CJ Hole Reviews 

I didn’t have a great experience with C.J Hole Estate Agents. Trying to get hold of someone was incredibly frustrating—calls often went unanswered and it felt impossible to speak to the right person. A few of the staff I dealt with came across as quite rude and dismissive, which I think came down to inexperience and a lack of professionalism.

On one occasion when I called to chase something up, one of the male staff members was so rude he basically put the phone down on me. I was in the middle of asking a question and quickly turned to my mum to check something—he cut in and said, “Are we done here?” in such a dismissive way. It was honestly so rude. I was like "ok" and he just put the phone down.

There was also a real lack of knowledge about the flat I bought. I was wrongly told the parking was communal when I actually had my own space, and I wasn’t informed that the garden belonged to flat two. These are pretty important details that a good estate agent should know and clearly communicate.

The only person who stood out in a positive way was James Hogg—he was polite, helpful, and seemed to genuinely care. If the rest of the team had his attitude, my experience would’ve been very different.

AMATEURS, UNTRUSTWORTHY, LIARS;
Statement from their website……….
“When you choose CJ Hole, you’re choosing more than an estate agent. You’re choosing a partner who understands what makes Bristol special and what it takes to sell or let your property.
Let us help you connect to your next chapter in Bristol’s story.”

Their words…….?? However today, they are at full capacity so how can they keep to this promise???

We were going to list our property with them despite numerous failings from day 1; the director was late for the initial valuation, came again with the senior valuer and had to rush off as they had made another commitment, third time lucky they arrived with the trainee photographer and negotiators. Finally the director did his walk around to dictate the particulars and I was then shunned off when it was contract time to “show everybody the house as that’s what I am capable to do”??? The proof came for the listing and it was inaccurate, placing certain elements in the wrong rooms, rooms were also missing, the overall description of rooms was far from accurate and vital bespoke selling points were omitted too.

We raised this and had to rewrite the description ourselves (the client!). Then the pictures arrived some time later and looked like a filter was used from love island making everything look orange! This was challenged and we were met with defensive tones and compared to other home owners rather than taking on board the plethora of errors and putting it right! Contract terminated !!!

“CJ Hole Henleaze and Westbury are now at full capacity…” Contact any other agent unless you want a catalog of errors and delays from day 1.
Tim the Director was late to the valuation without any notice, was then rushed. Tim excluded my partner from talks around contract (shunned her). He insisted she did a walk around the house with the trainee photographer/agent whilst details were discussed that were contradictory to what was previously promised.
Photos were taken by a trainee agent who then decided to put a horrendous hazy filter on all of the pictures (didn’t represent the property). The floorplan was incorrect. Tim had missed rooms off of the write up and vital details referring to the specification of the property which subsequently had to be rewritten by us (the client). Upon speaking to a Senior valuer to raise the concerns (Rob), he stated that other people who have listed their property are happy with the photos, so why aren’t we?! Contract was then terminated before it had started.

If I could give zero stars, I would. AVOID AT ALL COST. CJ Hole is criminally incompetent and cost us thousands in legal fees. Their reputation precedes them! My partner and I rented a property from CJ Hole and our experience was horrific. We viewed the flat while works were still ongoing, promised that issues would be fixed. We entered the tenancy for £1250 PCM to find that the flat was still in a complete state of disrepair. CJ Hole made a pathetic effort to remedy the countless issues with the property and rebutted all of our claims. For 4-5 winter months (Nov-Mar), we were without heating, resulting in significant mould and damp. Our bed frame, mattress, and loads of priceless personal positions were completely ruined by this. The extractor hood above the cooker was poorly fitted and hit my partner on the head when it dethatched from the wall. Several other issues... CJ Hole was continually slow to reply and on occasion, outright refused to our urgent requests to have things fixed. Our property manager Marisha should be struck off for her lack of duty and care. 4-5 months of living in abhorrent conditions, personal positions destroyed - an absolute shambles that ended up in a legal dispute. Utterly disgusting.

Appalling service. Canceled our viewings on the same day despite knowing we’d traveled hours to get there. On another occasion, they us we were the first viewings and then held viewings the previous weekend and the house went. Rarely pick up or return calls. The worst estate agent in Bristol from our experience.

I question whether CJ Hole letting agency staff have any experience or training in dealing with clients. My goodness how unprofessional can a member of staff be while discussing letting/tenancy issues! One can only conclude from my telephone conversation that I was being ridiculed which continued for one hour, becoming one of the most ridiculous conversations that I have ever heard. If this type of very strange behaviour happens on a regular basis I am amazed this company has any business at all.

I had an incredibly distressing experience with CJ Hole during my tenancy in Bristol, and I feel compelled to share this warning for prospective tenants. Their conduct was unethical, exploitative, and demonstrated a complete lack of care for tenants.

Here’s what happened:
1. Misleading Contract Changes: When renewing our tenancy, they altered the break clause wording without clear explanation, effectively removing it. We only realized this after signing, leaving us trapped in the contract.
2. Unethical Practices Around Early Surrender: Despite agreeing to let us leave early if new tenants were found, CJ Hole made minimal effort to re-let the property, leaving us liable for months of rent and council tax unnecessarily.
3. Unlawful Entry: CJ Hole entered our home without notice to show the property to prospective tenants. This invasion of privacy was deeply upsetting and unprofessional.

While not all of their actions may breach the law, their behavior was blatantly unethical and clearly designed to exploit tenants for financial gain. They showed no regard for our well-being or the distress their actions caused us.

If you’re considering renting through CJ Hole, I urge you to think twice. Their practices left us feeling powerless and trapped, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what we experienced.

I had an extremely disappointing experience with CJ Hole and would not recommend their services.

I initially chose CJ Hole because Sam Grey, the agent I met, seemed less pushy compared to others during the initial valuation. I explained my tight timeline, as I had a six-month window to sell the property before needing to renew my mortgage. Unfortunately, the process fell far short of my expectations.

The property was listed at the recommended price, but it appeared so far down on Rightmove that it was overshadowed by older, stagnant listings. Despite this, I heard nothing from the team for six weeks—no updates, no viewings, and no proactive communication. When I finally received a call, it was from someone I’d never previously interacted with, informing me that I should reduce the price because there were better options available on the market.

When I asked about the strategies being used to generate viewings—such as boosting the ad, creating a video tour, or leveraging social media—I was told that none of these steps had been taken. Instead, the first and only suggestion was to lower the asking price. While I was open to adjusting the price, I needed to have confidence that all other options had been exhausted, which clearly wasn’t the case.

CJ Hole also promised thorough feedback, but after two months and just one viewing, the only feedback I received was vague and unhelpful: "Liked the kitchen/area, not enough light."

The handling of property viewings was equally concerning. When I asked who would be showing the property and whether they were familiar with it, I was told it would be someone who had never visited it before. My concerns were brushed off with assurances that they would arrive 10 minutes early. How can an agent confidently showcase a property they’ve never seen?

To make matters worse, a simple request to leave the keys at the property wasn’t followed, leaving me without keys to my property over the weekend as the office is closed on Sundays.

After I decided to terminate the contract and provided clear instructions on the end date, CJ Hole failed to follow through. A month later, my property was still listed on Rightmove and OnTheMarket as a "new listing" despite it being one month past the agreed removal date. I was told this was due to a technical issue, but it went unnoticed by their team for weeks. This mishandling undermined my efforts to transition to a more competent agent and left my property stale on the market.

While the market may be challenging, the lack of attention to detail, poor communication, and failure to follow basic instructions have caused significant frustration. My interactions with Sam Grey were particularly exasperating—it felt like pulling teeth to get a action.

Don’t be misled by their "family business" approach. Their service lacks professionalism, customer care, and effective strategy. Save yourself the trouble and opt for one of the many other capable estate agents in Bristol.

Excellent service buying and selling would

Worst experience of our lives trying to buy through this agency. We offered numerous times and had no communication back from the agents. We put in offers that never made it to the owners. Had to chase daily to get updates as they couldn't keep to their own timeframes. Connell from the offering department was absolutely incompetent and ruined our chances of buying the home.

Great service.

As a landlord I chose the let only service and it was brilliant, they found a lovely tenant for us very quickly, everything was smooth and efficient and honestly I can't fault them at all. A special thanks to Harley, Chloe and Emma!

They treat new renters very poorly, they decided we couldn't afford the house and then continued to take money from us. From one miniscule mistake they cancelled the house and took my holding deposit. Nasty.

If I could give them one star I would. For renters this is NOT the company to go through. We moved out of our flat, cleaned it very well and we’re charged ABSURD amounts of money for cleaning fees. We had to pay an early exit fee for leaving the property early (which we expected) but we’re charged a lot of money for really minor things that we didn’t need to be charged for. Have rented a few places before and never have we been treated this poorly. Really do not recommend if you are renting from them!

I had a really good experience selling my flat with CJ Hole. Justin went above and beyond with the sale and made everything seamless. Would recommend selling a property with CJ Hole and would use them again without question.

This is possibly the worst estate agents I've ever come across, namely Duncan Fleming, who lies to you and landlord alike.

I've been waiting for the whole summer to get some basic maintenance done on the house, as well as a leak from the only toilet in the house where they've dragged their heels and eventually the kitchen ceiling gave way and it went over my partner, luckily no injuries yet they still took 2 months to get it fixed.

We're still waiting for them to complete works and its been a month since anyone has been to the property. Both landlords and tenants should avoid these guys like the plague if you dont want to be messed around. Duncan Fleming shouldn't even be allowed to operate.

If you are students in Bristol avoid CJ Bishopston. Be prepared for contractors to turn up on your door step with no prior warning, landlords to hold onto your deposit (and for them to argue over tiny amounts of money). I don’t know if it’s landlords squeezing every ounce of money out of students, or CJ trying to impress their clients. We paid £22,000 over a year for a student property, cleaned the house thoroughly, never had any complaints and took great care of the property. The landlord was getting bent out of shape over an airer being left for the next tenants. Damages on the check out report were contradicted with another inspection previously saying they were classed as wear and tear, but when the tenancy ended they were trying to charge us for it. The communication is abysmal. We (4 students) move into a house that had clearly not been inspected thoroughly, ceiling on the kitchen had to be replaced as it was rotten, and I mean rotten, along with various other things. Don’t make the mistake we did, and avoid them. Use someone else. Please.

Your website is pathetic,get someone younger to do it.Well I will not be spending my money with you as every property is fantastic and you do not know the difference between Bristol,Gloucester and Somerset.Absolute disgrace.

Do not use to sell or buy!!
I had 4 properties to view booked in to view, well in advance. The young agent turned up late and I saw one in less than fifteen minutes, in fact he kept us there longer than I wanted to be there, I’d already said it wasn’t right for me and he kept talking…and then he made out there was no time to get to the next viewing! Absolute joke. And the attitude of this young boy was just cocky, he clearly had time and made out he didn’t. All because he couldn’t read his bookings and actually show up at the right house on time! Wasted time and emotion viewing only one of the four houses I had booked.

We have been trying to contact the South ville branch with regards to arranging a viewing for 2 separate rental properties that they are advertising. We have left several messages sent 3 Emails and sent a chat message over the last 4 days and have had no response from any of these attempts. We contacted a different branch to ask for their help in arranging a viewing and we were told that they could not help and that we need to get through to the south ville branch and they said that they know that they are having problems with their phones. Wow what a system ! How ridiculous that we are trying to spend nearly 3k a month through their company and they cannot be bothered responding to us. If you are considering letting your property through this company and you want your potential tennants to receive a respectful and efficient service I would seriously look elsewhere.

Quaid totally brilliant showing me round properties- understood what I wanted! Then he got an offer on my house really quickly; knows what he is doing & does it in an open, honest & professional manner.