“When partner and I moved into a property in Upper ......”
1 Star Review
May 29,2014
By:
'Mizz_S_69'
May 29,2014
Branch: London, 15-17 Westow Hill
Services: Property Management
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: SE19
Branch: London, 15-17 Westow Hill
Property Management
Postcode: SE19
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When partner and I moved into a property in Upper Norwood last month, We were very pleased with the service we had received from Crystal Palace branch. but I'll say that I cannot recommend the lettings team at the Crystal Palace branch highly enough. Jack Iveson and Toby Gooding are a credit to the organisation.
However... Property Management are HORRENDOUS! We have been assigned a property manager named Patricia and if I'm 100% honest, I'm not sure what she actually gets paid to do. We have encountered a number of problems since we moved in including the kitchen sink leaking, no hot water (the thermostat on the cylinder was to blame), not having a usable shower, a faulty plug socket which has subsequently ruined a TV and my partner's mobile phone, a faulty oven, dangerously outdated wiring for the lighting and fusebox, and a severe shortage of usable power outlets in the living room.
Before you blame the landlord, I must come to her defence. She is new to property management, had inherited the property and never lived in it (therefore was unaware of the problems), and was relying on KFH to offer the correct advice in preparing the property for letting, which clearly they never gave. When we queried with KFH why the plumbing and electrics were no inspected prior to letting, they informed us that there is no legal requirement to do so, so they don't advise landlords to do it. However, upon hearing about the problems, our landlord has been incredibly supportive and co-operative in trying to get things rectified as soon as possible. We can't ask for more than that. The problem is that in her eagerness to make life easier on us, she was duped into signing up for 12 months of property management when the problems first arose. This was also due to her having some personal matters to attend to and worrying that she might not have the time to devote to the repairs. I promise you she is actually a very nice landlord and we get on with her well.
Problem number 1: After spending the best part of a week chasing Patricia (property manager) to try and find out what was happening with our plumbing repairs, I eventually gave up and went to the Landlord directly. Following that, I received a rude and abrupt phone call at work from Patricia chastising me for hassling the landlord, even though she herself had not bothered to return any of my calls.
Problem number 2: Apparently property management don't see the value in telling you when they've dispatched a contractor to your home. They just send them round. The contractor may or may not contact you to tell you when they are coming and it's up to you to be in when they arrive to fix the problem. If you're not in and they can't gain access, property management will then charge you for the wasted call out fee.
Problem number 3: Upon speaking to my landlord again, it became apparent that she was under the impression that in the event of a contractor needing to visit the property for repairs, someone from property management would attend if we (the tenants) were unavailable. This is incorrect. We now know that if there is no one available, property management give a set of your keys to the contractor and allow them to go in unattended. Yes, they give a complete stranger a set of your keys and let them go into your home, where you keep all your worldly possessions, unsupervised. Brilliant idea. What could possibly go wrong?
Problem number 4: Property management have a number of contractors at there disposal. You may get lucky and get a good one (in fairness, they have a great plumbing company called APS - very good and helpful!) but some of them are awful. When they sent someone round to assess the oven repair, we were told a part needed to be replaced and that a report would be sent to KFH. We anticipated some kind of update regarding what would happen next. The next thing we knew, a contractor called saying he was coming to deliver a new oven in half an hour. He showed up for all of 15 minutes, installed a very poor quality oven that retails at £150, took away the much better quality oven that had previously been in situ and charged my landlord just shy of £250 for the privilege. KFH had apparently orchestrated all of this without even speaking to us. The people who actually have to live with and use said oven, not to mention pay the bill for the electricity to power it. When I spoke to the landlord about it, she said KFH had told her they were replacing it, but had no idea that they had replaced it with such a cheap model in light of what she paid. When I told her what had happened she was also very upset and in agreement with us. We could have gotten a better one from Argos or Currys delivered and installed for less than what KFH's contractor charged. This is currently being disputed.
Problem number 5: It would seem that when Patricia is on holiday, no one else in her team can progress any of the issues that were reported before she left. So we were left waiting a week until she got back. Even after she got back, we still got no update.
We have been in our property for only a month. I have already spent countless hours phoning back and forth between contractors, taking time off work to be at home for them to visit and phoning/texting back and forth with my landlord, in spite of property management supposedly being the point of contact. They are constantly unavailable and never get back to us. My landlord has told me she is already regretting getting them involved. She thought she was doing us a favour, but in fact it was quite the opposite. I honestly see no value in the property management service whatsoever. They charge the landlord a percentage of the rent for sending round contractors that overcharge even further. They don't liaise with the tenant at all, and are no help when it comes to facilitating the contractors visits. It would have been easier and cheaper for the landlord to have dealt with us direct. Instead we now have this third party involved, muddying the waters and skimming off extra money for the next 11 months at least. Fabulous.
So in summary, if you are interested in a lettings only arrangement with the Crystal Palace branch, go for it. They are amazing. But for the love of all that is sacred and dear to you, PLEASE do not take on the property management service.
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