By : 'let' Services : Letting( As a Owner ) Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : WA
29 Aug 2013
People found this helpful0
First rental property, used Black Bear as they looked like a reputable agent who actually cared. Had such a positive buzz from the agent who came to inspect the property at first, it seemed that my home would be in the safest possible hands. BB found a tenant after a few weeks, i was told very... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
BB need to bare their customers in mind, appoint a more friendly less aggressive manager
Services : Letting( As a Owner )Date: 28th Aug 2013
First rental property, used Black Bear as they looked like a reputable agent who actually cared. Had such a positive buzz from the agent who came to inspect the property at first, it seemed that my home would be in the safest possible hands. BB found a tenant after a few weeks, i was told very little apart from that the tenant was expecting a baby. The first tenant moved in in October 2011 in December we had to replace the felt roof over the bathroom as it was "leaking", when i visited the property around this time i found out the tenant(s) spoke very little english and had only been in the country 6 months and there was actually 4 people living in the house when i was only informed of 1 tenant. They paid the rent on time which was great but we could not communicate with them at all. There was a slight damp problem at the front of the house and i asked BB to get it sorted, they said they would and when i enquired about it a few months later nothing had been done. Anyway, so when the first tenant(s) moved out they left a lot of junk in the house but BB got them to shift it. So, August 2012 and BB have lined up a new tenant for the house...2 weeks before i was due to go on holiday the tenant informs that the boiler does not work and i have to get it replaced which cost over £1000, didn't have any further problems up until December 2012 when the rent was late and it continued to be late every month after that. Like every other person in the world i have bills to pay too, the rent money is used to pay the insurance etc when the tenant doesnt pay the rent it starts a domino effect from December 2012 until August 2013 the rent was late every single month. After a few of those late payments i would complain mainly to the manager Laura Khan who is the most aggressive person i have ever met! I am paying BB money to fully manage my property and make sure its in the best hands, every time i complained about tenant issues she just didn't seem to care and told me its what rental properties come with. For someone i'm paying i expect them to make me happy and alls she did was infuriate me. In June 2013 the rent problem with the tenant got me so angry that i complained yet again to Laura who said that i had an attitude problem and she wouldn't have me attacking the company anymore and gave me 7 days notice that they were terminating the management of the property. I couldn't care less that they gave me notice, what bothers me is that i was paying them money to manage my property, in my opinion they were not managing it properly with the 2 tenants that they had in the property. The property was then taken over by a different agency. I'm not overly convinced that BB perform the reference/credit checks that they say they do. The last tenant has left my property in an absolute mess, it looks like its been rented by animals. Its now the end of August 2013 and the second tenant who moved in last August has moved out after causing hundreds of pounds worth damage i.e. smashed windows, damaged furniture etc they also didn't pay the last rent installment. The problems that i have had with this last tenant all stem from Black Bear, they chose the tenant, they didn't inform me of the damage caused shortly before they ceased management.
In short, if you want someone to manage your property who are: - only after your money - don't care who they put in your property - manager like a bull terrier - blame everything on you (the client) - don't perform reference checks then this is the agency for you BUT...if you are a normal person and want someone who is going to ensure that they look after your property and get on well with then look else where. Don't make the same mistake I did. I wish i had done more research into local letting agencies and now i am paying for it both financially and mentally.
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By : 'Carolyn' Services : Letting( As a Owner ) Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : WA11
16 Apr 2013
People found this helpful1
Avoid at all costs if you do not want non-paying, non-English speaking tenants as that's exactly what you will be lumbered with if you sign up with these. In our case they did not even know who was living in the property, the tenancy was given to a single woman, yet there were multiple occupants. ... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
Simply doing what you are paid for & what is expected of an agent - manage, i.e know who lives in a property you have let
Find out why the tenant has not paid before the landlord finds out the hard way - through chasing
Don\'t wait for landlords to get demanding and abrupt before positive action is taken
Above all, tighten up on criteria to ensure the tenants are favourable to alleviate future upsets and stress all round
Services : Letting( As a Owner )Date: 15th Apr 2013
Avoid at all costs if you do not want non-paying, non-English speaking tenants as that's exactly what you will be lumbered with if you sign up with these. In our case they did not even know who was living in the property, the tenancy was given to a single woman, yet there were multiple occupants. I also found out for myself that they had vacated as the agent simply telephoned them and accepted there was no reply. We were constantly chasing answers to questions, and also payment, action was only taken upon chasing them. They also do not like you chasing them or expressing your annoyance at these lapses in performance. As landlords, we are perfectly within our rights to want to know who is living in our property, why we have not been paid, and what action has been taken to resolve these issues. They have since asked that we find another agent as they took exception to my voicing my annoyance and disgust, and had the audacity to 'advise' that we manage it ourselves as no agent could possibly meet our expectations - we have a right to know that our property is in good hands, and a right to raise our points when we feel we are being let down. It is not unreasonable to have these expectations, afterall it is what we were paying for.
Always choose a reputable agent with a proven track record, being new to the letting minefield we went for cheap which is exactly what we got - you get what you pay for.
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