I have read some pretty bad reviews on Ward and Partners which surprises me. I’ve dealt with the Ramsgate Branch solely but through my work in consumer rights I have reviewed the performance of several lettings offices in KENT and not just Arun estates. As well as several mystery shops
My experience with the agent has been pretty good in comparison to several others. Not only did I sell my House through W+P I also Brought one through them as they dealt with me so efficiently first time round. Then they referred me onto their lettings department who still as now have a my tenant in there, I was unfortunate when I first rented my property W+P as My tenant lost their job, caused a bit of damage and I didn’t have any rent protection etc, but this time round I have a great tenant and still have the Rent protection in place just in case and this was all in the space of 18 months.
The thing I have come to learn about customer complaints on the lettings side is a lack of knowledge from the customer. In my dealings with Ward and Partners I found that they were the most efficient agent of outlining what the responsibilities are regarding letting etc and when I sold what the process would be. They informed me of what I needed to know but they reconfirm it in their mail correspondence so I have something to refer back to. Which I say time and time to people READ ALL YOUR DOCUMENTATION THOROUGHLY AND UNDERSTAND IT. Customers are quick to complain but in all of my reviews 87% of complaints against Ward and Partners Lettings sector in the past 5 years have always come back to Landlords and Tenants lack of understanding, there’s a reason everything is confirmed in writing and SUBJECT TO CONTRACT.
I read a review above about this particular office in Ramsgate and they rent my property out for me that’s what’s triggered my response as I feel it slightly farfetched and off putting to those that rely heavily on reviews and its quite one sided.
Therefore I’d like to educate those of you who are unsure of letting or unknown as to how serious it needs to be treated.
I personally have dealt with the property managers at Ramsgate and they always kept me up to date and my dealings with LISA who has been mentioned have been friendly, thorough and of all lettings offices I would always go back to Ramsgate and I will always use Arun Estates especially in my line of work seeing how the rest compare. They offer a high level of staff training and maintain setting high targets for themselves. They did keep me up to date with what was happening with my tenant’s arrears etc and still do with my current tenant who has been a gem. The trouble with most landlords is that Property manager’s don’t tell them what they want to hear. Let’s face it who wants to receive a call saying the boiler has broken down and requires a considerable amount of money to repair it? But unfortunately it’s the nature of the beast. If you’re a professional landlord which there aren’t many of us about then you know what happens and deal with it accordingly under section 11 of the landlord and tenant act. What’s that? I hear landlords saying. I have also found that a lot of landlords just think they can rent out their property easily without thinking about how motivated and serious you have to be in order to do so and what the implications are, Consent to let, Home insurance, tenants insurance, how many Landlords are unaware that their tenants need to be insured to rent their property, it’s not a legal requirement but why would you want a tenant that doesn’t have a comprehensive policy in place? Non resident landlord forms, if the landlord lives abroad for more than six months of the year, do their furnishings meet the fire and safety regulations, are their portable electric items PAT tested? Are they landlords aware that if they do not inform their tenant of where their deposit it held then they can be sued for up to three times the amount of the rent. One landlord in particular wanted to rent heir property out furnished but what he failed to understand was that he did need to take his underwear out the draws as well as personal pictures etc. The agent informed this particular landlord of what furnished means however once again this landlord thought he knew best and emigrated leaving the house as if he packed a rucksack and went walkabout. He now has to pay £50 per month for storage.
Another landlord never rented before and thought they would just have a tenant introduction service as they could manage it themselves. What they failed to understand was that you cant just ring on a Sunday afternoon and say “oh hello I’m in the area and was going to pop in for a cuppa” and when at the property walk around and in effect conduct a property check every month. In the eyes of the law this is classed as harassment, and again the tenant was unaware of his legal rights and thought this was normal. I will say this once and only once.
The lettings managers conducted their property check after the first 3 months, the property was good according to the report but when they left the property it was pretty unacceptable, along with rent arrears, one could say why wasn’t the bad condition of the property picked up and why wasn’t your rent arrears sorted. Well the answer is simple, no-one can see what goes on behind closed doors, when you serve notice on a tenant they get can get nasty and then towards the end of the tenancy they can wreak havoc. Other than grab the tenants around the throat and escort them to the bank you can’t make a tenant cough up no matter how good your property manager is.
Any disputes between Landlords and tenants have to go to the TDS and beyond the jurisdiction of the property managers if no agreement is met. FACT. Property managers have to give the facts and are not allowed to take sides in any disputes. Landlords tend to sometimes tend to get greedy and don’t take into account things like ware and tear, carpet life expectancy etc. In the eyes of the law, ignorance is not and excuse therefore due care and attention should be taken in all circumstances.
The agency has a contractual obligation with their landlord and a duty of care to tenants. FACT.
I’m not trying to put anyone of letting out their property but I strongly advise in fact Its compulsory that get some knowledge behind you first.
I would like to conclude this by stating the following of which I have written to several landlords and tenants who have wasted unnecessary time and money.
“If there’s something you don’t know, then ask an ARLA licensed agent or look online don’t be presumptuous and don’t be ignorant!!!”