67% sales valuation accuracy
100% sales fee satisfaction
100% lettings valuation accuracy
86% lettings fee satisfaction
Aug 05,2020
Aug 05,2020
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It is with regret that I write of my unpleasant experience with Oliver Towns. We travelled to London specifically for three days of house viewings and over the course of those three days saw ten different properties, with ten different agencies - Oliver Towns were by far the worst. I booked a viewing for a property in Camden Monday morning and with all credit to the agent, was booked in for a viewing that same afternoon. We arrived on-time at 2 o’clock and the experience was initially positive, greeted by the agent cordially and taken inside the property, where we were shown around and given some basic information. Unfortunately that is where the positive experience stops. From then on we were victims of rather obvious, but still incredibly uncomfortable pressure-selling tactics and general unhelpful-ness.
Little did we know that we were booked in for a viewing lasting only 20 minutes (our first example of pressure-selling) - this may be ample time for some properties but for us, we needed and expected a little more time to explore the property and have our questions answered. We were rushed around, with little time to take anything in and when we did have genuine questions like “is the energy supplied to the house Gas or electric”, “we’ve spotted some damp, has the previous tenant ever had any problems with damp previously” and “are bills included in the price” which some agencies offered, we were dismissed straight off the bat, as if we were silly even to ask.
The second was when my partner asked if it would be possible to return for a second viewing. This was laughed off and again the pressure selling continued as we were informed that the property would not be available the following day, no more viewings were taking place after ours and actually the landlord had received an offer which he had accepted and that, if we wanted the property we needed to tell her by close of business. At this point the agent announced “I’m not lying” and actually showed us a text message from the landlord, informing the agent an offer had come through, which he was happy to accept and to liaise with her colleague, Rodney, to get the ball rolling. We wondered at this stage if we were even meant to be viewing a property which was clearly under-offer and, with evidence of the text in full view, the landlord had accepted. We left feeling rushed, overwhelmed and completely frazzled with what we had experienced and felt that, if we wanted that property we had to rush into placing an offer, after a 20 minute viewing where questions were left unanswered.
Despite our first experience, we loved the property so much we decided to give the agent another chance and called them to ask for a second viewing of the property with family. This was our first experience living in London, flat-hunting in London and renting in London and, with a relatively large budget we wanted the second opinion of family to ask any questions we may have missed. The reaction from the agent was unsurprisingly, less than accommodating. The agent said and I quote, she felt “uncomfortable” at bringing family to see the property, that it showed “uncertainty to the landlord” and that parents can often “get in the way” of a potential signing. Only when I said to her that viewing the property with family could result in a positive outcome of a signing did she change her tune and agree to it.
Unsurprisingly, when we returned with a member of our family she was pretty sheepish and left the property entirely to sit outside in her car. Interestingly, with a family member present her attitude changed completely - there was no pressuring into decisions changing from “you need to give me an answer today” to “give me a call and let me know”. It’s funny how the agent’s attitude could change so dramticially between when we viewed as a couple versus when we viewed with family.
As of posting today, the property is still on the Oliver Towns website, contrary to the agent grandstanding that it wouldn’t be available the following day and contrary to the text message she showed from the landlord stating he had accepted an offer. I’d leave it to the reader to decide whether that text was a phantom offer in order to pressure potential clients.
It is obvious from our experience with Oliver Towns that this particular agent regarded us, as students and first-time renters in London, “fair game”. to be pressure-sold a flat. Out of 10 agencies we viewed with, ALL asides from Oliver Towns did their utmost to answer any and all questions we had - they offered us second viewings as standard, welcomed family members to view the flats and worked tirelessly to put any worries we had at ease. We never felt pressured into a decision, we’re never patronised for asking questions (no matter how obvious) and felt we had the time we needed to make an informed decision, even with the rental market moving quickly.
I would encourage anyone, especially; students, young professionals and first time renters in London to think twice about using Oliver Towns. I also propose the question: why buy or rent through an agency who clearly have no time or respect for their customers?
Little did we know that we were booked in for a viewing lasting only 20 minutes (our first example of pressure-selling) - this may be ample time for some properties but for us, we needed and expected a little more time to explore the property and have our questions answered. We were rushed around, with little time to take anything in and when we did have genuine questions like “is the energy supplied to the house Gas or electric”, “we’ve spotted some damp, has the previous tenant ever had any problems with damp previously” and “are bills included in the price” which some agencies offered, we were dismissed straight off the bat, as if we were silly even to ask.
The second was when my partner asked if it would be possible to return for a second viewing. This was laughed off and again the pressure selling continued as we were informed that the property would not be available the following day, no more viewings were taking place after ours and actually the landlord had received an offer which he had accepted and that, if we wanted the property we needed to tell her by close of business. At this point the agent announced “I’m not lying” and actually showed us a text message from the landlord, informing the agent an offer had come through, which he was happy to accept and to liaise with her colleague, Rodney, to get the ball rolling. We wondered at this stage if we were even meant to be viewing a property which was clearly under-offer and, with evidence of the text in full view, the landlord had accepted. We left feeling rushed, overwhelmed and completely frazzled with what we had experienced and felt that, if we wanted that property we had to rush into placing an offer, after a 20 minute viewing where questions were left unanswered.
Despite our first experience, we loved the property so much we decided to give the agent another chance and called them to ask for a second viewing of the property with family. This was our first experience living in London, flat-hunting in London and renting in London and, with a relatively large budget we wanted the second opinion of family to ask any questions we may have missed. The reaction from the agent was unsurprisingly, less than accommodating. The agent said and I quote, she felt “uncomfortable” at bringing family to see the property, that it showed “uncertainty to the landlord” and that parents can often “get in the way” of a potential signing. Only when I said to her that viewing the property with family could result in a positive outcome of a signing did she change her tune and agree to it.
Unsurprisingly, when we returned with a member of our family she was pretty sheepish and left the property entirely to sit outside in her car. Interestingly, with a family member present her attitude changed completely - there was no pressuring into decisions changing from “you need to give me an answer today” to “give me a call and let me know”. It’s funny how the agent’s attitude could change so dramticially between when we viewed as a couple versus when we viewed with family.
As of posting today, the property is still on the Oliver Towns website, contrary to the agent grandstanding that it wouldn’t be available the following day and contrary to the text message she showed from the landlord stating he had accepted an offer. I’d leave it to the reader to decide whether that text was a phantom offer in order to pressure potential clients.
It is obvious from our experience with Oliver Towns that this particular agent regarded us, as students and first-time renters in London, “fair game”. to be pressure-sold a flat. Out of 10 agencies we viewed with, ALL asides from Oliver Towns did their utmost to answer any and all questions we had - they offered us second viewings as standard, welcomed family members to view the flats and worked tirelessly to put any worries we had at ease. We never felt pressured into a decision, we’re never patronised for asking questions (no matter how obvious) and felt we had the time we needed to make an informed decision, even with the rental market moving quickly.
I would encourage anyone, especially; students, young professionals and first time renters in London to think twice about using Oliver Towns. I also propose the question: why buy or rent through an agency who clearly have no time or respect for their customers?
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Latest Reviews
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reviewed by 'Jesse'
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reviewed by 'A'
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reviewed by 'Chloe'
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reviewed by 'Isabelle'
5th Aug 2020
reviewed by 'Joseph'
Opening Hours
Address
Olivers Town Estate Agents
189 Kentish Town Road
London
Greater London
NW5 2JU
020 7284 5054
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 67% | 100% | £1,075,000,000 | £1,075,000,000 |
| Lettings | 100% | 86% | £1,235 | £1,450 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Areas covered
Services offered
- Sales
- Lettings
- Block Management
- Surveys
- Conveyancing
- Mortgage Advice
- Home Builder
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Jan 30,2023
Jan 30,2023
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WARNING TO ALL, DO NOT RENT WITH OLIVERS TOWN.
We had the unfortunate experience of renting with OT. Below are just some of what we had to deal with
1. Left without a fridge for 6 weeks. Even after using their own property management forms they were ...
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Dec 18,2022
Dec 18,2022
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Stephen Codner and the team at Olivers Town went above and beyond helping us sell our house in Kentish Town from start to finish, professionally and sympathetically in our sad circumstances. Nothing was too much for Stephen. If you are thinking of selling your home ...
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Jul 16,2022
Jul 16,2022
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This is by far the worst letting agent I have ever had. When looking for a property to rent, they were very helpful and proactive. Once you signed a contract, it was like you didn't exist. Would ignore important maintenance requests for months, and you ...
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Sep 15,2020
Sep 15,2020
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After 3 years with Oliver’s Town, I have gathered so many bad experiences that it almost seems unrealistic for one company to mess up on so many levels. From leaving us, the tenants, without a shower for over a month and without a washing machine ...
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Aug 05,2020
Aug 05,2020
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It is with regret that I write of my unpleasant experience with Oliver Towns. We travelled to London specifically for three days of house viewings and over the course of those three days saw ten different properties, with ten different agencies - Oliver Towns were ...
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Jun 01,2020
Jun 01,2020
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We have been helped by the lovely Mina at Oliver's Town (Kentish Town). She was so friendly, accommodating and practical. She made the viewing a fun experience and helped us put in an offer which was accepted but also worked for us (all during the ...
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Oct 02,2018
Oct 02,2018
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Mina is an excellent estate agent; we connected in the morning, saw a number of properties together throughout the day and by 7pm that evening she'd secured a winning bid for me on a property that was highly sought after and even being advertised by ...
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Comment on agent fees
Fees are standard for London
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Apr 21,2018
Apr 21,2018
1
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We gave Oliver's our keys so they could view our property while we were at work. They came to the property, removed all our post which they have thrown away and then did not lock the front door when they left. When we emailed to ...
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Mar 02,2018
Mar 02,2018
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I would like to thank Paul at Olivers, who sold my house for me, Paul, you were very professional, and kept me informed at every stage, you made selling a property a joy!! Many thanks Jax...
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Comment on agent fees
My experience was beyond satisfactory
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Dec 07,2017
Dec 07,2017
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Linda Posada could not have been more helpful and obliging, coming with keys at all sorts of difficult times to accommodate me or my surveyor or builder. She never lost her sense of humour in spite of delays and was efficient and accommodating at all ...
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Aug 06,2017
Aug 06,2017
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Sincere thanks to the team at Oliver's.
There are many estate agencies out there. Many who paint a promising picture but there are not many who work and engage with you in the way Oliver's do. The genuine care and real friendship the professionalism is ...
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Mar 01,2017
Mar 01,2017
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Oliver found me the perfect flat in the perfect location - speedy, efficient and a good negotiator I thoroughly recommend him.
He was also accommodating, thoughtful and kind - qualities that can only be an asset in an estate agent.
I have confidence that my ...
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Nov 13,2016
Nov 13,2016
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The whole experience was very quick and painless. I first spoke to Mina on a thursday morning, viewed that evening, and put an offer in the next day. The service was very quick, friendly and professional. Mina explained everything each step of the way and ...
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Comment on agent fees
Given that fees are a necessary evil, I did not feel the agent's fees were unreasonable or abnormally high.
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Nov 21,2015
Nov 21,2015
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Chris was very helpful in guiding us through the process of buying a one bedroom flat in a competitive market. He was very straightforward to deal with, and did not have the fake friendliness or tendency to big up inferior properties that we encountered in ...
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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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