Searchers Letting Agency
Hall Green, Birmingham, B28
4.8/5, 53 reviews
96% recommended
87% lettings valuation accuracy
92% lettings fee satisfaction

“Agent from hell...”

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Nov 08,2019
Minithumbdown
By: 'farah'
Nov 08,2019
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I used this agent for finding a tenant as well as to manage my brand-new apartment. They were supposed to manage my property for 18 months and the whole experience has been an absolute nightmare.
In summary:
They were totally incompetent and did not have a clue about the responsibilities of a property managing agent. Throughout they acted unprofessionally and failed to fulfil any of the tasks expected of them. I considered taking legal action against them as I found them responsible for the financial losses I suffered due to their negligence, but eventually I decided against it as I thought the process would have negative effect on my health.


The detail:

I bought this flat from new.

The first tenant left without paying the rent. The agent then let it to another tenant, the deposit from the previous tenant paid for their cost. The deposit should have covered at least some of the unpaid rent.

They then found me a new tenant. Apparently, the tenant was smoking drugs, yet the agent was denying that. I was only made aware of the situation after the police got involved.

A few weeks ago, the tenant gave his notice, to my horror my new flat was left like a dump. I could not even get into the flat because the locks were changed. The agent wasn’t even aware of this. When the agent was questioned, they brought all kind of excuses. This agent was not even capable of managing a set of keys let alone the whole of the flat.

When the tenant vacated, the freezer was left with food, frozen and dirty. The fridge was dirty (this was supposed to be a brand-new fridge/freezer). The new bathroom ruined, the new bathtub looked filthy, (my understanding is that the tenant was smoking weed in the bath,). The agent should have noted and warned the tenant about the state of the bathroom during their so-called inspection. Yet they hadn’t even notice this, during their so-called inspections, leaving me to think that they perhaps never visited the property. Despite their close vicinity to the flat.

I was aware of the agent’s incompetency, I decided to arrange the end of the tenancy cleaning myself. However, agent would not deduct the incurred cost from the deposit. Instead they said they have sent their own cleaners. But their cleaner did not do a good job. Yet they deducted a large sum of money from the deposit for themselves and left me out of pocket.

They returned the rest of the deposit without my agreement.

Since then, I have noticed that the tiles in the kitchen floor is burnt, (this could have happened when the tenant smoked weed in my flat), the new PVC windows have been drilled, the locks on the windows are not working.

I was expecting the managing agent to go through the inventory and check every part of the flat before releasing the deposit, yet they never did that, in fact I don’t think they even had an inventory, as they didn’t even know how many keys they had given to the tenant.

So fellow landlords stay away from this company, I was so stressed that I could not even deal with them anymore and whole situation affected my health. I was paying a premium price for a dreadful service
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By: Searchers Lettings
Nov 12, 2019
You're entitled to your opinion, however I am not discussing this matter any further. We wish you all the best with your new Tenant.
By: Farah
Nov 12, 2019
This is exactly how you behaved throughout. Instead of taking responsibility, you shift the blame. If you have any understanding of property management, it would have been your responsibility to check the property throughout before the occupation and after to ensure that every little detail is covered. You didn’t even take a proper inventory. Even the keys left with you were not managed properly and labelled correctly. You really need to shake up your acts of you want to stay in business.
By: Searchers Lettings
Nov 11, 2019
Unfortunately Mrs Razavi I cannot spend my time responding to every comment you make.

Your husband checked the property himself, he actually checked the property before we visited to complete our checkout. The issues he raised have been dealt with, albeit not to your high expectations but I think the previous photos I have attached show that the work was carried out to a very good standard.

This window has not been mentioned before and has not been noted, neither by ourselves or by you, it will not be replaced. The previous tenant vacated early October and the new tenant moved in around 3 weeks later and has been in the property for approx 3 weeks already. This hole could have been caused by anyone during this time.
By: Farah razavi
Nov 11, 2019
You need to pay for the replacement window , this is in the main bedroom, the tenant has damaged the window. Drilled wholes on the frame, he has changed the handle. You need to pay for replacing the window. You were supposed to look after my property and I paid you to do that . You should have checked all of theses before letting the tenant to leave and release his deposit, if you don’t sort the window I will have no choice but to take a legal action .
Attachments

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By: Searchers Lettings
Nov 11, 2019
It is unfortunate that you have felt the need to leave such a devastating review, that not only bends the truth to suit your argument, but also does not show the full story. I would also point out that many of the issues you raise are down to the way a Tenant has left your property upon vacating, this is not something we can control, and is not a reflection of our service.

The first Tenant, who relocated to the area with new employment, unfortunately lost her job, we arranged for her to vacate the property quickly and then re-let it quickly in order to mitigate your losses.

We did receive complaints in regards to drugs being used at the property, but never found any evidence of this to be true, nor did we ever receive information that Police were involved, in similar cases if Police were involved, as the Managing Agent they would have liaised with us. The Management Company for the building were also involved as the Tenant suffered many complaints, none of which were ever backed up with any evidence or ever found to be truthful, and the Management Company did not take the matter any further. It is my opinion that the tenant was misjudged from the day he moved in, due to his ethnicity, his age and the car he drove, the complaints were stereotypical of this persons ethnicity and never proved to be truthful.

The property was kept to a good standard when we carried out inspections and we had no cause for concerns during the Tenancy. I will agree the property was not left in a good state when he vacated, it was far from a ‘dump’ but it did require some cleaning. The property was cleaned by our contractors, the bath was resealed (I note that you included the before picture, but not the picture after the work had been completed, I have attached this, along with other pictures to show the condition after our cleaners had attended). The contents of the Freezer would have been removed by our cleaners, however you had already visited the property beforehand and took it upon yourself to remove the food, you did not need to do this.

In regards to the keys, as we have explained to you, we had two sets of keys as we attended the property to carry out viewings whilst the Tenant was still there and still in possession of his own set of keys. The only key we did not have, was one lock of the front door which had been changed, the Tenant had a tendency to lock himself out, as he collected keys from us on more than one occasion, We believe he may have locked himself out during a time that our office was closed and subsequently changed the lock to regain access. A member of your family attended our office to collect our keys to have the new key cut for your own set, we handed this person all the keys we had (8 keys) we then only received 4 keys back, and was then told we had only provided one set, this was not the case.

The inventory was checked during the checkout, however some aspects were deemed to be fair wear and tear, this is something you have not accepted, you have expected the property to be returned in pristene brand new condition, which after 18 months of occupation would not be the case. You also had an issue with changing skirting boards which were damaged due to a leak from the bathroom, this again was something you had blamed the Tenant for, which was not the case.

It was never agreed that you would carry out any of the cleaning works yourself, and if this had been agreed we would not have sent our own contractors, and then could have reimbursed you your costs.
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Opening Hours
Address

Searchers Letting Agency
1043 Stratford Road
Hall Green,Birmingham
West Midlands
B28 8AS
01217022222

Performance statistics
Services Valuation Accuracy Fees Satisfaction Min Price of property reviewed Max Price of property reviewed
Lettings 87% 92% £400 £1,300
Review statistics
From Landlords From Tenants From Vendors From Buyers Other
15 1 34 1 0 0 0 0 2 0
Areas covered
  • B28
  • B90
  • B27
  • B91
  • B26
  • B92
  • B11
  • B12
  • B13
  • B14
  • B15
  • B16
  • B17
Services offered
  • Sales
  • Lettings
  • Block Management
  • Surveys
  • Conveyancing
  • Mortgage Advice
  • Home Builder
Members of
NAEA ARLA TDS SAGEagent
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Jan 26,2023
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Jan 26,2023
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Thank you Chloe, really appreciate the brilliant review. Hopefully you have settled in well. ...

“Excellent communication...”

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Sep 07,2022
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By: 'James B'
Sep 07,2022
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Thank You for your review, it's very much appreciated ...

“People from Searchers were really helpful esp......”

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Sep 02,2022
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By: 'Siddharth'
Sep 02,2022
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People from Searchers were really helpful especially Sam who had made the move in really amazing with their prompt processing....
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“Very Professional, well experienced and hones......”

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Apr 29,2022
Minithumbup
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By: 'Syed'
Apr 29,2022
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Very Professional, well experienced and honest team. They assist/guide me very well during all the process related to my application for renting a house. My prayers and good wishes are with them....
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Thank You Syed. I hope you're settling in OK. ...

“Really good service. Special shoutout to Jenn......”

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Feb 11,2022
Minithumbup
Jenna
By: 'Ana'
Feb 11,2022
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Really good service. Special shoutout to Jenna who helped me with everything! Place is nice and would definitely recommend this state agent...
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Thank You Ana. All the best with your new Tenancy, I hope you settle in OK. ...

“Found a really nice property share. Housemate......”

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Feb 08,2022
Minithumbup
Jenna
By: 'Richard Rennie'
Feb 08,2022
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Found a really nice property share. Housemates are great. The house is very clean. I'm not very computer lit. So I had a bit of trouble downloading this and that. But hey ho, I got there in the end. Everything is great though...
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Mar 24, 2022
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Thank You Richard, I'm glad you're settling in OK. ...

“An efficient and professional service receive......”

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Nov 08,2021
Minithumbup
By: 'Caroline Lewis'
Nov 08,2021
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An efficient and professional service received in order to find new tenants for my property and carry out all necessary procedures....
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Nov 08, 2021
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Thank You Caroline. ...

“Professional service. Keen to get tenants in.......”

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Sep 17,2021
Minithumbup
Kerri
By: 'Salim'
Sep 17,2021
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Professional service. Keen to get tenants in. Provided good advice on refurbishment of my property. I would recommend Searchers as a lettings agent....
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Sep 20, 2021
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Thank You Salim. Much appreciated. ...

“excellent service...”

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Jul 20,2021
Minithumbup
By: 'Marta'
Jul 20,2021
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Excellent service, very kind and helpful staff. I would recommend them for everyone who looks for a coffy and safe abode for yourself....
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Jul 21, 2021
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Thank you Marta. I hope you have settled in well. ...

“10/10...”

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Jul 20,2021
Minithumbup
Jenna
By: 'Samah'
Jul 20,2021
0 people found
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Searchers were very helpful in helping me find a property. They were very hands on and always gave me fast responses when required. Would defo recommend!! Jenna Gilkes in particular was very helpful, I truly appreciate her help....
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By: Searchers Lettings
Aug 10, 2021
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Thank You Samah, much appreciated. I will let Jenna know as well. ...

“James Taylor was very helpful throughout the ......”

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Jun 21,2021
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Danielle Gibson'
Jun 21,2021
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James Taylor was very helpful throughout the whole process, very responsive which meant everything happened quickly and smoothly. Thanks for all your help....
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Jun 21, 2021
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Thank You Danielle. Hope you're settling into the property OK. All the best ...

“Brilliant service, the staff are very helpful......”

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Jun 20,2021
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Maria Defriez'
Jun 20,2021
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Brilliant service, the staff are very helpful & patient, especially James. Although we had some problems which held up the process, they waited for us to resolve these & we are now settling in to our new flat...
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Jun 21, 2021
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Thank you for the review, we're glad you're finally in and can now get settled. If you need anything, you know where we are. ...

“Searchers for Stress Free Property Management...”

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Jan 12,2021
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Shiva'
Jan 12,2021
0 people found
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I contacted Searchers Residential letting for renting my property in Hall Green. Nicki propmptly came along to do the initial review, provided a fair rental value estimation and details of types of services they provide. As this is my 1st rental property I decided to ...
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“Great letting agent really helpful and very p......”

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Dec 09,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Sonny'
Dec 09,2020
0 people found
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Great letting agent really helpful and very polite got everythink sorted very quick and moved in fast can’t say anythink bad with my experience best letting agent so far from my previous 3 property’s...
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Dec 11, 2020
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Thank You Sonny, appreciate the feedback. Hope you've settled in OK ...

“Great service....”

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Nov 26,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Saran'
Nov 26,2020
0 people found
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Great service from start to finish. It was professional and timely. We couldn't ask for more. Everything went as it should....
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Dec 21, 2020
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Thank You Saran, glad you were happy with the service received. ...

“I have used Searchers to manage the letting o......”

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Nov 11,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Evelin'
Nov 11,2020
0 people found
this helpful
I have used Searchers to manage the letting of my apartment since 2018. Before that I used a letting agent which was part of a large UK chain and I never spoke to the same person twice. Searchers are a local company with excellent knowledge of ...
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Nov 12, 2020
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Thank You Evelin, we're very pleased to see you have been happy with the service provided these past few years. Thank you for the review, it's much appreciated ...

“House...”

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Nov 09,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Jackson'
Nov 09,2020
0 people found
this helpful
I thank you the team at searchers letting agency especially James Taylor for answering my questions promptly and facilitating a smooth move. I am looking forward to working with this agent in the future. I thought find in a house was gonna be a hard ...
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By: James Taylor
Nov 10, 2020
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Thank You Jackson, more than happy to help. Hope you're settling in OK. ...

“James and his colleagues were very profession......”

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Sep 15,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'M'
Sep 15,2020
0 people found
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James and his colleagues were very professional, they managed to pick up any queries I had and got back to me very quickly . Letting process was straightforward and efficient ....
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By: Searchers Lettings
Sep 17, 2020
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Thank you for your review, it's much appreciated. ...

“Nice and easy do deal with good letting agent......”

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Aug 27,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Tony'
Aug 27,2020
0 people found
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Nice and easy do deal with good letting agents. Not one problem so far so all good. I would use them again...
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“James was incredibly helpful through the enti......”

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Aug 18,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Daniel'
Aug 18,2020
0 people found
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James was incredibly helpful through the entire process and responded very promptly to all my questions. He explained anything I needed explaining clearly and I felt confident in his expertise. I would highly recommend Searchers....
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“Excellent service let within 2 weeks of appoi......”

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Aug 13,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Shamsul'
Aug 13,2020
0 people found
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Excellent service let within 2 weeks of appointing Searchers very professional have used their services before I would recommend Searchers for quality of service...
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By: Searchers Lettings
Aug 13, 2020
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Thank You Shamsul, glad you're happy with the service, always good to see Landlords returning to us. All the best. ...

“Excellent service and very prompt replies to ......”

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Jul 07,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Aju'
Jul 07,2020
0 people found
this helpful
Excellent service and very prompt replies to mails and requests.We were given updates promptly and advised about realistic time schedules as well.Over all we had a great service....
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By: Searchers Lettings
Jul 08, 2020
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Thank You Dr Chacko, glad you're settling in OK and happy with the service so far. ...

“Great service...”

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Apr 01,2020
Minithumbup
By: 'Alyssa'
Apr 01,2020
0 people found
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Great service, desperate to move due to relocating for work, referencing done quickly, flat was immaculate and very happy with the service...
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By: Searchers Lettings
Apr 01, 2020
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Thank You, all the best in your new home. ...

“Searchers letting agency were fantastic...”

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Mar 31,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'John'
Mar 31,2020
0 people found
this helpful
Searchers letting agency were fantastic in helping me find the right property for me.. I gave them all the details in a property I was looking for and they found them all in the one property.. couldn't recommend them enough thank you...
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By: Searchers Lettings
Apr 01, 2020
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Glad to be of service, all the best in your new home. Thank You for your review. ...

“Searchers Lettings were quite helpful in assi......”

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Jan 24,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Savithry'
Jan 24,2020
0 people found
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Searchers Lettings were quite helpful in assisting me to find a property. Extremely professional and very well-organised and managed. Would love to co-ordinate with them henceforth in the future....
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By: Searchers Lettings
Jan 24, 2020
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Thank You very much for your feedback, always happy to help ...

“Serious staff! I reccomand it. I didn't had a......”

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Jan 24,2020
Minithumbup
By: 'Adela'
Jan 24,2020
0 people found
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Serious staff! I reccomand it. I didn't had any issue regarding of the new flat I rent, all done in a easiest way ....
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By: Searchers Lettings
Jan 24, 2020
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Thank You Adela, glad you've settled in well. Any issues, drop us a message ...

“Great efficient service received from the tea......”

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Jan 13,2020
Minithumbup
James
By: 'Jiten'
Jan 13,2020
0 people found
this helpful
Great efficient service received from the team at searches. They were helpfull and we got the property let quickly. Thank you...
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By: Searchers Lettings
Jan 24, 2020
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Thank You Jiten, appreciate the feedback. Glad you're happy with the service ...

“Agent from hell...”

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Nov 08,2019
Minithumbdown
By: 'farah'
Nov 08,2019
0 people found
this helpful
I used this agent for finding a tenant as well as to manage my brand-new apartment. They were supposed to manage my property for 18 months and the whole experience has been an absolute nightmare. In summary: They were totally incompetent and did not have a ...
read full review
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By: Searchers Lettings
Nov 12, 2019
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You're entitled to your opinion, however I am not discussing this matter any further. We wish you all the best with your new Tenant. ...

“Efficient service...”

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May 15,2019
Minithumbup
Emma
By: 'Emma'
May 15,2019
0 people found
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Helpful and friendly staff, supported me into my first tenancy. Patiently answered my many questions. Thank you James and Julie. Would definitely recommend...
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Comment on agent fees
As expected
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By: James Taylor
May 15, 2019
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Thanks Emma, glad you're settling in OK. Good Luck ...
No fees information available
Kindly note that legally, letting agents need to publish information about their tenancy fees, government-approved redress schemes and client money protection schemes on their website and on third party websites (on which agents are listed). For properties to lease/rent in England, agents need to keep this information up to date and precise on allAgents or specify within the property description.

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Last updated at 11:23 AM 25/09/2017 by James Taylor

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