I have used Castle Estates to manage my flat for several years now. When looking around for an managing agent, I spent quite a while meeting agents from all the usual suspects in the area as well as some independents. The only genuinely helpful advice I received was from Castle Estates who assessed my specific property and situation and provided a range of insights and suggestions. All of the others (without exception) trotted out the usual sales patter, much keener to tell me how good they were than to provide any meaningful advice specific to my needs. Since electing to use them on the basis of that initial meeting, they have consistently exceeded my expectations. It goes without saying that they take care of all the day-to-day property management issues - everything is done quickly and efficiently and over the years there have often been long periods where I only hear from them with their regular property inspection reports and the monthly rent payments. That is to say they take care of most issues without needing to involve me and only get in touch when necessary. Their judgment in these situations has always been spot on - they are not one of these agents who happily spend your money for you and have always been in touch when larger issues need sorting out. Generally though everything runs smoothly and the tenants are always happy, which is obviously what this is all about. They have handled contract renewals with the minimum of fuss and have always provided objective advice on rent increases. They have on occasion advised against an annual rent increase based on real-time assessments of the local market, even though a rent increase would have also increased their own fees. It's that type of advice and input that I really appreciate. However, whilst the day to day stuff is managed brilliantly, it's on the occasions when there's been a problem that Castle Estates have really delivered. There have been several incidents over the years ranging from a break-in to a flood from the flat above. In each and every case they have managed the process of sorting it all out better than I could have done myself. As I don't live anywhere near the flat, they have managed absolutely every aspect of fixing the various problems. In every case where there's been a choice to be made, for example, paint colour, carpet type or choosing between different laminate floors, they have provided a range of options and expressed their own opinions which have inevitably been proven right. They have a lot of experience of what works in rental properties and I trust their judgment implicitly. As a remote landlord, this also gives me great peace of mind. With regards to the flood mentioned previously, the process for sorting this out took something like 10 months. Throughout it all they kept me and the tenants constantly informed, managed everyone's expectations, liaised with the loss assessors, provided all the detailed information necessary for the claim and generally did absolutely everything within their power to get the problem sorted out. They liaised and managed all the various contractors involved it the repairs and even lent their own dehumidifiers to speed up the drying process. Despite the process dragging on and on, everything was managed with good humour and common sense. I have dealt mainly with Claire Rhoades-Brown, Judith Loeffler and Tarryn I have used Castle Estates to manage my flat for several years now. When looking around for an managing agent, I spent quite a while meeting agents from all the usual suspects in the area as well as some independents. The only genuinely helpful advice I received was from Castle Estates who assessed my specific property and situation and provided a range of insights and suggestions. All of the others (without exception) trotted out the usual sales patter, much keener to tell me how good they were than to provide any meaningful advice specific to my needs. Since electing to use them on the basis of that initial meeting, they have consistently exceeded my expectations. It goes without saying that they take care of all the day-to-day property management issues - everything is done quickly and efficiently and over the years there have often been long periods where I only hear from them with their regular property inspection reports and the monthly rent payments. That is to say they take care of most issues without needing to involve me and only get in touch when necessary. Their judgment in these situations has always been spot on - they are not one of these agents who happily spend your money for you and have always been in touch when larger issues need sorting out. Generally though everything runs smoothly and the tenants are always happy, which is obviously what this is all about. They have handled contract renewals with the minimum of fuss and have always provided objective advice on rent increases. They have on occasion advised against an annual rent increase based on real-time assessments of the local market, even though a rent increase would have also increased their own fees. It's that type of advice and input that I really appreciate. However, whilst the day to day stuff is managed brilliantly, it's on the occasions when there's been a problem that Castle Estates have really delivered. There have been several incidents over the years ranging from a break-in to a flood from the flat above. In each and every case they have managed the process of sorting it all out better than I could have done myself. As I don't live anywhere near the flat, they have managed absolutely every aspect of fixing the various problems. In every case where there's been a choice to be made, for example, paint colour, carpet type or choosing between different laminate floors, they have provided a range of options and expressed their own opinions which have inevitably been proven right. They have a lot of experience of what works in rental properties and I trust their judgment implicitly. As a remote landlord, this also gives me great peace of mind. With regards to the flood mentioned previously, the process for sorting this out took something like 10 months. Throughout it all they kept me and the tenants constantly informed on the phone and by email, managed everyone's expectations, liaised with the loss assessors, provided all the detailed information necessary for the claim and generally did absolutely everything within their power to get the problem sorted out. They liaised and managed all the various contractors involved it the repairs and even lent their own dehumidifiers to speed up the drying process. Despite the process dragging on, everything was managed with good humour and common sense. I really don't know how I would have got it all sorted out without them. As you will have gathered, I'm a big fan of Castle Estates. It's a cliche however they genuinely do go above and beyond what's expected - their service levels are truly amazing and as an added bonus their fees are also very competitive. I have dealt mainly with Claire Rhoades-Brown, Judith Loeffler and Tarryn Leathem and can't speak highly enough of them, but in their absence all the other team members have dealt with things equally competently. If you're thinking of using them, you really should - it makes the job of being a Landlord almost painless, which is praise indeed.