Countryside Homes Reviews 

🏡 Beautiful Homes buuut please read the small print very carefully.

The buying experience with Countryside Homes Newhall was genuinely lovely. The team were welcoming, professional and the homes are beautifully finished ✅

But if you're buying here there's something critical you need to know before you exchange 🚨

The freehold estate comes with an estate charge and rentcharge which is managed by Stiles Harold Williams (SHW). I raised serious concerns about the contractual terms with Stiles Harold Williams (SHW) however they refused to budge.

Here's what you may be signing up to:

⚠️ Right of Entry to your home is NOT excluded
🏠 RentCharge Owner can take possession of your home
📜 RentCharge Owner can grant a lease of your house to trustees to raise money owed
💰 No cap on rentcharge fees (separate from the estate charge)
📈 Unrestricted fee escalation
🔒 No right to challenge the rentcharge
🙈 No consultation rights
📊 No statutory right to see Stiles Harold Williams (SHW) full accounts
⚖️ No First-Tier Tribunal access
🛑 No Right to Manage
🔐 Absolute restriction on dispositions affecting your ability to sell
💳 Consent and "premium permission" covenants that you pay for permission on your own property
❌ Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
💸 Also ask what percentage of your estate charge goes to insurance. Managing agents in this sector have routinely taken hidden broker commissions averaging 30% of premiums (up to 60% in some cases as stated by the Financial Conduct Authority) which had all quietly passed on to homeowners. Multi-million pound class action lawsuits are underway across England and Wales. Demand full written disclosure.

The enforcement mechanisms tied to estate rentcharges are too severe... In a worst case, the rentcharge owner has legal routes to your home 😰

👉 Here's my advice: get independent legal advice before you exchange. Understand what an estate rentcharge means and what rights you're giving up. The homes are wonderful but you deserve to go in with your eyes fully open 🙏

Countryside Homes Team: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Stiles Harold Williams (SHW) Management Company: ⭐

From the very first viewing, Creig at Vistry Countryside Homes has been absolutely outstanding. His level of customer service has gone above and beyond—nothing has ever been too much trouble, and he’s been incredibly helpful and supportive every step of the way.

Thanks to Creig, the whole experience has been smooth and enjoyable, which has made such a difference during what can often be a stressful time. I’m so excited to begin my new adventure at Saddlers Reach and couldn’t be more pleased with my new home.

THE FAIRWAYS, LITTLE HULTON, SALFORD. There is Japanese Knotweed on this site which has spread to new areas. Unfortunately, despite making 2 complaints about this, I am yet to receive a reply and as such, there are continued risks. The existing knotweed is not fenced off and there is no signage to alert people to this invasive species. It is located right next to the public path that runs around the site and I believe there is a high risk of this being spread further. Buyers beware!

As a young couple with a small child, moving out of our first home together seemed like a logistical nightmare, however the moment we visited Alex and Diana in Tattenhoe Park (Milton Keynes) not only did they reassure us of the ease of the process, they guided us from designing the house, to the legal and logistical, all the way from enquiry to getting our new home, since we have moved in we have had regular check ins, and any problems are promptly dealt with, the team are super supportive and friendly and I could not recommend them enough. Best decision we ever made, and a massive thank you to Alex for his hospitality and hard work (which we mainly created!), for giving us the confidence to get on the ladder.

Danielle and Anth, along with the rest of the team on site at Foxrush Walk, Redcar have been fantastic throughout our house buying journey! We literally popped in to the show homes one day just to be nosey, loved what we saw and decided to buy almost straight away.

Danielle was wonderful and answered all of my Husband’s many questions and was so helpful throughout the entire process. She was always at the end of the phone when we had a worry or needed some help and would strive to make the process as stress free for us as possible - and in the end that’s what it was, completely stress free!

Anth provided practical support and was able to help with what we needed when we moved into our house, he was attentive and wanted to ensure we were completely happy with our home.

The rest of the team, whilst working around our home, made sure they were respectful and kept us up to date on any work they were going to carry out that could affect us. Genuinely lovely people all around.

So just a massive thank you to everyone! We absolutely love our new home and know we will enjoy it for many years to come x

I deliberately waited a few weeks before leaving this review, despite receiving emails from Countryside asking for feedback. In my view, a review should reflect the whole experience, not just the reservation process. We are now four weeks into living in our new home, and I feel I can give a fair assessment.

We reserved our home at Coppice Hill, Houghton Regis, in November 2025, with completion taking place in May 2026.

Sales and pre-completion

Tamzin and Rhi from the sales team were fantastic throughout the entire process. We live only five minutes away from the development, so there were plenty of occasions where we would wander into the sales office unannounced with random questions, or simply because we were excited about buying our first home.

As first-time buyers, we had absolutely no idea what we were doing at times, but the team always made us feel welcome. They were approachable, patient, and nothing was ever too much trouble.

Moving in and aftercare

Throughout the process, we were reassured and kept informed. I must admit that I was slightly concerned by the common perception you often see on social media that once a developer has your money, they lose interest. Our experience with Countryside and our Site Manager, Paul, has been the complete opposite.

After we moved in, Paul visited us to go through our independent inspector’s report. He arranged for contractors to address the items raised, and over the last few weeks the vast majority have already been resolved.

What has impressed me most is that Paul genuinely cares about the quality of the homes being delivered. He takes pride in the work carried out on site and has very high standards. He is incredibly knowledgeable about the development, the build process, and the property itself, and nothing ever seems too much trouble for him or his team.

Would I recommend Countryside/Vistry?

Based on our experience at Coppice Hill, absolutely. If every development has a team as committed, professional, and customer-focused as the one here, then I would have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending Countryside and Vistry to others.

Tamzin, Rhi & Paul you are all absolutely fantastic at what you do and Vistry is extremely lucky to have you as part of the team. Thank you for making this journey go so smoothly.

Excellent customer service from the beginning.
Clare and Steve have been wonderful throughout the process.
We wouldn't even have looked at the house that we are now BUYING if Clare hadn't suggested it - and it was PERFECT for us!!!
The layout of the house is thoughtfully designed and the spec level is a cut above other providers at the same site, in my view.
We can't wait to move in and start our next chapter...

We moved into our house back in December 2023, and honestly, the aftercare has been completely exhausting.

You expect a new build to have some issues, but we never expected to still be chasing them to fix basic things over two and a half years later. Barely anything has been ticked off our original snagging list.

What makes it so frustrating is the endless cycle of useless communication. We have sent multiple chase-up emails, only to get the same generic responses promising that someone will "come over and take a look."

How many times do they actually need to visit and look at the same problems? We’ve had people come over to inspect, take notes, and promise to schedule the work, but then absolutely nothing happens. It is not going to magically get fixed just by someone looking at it.

We are tired of the endless emails, tired of taking time off work to let people in just to inspect.

It feels like once they have your money, you are completely on your own. It is a stressful, miserable way to treat people who have made the biggest investment of their lives.

We moved into this new-build estate, "Wolsey Park", with high expectations, but unfortunately, the aftercare and estate management experience has been deeply disappointing.

We first raised an ongoing issue in November regarding a visitor parking bay directly outside our property. It is being misused daily by residents living a few houses down, who regularly park two cars in this single bay and drive over the landscaped areas. This has caused ongoing damage to the green space, restricted access for manoeuvring, and created daily frustration for neighbouring residents.

Despite multiple emails, photos, and a formal complaint over several months, responsibility has been repeatedly passed between departments. We have been told that the developer cannot enforce parking and that the Land Trust cannot take action. As a result, no practical solution has been implemented, and the issue has visibly worsened over time.

We even attempted to plant additional shrubs ourselves to help protect the landscaped area, but these have now also been damaged by vehicles cutting the corner.

What is most disappointing is not just the issue itself, but the complete lack of accountability, communication, and willingness to take preventative action to protect the estate's landscaping and the residents' quality of life.

We expected far better aftercare and support from a new-build development.

Our visit was extremely helpful in moving forward towards the big decisions around finding a "forever" home. Linda was able to equip us with detailed plot and development information plus all-important local knowledge which we lack, since we are unfamiliar with the area. A very positive and appreciated experience.

We recently purchased a flat at the Meridian One development and wanted to express our gratitude to the entire team. As first‑time buyers, we received exceptional support throughout the process — never any pressure, overselling, or the pushy tactics we’d experienced elsewhere.

A special thank‑you to Emmanuel, whose knowledge of the development and the buying process was invaluable. He was always quick to respond to our questions and consistently went above and beyond to be friendly, helpful, and reassuring.

We’d also like to recognise Shannette, our sales progressor, for guiding us through to completion; Karen, who was warm, professional, and well‑informed; and Denise for her support as well.

The whole team has been faultless, and we’re now happily settled into our new home - which has been built to an exceptional standard.

Excellent service from start to finish from danielle (sales) anthony (site manager) and the hole team on site. Constant update on house progress and helpful and kind on site and communication.
Couldnt of asked for a better service from the team at foxrush walk redcar

Really happy and excited. The ladies at coppicehill have been great. Tamzin and Lyudmila are so helpful and informative. It’s not been all plain sailing but I’ve been informed all the way through. Got to meet Paul from the site team and he has reassured us that the team would sort out the snags and get them sorted. Looks like a great team and very customer focused. Well done on the finish of our new home … can’t wait to compete.

We viewed Milby Meadows and was greeted and attended to by Alan. Alan was friendly, helpful and really knowledgable about the site and about the future plans which helped us when discussing whether to proceed. I really liked how Alan wasn’t a ‘pushy’ sales advisor which we have experienced at other properties we’ve visited.

Danielle was great from start to finish. We always knew where she was, and always at the end of the phone. Very helpful before, during and after purchase.

Claire and Steve at countryside were really great and gave us all the help we needed. We’r very happy with our property and any problem we had has been addressed quickly. Would recommend Countryside 100%. Especially Westcombe Park.

I purchased a lovely flat at Fresh Wharf Estate and initially had a very positive experience thanks to a responsive and proactive management company. Unfortunately, Countryside later switched the management to POD, and since then the standard of upkeep has significantly declined.

The estate now feels neglected, with repairs not being carried out and little to no communication from the management team. Issues are left unresolved, and there is a clear lack of accountability.

It’s particularly disappointing because the previous management company set a high standard they were efficient, responsive, and ensured everything was properly maintained. Had I known the management would change to this level, I would not have chosen to buy here.

My partner and I recently reserved and bought a 2 bed flat at Meridian One development through Countryside Homes.
In terms of the flat itself, it’s amazing! The build quality is superb and having owned a new build before, Countryside have given much much more thought to space, storage space and sturdy build design, insulation and security. The flat is beautiful and we are so happy with it.
In terms of Customer Service, I’ve known nothing like it before. The team are with you every step of the way but in a supportive and approachable sense. In the past I’ve dealt with some awful property sellers but these guys are down to earth, genuine, nice people who aren’t trying to oversell everything. Shannette was so nice and helpful when we were processing the sale and I wish every salesperson was as genuine and approachable, committed and hardworking as Emmanuel Folivi, who is a top, TOP guy!!! (Countryside please give him a bonus!) I can’t praise Emmanuel highly enough and I think a true mark of his worth is how I noticed all of the residents there (who had obviously had dealings with Emmanuel before when buying their properties), were all so pleased to see him and say hi to him. Emmanuel really helped us with the sale, with negotiations, with property knowledge and with recommending us solid and effective mortgage brokers and Solicitors. He was transparent and highly responsive and made the whole process really smooth for us. Therefore we’re actually really grateful to him and his team and we’re really impressed and happy with our Countryside experience.10 out of 10!! 🙏🌞

Thank you to the whole team for guiding us through everything and for your great dedication and support.