised that the sound insulation in new build apartments is good and that we won't hear anything unless there is a party.The reality is very different...Having purposefully bought a top floor apartment to eliminate any sound from an apartment above, I hadn't anticipated the noise that I would hear from below.Hearing children being noisy is very prominent but I will passover that as part of this review as the sound can travel through open window vents etc (though is still audible with everything shut).Between top to bottom within the building we are able to hear people walk around the apartment which produces a loud thumping sound, the ground floor can hear the top floor and the top floor can hear the bottom floor. Regardless of how loud your TV is, you will hear these sounds.Interior doors being closed (gently) is somehow audible throughout the building. As is sliding open shower/wardrobe doors, sliding kitchen chairs (even with felt pads on the feet). This list is not exhaustive for brevity reasons.Whilst sound insulation is good from one side of the building to the other (ie, neighbors on the other side of the block will not hear you), within the same side expect to hear above and below you (even if nobody is above you, vibrations will go up the walls and make you think someone is above you).As the layout on one side of the building are copies of each other, expect to hear young children in the night crying from the bedroom directly above or below you, despite the 'many layers of construction', you will think they are in a room next door with paper walls in between.Cala instructed a 3rd party to perform a sound test against building regulations, which passed. As of the time of writing this, it is undermined if there will be any further actions considering the test passed. Cala claim to be a 5 star builder, though the tests are passing the bare minimum legal requirements. Whilst building regs might be met, considering everyone in my building has raised concern, customer expectations following the promises from sales are a different matter.The noise concerns aren't isolated to myself, my building but are across Cala sites.In other comments...* Expect snags to require multiple visits to resolve (even if you had reported them before completion), expect more damage to be caused as of the result of snags bring resolved.* The white goods are Bosch and of good quality, just don't be surprised if it takes over a month before you can open the dishwasher door because the kitchen carpenter hasn't cut the plinth to fit.* Expect delays if you're home is still in the construction phase* Poor landscaping plans and drainage can cause roads to flood. Don't always assume you're going to be able to traverse the estate and get to your road* Don't expect Cala to have informed the Cala that bin collections are required

Oli · 13 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

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Cala at Mowbray Horsham

Cala at Mowbray Horsham! What a wonderful and exciting experience we have had purchasing our first ever home. Let’s just say it’s definitely the first of many. Cala standards are like no other, all the well thought out finer details are really what make their houses our homes. From our lovely customer service ladies Michaela & Wendy to our men on site Joe & Dave we really were looked after at a 5***** level; and those are just to name a few who have gone the extra mile for us. What a lovely family they have built here at Horsham Mowbray for their customers. Highly recommend.

Faye · 12 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

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Aberdour: Super Sunni

We met Sunni at the Aberdour show homes. She put us immediately at ease and was extremely friendly, knowledgable about the properties and the services (eg mixergy and solar panels). It was a genuine pleasure to have considered all the options with her.

Hayley · 11 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

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Cala homes at Benson

The staff at Cala homes in Benson have been extremely helpful and supportive. They have always been ready and able to answer all our inquiries and question. We have felt supported throughout the whole process to date with clear explanations of the whys and when of things. Annie and Luke are both great to deal with with a special thanks to Annie who has been our main go to person.

Margaret_Tyler · 11 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

The staff were polite and informative…

The staff were polite and informative and the whole experiance was good

Chris · 11 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Very bad experience

Very bad experience. Two and a half years in and several snagging issues open. Cala also agreed to repairs then went back on word despite having made the same repairs to other houses in the estate. Customer support post-sale is not acceptable and several items on our snagging list had to be attempted multiple times due to not being properly completed.

R · 8 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I did not have an appointment but the…

I did not have an appointment but the lady managed to fit me in and she explained everything and told me what was available and I put a deposit down , I had done my research before and the large kitchen diner was the selling point for me , also the very high standard of finishing in the house

MARY · 7 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

All the staff we met were so friendly

All the staff we met were so friendly, professional and knowledgeable.Made everything easy to understand and guided us through the paperwork with ease.Cala should be very proud of their staff.Pass on our thank to the please.

Jim · 7 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

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Excellent customer service.High quality…

Excellent customer service.High quality finishes and unmatched finance deals to help towards buying a house.

Lamidi · 6 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Disappointing experience at Waterfront Plaza

This review shares our dissatisfaction with the process of reserving a plot at the Waterfornt Plaza development in Edinburgh. This has arisen as a result of a misunderstanding between ourselves and the Sales Team regarding what is included within the sale of the property, specifically flooring. We do not believe that it was clearly communicated with us that the flooring was not included in sale. Upon expressing our dissatisfaction, the proceeding interactions with the sales team sought to further exacerbate the sense of dissatisfaction and overall disappointment.During our initial sales consultation, the consultant explained some of the high-level specifics of the plot and that we would not be able to make the choice of cabinet colours as may have normally been able to (as I believe either the previous purchaser of the flat did this, and/or the deadline had passed). We do not recall the consultant mentioning that the flooring was not included, nor was any literature shared with us (either in the meeting or via email) that explicitly stated this. The only thing that we recall the consultant mentioning was that the qaurtz worktops were not included as standard, but we as the deadline has passed we couldn't choose these anyway. Upon reviewing a few other plots on your website, we noted the flooring being listed within the description and so opted seek clarification from the Sales Team. We noted our dissatisfaction when we learned it was not and asked if they would consider a gesture of goodwill due to confusion. After a couple of calls / emails back and forth, it was confirmed that Cala would not be willing to make a contribution to the flooring. We have just attended our IGM meeting, where the Sales Manager didn't proactively bring it up (even if she didn't have a response from senior mananagemt it should have been anticipated that we would have asked). The meeting was immediately proceeded with a post IGM form being emailed to us and a request to sign it. This further added to the ambiguity, due the somewhat clumsy wording that could have implied the carpet was supplied in the bedroom. We were asked to sign and return the form prior to having reached a satisfactory consolutation to our query and without it being acknowledged in the body, something that (in our opinion) was ill judged. Having never purchased a new build property before, it would have been our expectation that any optional extras not included in the sale should have been clearly stated in writing, rather by exception in the sales incentive box (as we were not actually clear that the flooring was an incentive, so would have not naturally thought to question it's omission). To add to this, we've been asked to complete the viewings for our old property at a part of the part-exchange process. It does not state anywhere in the agreement that this was required and this was not mentioned at any point during the transaction. While I don't really have a massive issue doing it, I do take issue with the fact that it wasn't mentioned in the literature Cala shared about the service. I have had 5 viewings crammed into 2 days - 4 back to back! We have opted to proceed with the purchase as we do like the property, however the experience to date has fallen short of the expectation set on your website about being a "five-star" builder and has detracted from the excitement around purchasing a new build. We are hopeful that we can rebuild our relationship with the Sales Team, who prior to this have been very accommodating, but it has (unfortunately) been a bad start. Lots of positive reviews and other friends who have had a positive experience, so read this review with that on mind.Update: I had to phone to chase for a response to my complaint as they claimed to have to received it after submitting it via their website.

Matthew · 5 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Cala experience after 2 years

Despite requests from Cala, I always said I would not write a full review of our experience of Cala Homes until after the end of the 2 year warranty period. This expired last week.I have given 4 stars. On the whole our experience of purchasing a house in Linlithgow, Scotland was a good one. Trish in the sales team good and we found dealing with Cala quite smooth and helpful. My only niggle here is that the house numbers were allocated incorrectly, and despite me having queried the fact that the house numbering system was odd, this was not accepted by the Cala sales team until much further into the purchasing process. This obviously caused chaos, both before and after we moved in. At one stage our neighbour was being billed for our gas usage and vice-versa. It would have been better if this mixup had been addressed when I reported it. Apart from that, the process of buying and moving in was quite smooth. We did initially have problems with the hot water tank immediately after moving in, but this was addressed quickly by Cala. Over the 2 year warranty nearly all of the faults or issues were addressed quickly by Cala. There are still a couple of issues outstanding, but these are being addressed. We used a professional snagger to identify faults prior to us moving in. But I would definitely recommend doing that. All of the faults were minor, but a few took several months to be addressed which was partly due to supply issues after the pandemic.Would I buy from Cala again? Yes, I probably would. The experience overall was positive. We are happy with the house itself, and feel that overall the quality is pretty good. The house is very energy efficient, and I know that I will not need to do any major repairs or upgrades for several years.

J · 5 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

BUYER BEWARE.

Hi everyone thinking of buying from Cala homes.Further to my posts below I have now spoken to Callum who is the manager for Cala’s assisted move scheme, which I was on and also the part exchange scheme.Callum said that the poor experience that I have received from Cala was due to a continued breakdown in communication.On the 14th of February 2023 I received an email to say the house I had reserved and paid a deposit on was now sold. I was on the assisted move scheme and Cala was supposed to keep the house exclusively for me for 4 weeks whilst I tried to sell my current home.At the end of the period the assisted move team were supposed to speak to me and between us we would discuss the next move if my house hadn’t sold.What happened as I said is that they just sold the house from under my feet with no care, consideration or indeed communication.Callum apologised for the breakdown in communication stating that I should have been contacted and the situation discussed.This lack of communication ultimately cost me losing my dream home.Further earlier in my reviews Cala posted a comment stating that they had been in contact with me after the above happened and that they had supported me through contact and emails.I informed Callum that that had not been the case at all and apparently he said that Chad the sales advisor from the shopwyke lakes development should have spoken to me, but didn’t so yet another breakdown in communication.If you are thinking of buying a Cala home bear in mind this appalling lack of communication and that’s before you have bought a house it makes me wonder how successful you would be after you move in resolving any issues with a property and they have your money.This brings me on to issues with Cala properties.At the beginning of this year when I was still intending and trying to purchase the house I went to the shopwyke lakes development to check on the progress on the house I was buying.One house in Harrier place was having the front door replaced for whatever reason.The workmen had 3 front doors in the front garden I’m assuming they were trying to find one that would fit the property better. This house was occupied with the owners having moved in just prior to Christmas, causing the new owners inconvenience after just a few weeks and having to have quite a major repair.Further I went to the development out of interest to see the house that I’d lost in its finished state.I was shocked to see that another house in harrier place has major issues.The house which hasn’t sold since October although it was completed then and has also been home of the week and home of the month is completely encased in scaffolding and sheeting.I don’t know what is wrong with the house but it’s obviously something major with either the roof or brickwork to be totally encased.So this is the end of my posts regarding Cala.I’ve had a shocking experience which has changed my future not getting the house I was so desperately trying to buy and ironically Cala couldn’t wait for me but the house was occupied last Friday a staggering 10 or so weeks after the owners reserved it on the 14th of February 2023.Although they couldn’t wait for me the new buyer wasn’t exactly quick considering Cala required a 4 week exchange.So to sum up be very careful before buying a Cala home their customer service is terrible it seems and they are building homes which some of have major issues.As I’ve said before buyer beware!

Ray · 4 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Exceptional customer service

Exceptional customer service. The sales team at Princes Quay development have been nothing but amazing with us. Extremely helpful and accommodating. This certainly made our experience the best we have received to date.

Craig_Russell · 4 May 2023 · Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach