John D Wood & Co. Reviews 

Caitlin was very professional and kept me upto date with the progress. I think she also ensured that we got the tenancy due to our circumstances. 5***** for Caitlin. Whoop whoop

Avoid John D Wood & Co Property Management – Serious Breach of Contract - I would not give any star to John D Wood & Co.
I strongly advise landlords to avoid John D Wood & Co. Their gross incompetence is a clear breach of contract.
They completely failed to manage my account, leaving it in total chaos. They consistently failed to send me timely account statements, cannot reconcile the balances, and refuse to provide remittance advice to prove where my money went. Their accounts team and property management team ignored numerous invoices and urgent reminders from vendors/ services companies. Worse, they falsely claimed they had paid the bills, but the vendors explicitly confirmed to me that no payment was ever received.
When a legal crisis hit, the Head of Property Management admitted the urgency and due to their negligence, requested me to settle a solicitor's invoice out of pocket, and promised in writing that as a good gesture they would fully cover the cost and reimburse me. The moment I paid, they broke their word. They converted my cash refund into an account "credit" and refused to return my money. Shockingly, they are now holding my funds hostage and demanding additional funding from me to pay bills, while while flat-out refusing to refund the money I am rightfully owed.
When confronted, they rely on endless "investigation" delays to stall. The issues raised are related to 3-4 invoices / payments and after 2 months, they are still not able to provide accurate information and account statement with evidence to support the movement. They breach their contracts, trigger legal liabilities, lie about invoices and payments, and withhold client money. Do not trust them.

As tenants we have been very well looked after by Massy Eslami in the Belgravia branch. She has pro-actively sought to get to know the property, head off any issues and when there have been things needed she is extremely quick and efficient at arranging the necessary works and contractors. This is an excellent level of service and we greatly appreciate it.

Cannot recommend Julian Denson highly enough for his help with my family house sale - very grateful for the professionalism and care taken over this sensitive issue

JD Wood are professional, but they go much further than just that.

From the first appraisal they gave us confidence, no 'flannel 'or 'blarney. JDW made arrangements professionally and kept us in touch, always gave us feedback, they did everything you should take for granted, but so often get let down on, it's how they work. The staff we met were 'long-termers', they probably stayed for a reason, and their longevity meant they were really experienced.

We were looked after by two offices and we didn't notice until Adrian mentioned he was from Parsons Green office, whilst our house was in Fulham and we'd met people from that local office. That seamlessness was important. I'd telephone for an update, whether Fulham or Parsons Green, if the person I needed wasn't there whoever else answered the phone knew our property, knew the current status, and was completely informed. Once more this is not the norm in our experience.

Whilst Adrian had the buyer for us and helped this go through smoothly it is important to know that everyone we spoke to was enormously helpful and it was clearly a team effort. Everything was super professional right through exchange of contracts and leading up to completion, we were extremely happy we had gone with JDW. They're not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for and with the biggest transactions most of us do in our lives you can easily be 'penny wise, pound foolish'. We certainly had value for money.

Then...... disaster strikes..... and that's where 'going a step further' than normal stunned me.

We're moving, the furniture has gone in the van, and a leak springs downstairs, dripping through the ceiling. It's Thursday, we complete on Monday (legally bound to!) I called with the bad news. A calm and collected response; "Our letting team have people who do maintenance, let's see what we can do". Enter Stephen from the Fulham office (who is head of sales, actually, not lettings, but this is clearly a real 'team business'). He told me "Don't worry, I've got a guy who's going to go round, he's good, I know him, we'll sort it out". Frankly I've heard that sort of thing too many times , I was nervous. How wrong was I.

The plumber did what was needed, by Saturday everything was fixed, dried out, and someone was round sanding the area of new plaster on the ceiling. I didn't lift a finger, it was all organised by JDWood. Photos of the work were sent to the new owners who were graciously happy.

Now, that's going the extra distance. And we still had two days breathing space.

You don't choose an estate agent because they can fix a leak. But it just shows what I mean. Up to that point they'd been the most professional folk I'd dealt with, and a really well organised team that played as a team. But then they created a new league and leapt into it.

All completed well, the new owners got in and were happy. A nightmare turned into a nothing (but gratitude).

JD Wood made it all happen. They went the extra mile or league or whatever it needed. Not just Adrian and Stephen, but everyone there.

You will not be disappointed by JD Wood, you will be delighted. All estate agents are not the same, and JDW are the best.

I would particularly like to commend Massy Eslami, Property Manager at Belgrave Square, who went above and beyond the call of duty in doing all sorts of extra tasks to help me when the tenant vacated my flat. As I live abroad, I very much needed and appreciated her extra commitment and assistance.

I had a fantastic experience with Caitlin and Bradley moving into my new home in Scott’s lane, Bromley. They were professional, friendly and extremely helpful. I would highly recommend this agency. Thank you so much. Becky

Massy Eslami of John D Wood looks after my rental flat in Chelsea for which we have an annual front door inspection. She is always very helpful and highly professional ensuring that the inspection is completed.

I have been renting with John D Wood for over 13 years and over this time the staff have been efficient, helpful and do a great job.
More recently I have a new manager Massy Eslami and I truly appreciate her dedication to her role and always being very polite , personable and helpful , but above everything she's generous with her time and always very kind , even reaching out to me when I have not been well as I have a health issue.
These are rare qualities in these rushed and quick speed times.
Thank you so much Massy your a shining star!

I didn’t exactly have the smoothest transition from my old home to the new one — plenty of hiccups and frustration along the way thanks to the new renting rules.

But throughout it all, the John Wood team were kind, patient and genuinely willing to find solutions rather than just point out problems.

Special mention to Oliver Taylor — ask for Ollie if you want the white-glove service. 😊

Thank you for getting me into my new home!

We recently completed the purchase of a flat in Wimbledon through John D Wood & Co and had a very positive experience from beginning to end.

A particular thank you goes to Peter Woods, who was excellent throughout the transaction. He was always professional, approachable and responsive, communicated clearly with us and was very helpful whenever we needed information or something needed to be followed up. Buying a property inevitably involves moments when you are waiting for different parties to do things, so having someone who communicates well and helps keep the process moving makes a real difference.

I would also like to thank the wider Wimbledon team. Everyone we dealt with was friendly and helpful, right through to completion and the collection of the keys.

Overall, we felt very well looked after and I would have no hesitation in recommending Peter and the John D Wood Wimbledon office.

We recently had a brilliant experience with the Battersea Lettings team of John D Wood. Oliver Taylor was extremely helpful - highly responsive and efficient, and was proactive to get our rental over the line. He was also very professional and pleasant to work with. Highly recommended.

Andrew Simpson was extremely helpful throughout the entire process from offer to completion. He kept in close contact with us, communicated regularly and clearly with the other estate agents in the chain and more importantly with the solicitors. His support has been very much appreciated.

I strongly recommend doing your due diligence before renting a John D Wood-managed property on Courtfield Road.

I was a tenant at the property for two years and am sharing my honest experience…

Repeated mice infestation

During my tenancy, my young daughter and I experienced three separate episodes of mice infestation, including mice regularly appearing in our living space and kitchen.

Despite repeated requests for help, I was at times ignored for weeks. On one occasion, pest control attended to remove a dead mouse from our kitchen. They advised that entry points needed to be properly sealed to prevent recurrence and that the landlord had been made aware. Despite this, the landlord chose not to act, so we continued to cohabit with mice.

P.S. The pest control agent told me they had previously attended the flat for exactly the same issue during an earlier tenancy and it had also not been addressed.

Living through recurring mice infestations with a young child, when preventative measures had been recommended, was totally unacceptable. The way the landlord chose to handle (or not handle) the matter was completely (insert your own adjective here).

Which, quite unsurprisingly, led to the even more ridiculous handling of my deposit…

Deposit handling

I was not contacted for over two months, despite repeatedly trying to contact the responsible person, James (listed as Kieran on their website), by email, telephone and attending the branch twice. On one occasion I even saw him in the branch.

Yet James denied receiving any communications from me despite clear evidence and witnesses. I eventually made contact only after escalating to his seniors.

When communication resumed, I was presented with several deductions I considered totally unreasonable and disproportionate, including a £390 cleaning charge despite the property having already been professionally cleaned, as well as proposed replacement costs for “wear and tear” items which, in my view, could reasonably have been remedied and should not be used to fund refurbishment of the property.

When I disputed the deductions, I was repeatedly asked for further evidence and explanations — including proof of professional cleaning and detailed recollections of how alleged damage occurred — which I provided in good faith.

Despite this, my evidence and explanations seemingly went unnoticed and the landlord’s position remained “firm and unchanged”. I couldn’t help wondering why they asked for this evidence in the first place, if not simply to make the process more drawn out.

Then, after approximately two and a half months, I was informed that the landlord’s position had changed again and additional charges, including possible carpet replacement, were being considered. I was also told their cleaning contractor had been asked to attend again to update the cleaning quote, and I had to wait for details needed to escalate to TDS — further extending a process that had already taken months.

At this point, returning a tenancy deposit appears to have developed into a considerably more complicated project than dealing with three separate mice infestations ever was…

Jokes aside, I was a tenant for two years, paid my rent — including increases in line with inflation — six months upfront at a time, and caused very little difficulty throughout my tenancy. I was consistently accommodating when it came to problems with the property and landlord.

It is unfortunate that the same flexibility seems to disappear rather quickly when there is money to be deducted from a tenant’s deposit.

So, to anyone considering renting in South Kensington / Gloucester Road, and particularly this property: please do your due diligence, document everything and keep every email. I sincerely hope your experience is better than mine.

As for my deposit, perhaps one day it too will successfully find its way out of Flat 9.

John D Wood Herne Hill have been absolutely fantastic, and we cannot recommend them highly enough.

The entire team, Nick, Sarah and Holleigh are genuinely lovely people who give honest, no-nonsense advice. At every stage, we felt they had our best interests at heart, whether it was helping us sell our flat or find our dream home.

We had been trying to sell our flat for a year and a half with another agent. During that time, we lost three buyers, and the advice we kept receiving was simply to reduce our asking price significantly.

John D Wood completely changed our experience. Not only did they help us find a home we absolutely adore, but when our sale fell through and our purchase was at risk, they stepped in and quite literally saved it. We switched to them to sell our flat, and within just 10 days of it being on the market with them, we received a full asking price offer.

From that point through to exchange and completion, they were proactive, assertive when needed, and excellent communicators. Their professionalism, dedication and persistence made what could have been an incredibly stressful process so much more manageable.

We honestly cannot thank Nick, Sarah and Holleigh enough. If you're looking for an estate agent who is knowledgeable, trustworthy and genuinely invested in achieving the best outcome for you, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend the John D Wood Herne Hill team.

I contacted Claire Carter after receiving a leaflet through my door, to see if they are interested in selling my house. I had a visit from 'Charlotte' the same day, to do a valuation. Then I never heard from them again. Obviously not interested in selling houses. Timewasters. Bizarre.

I worked with Charlie Peplow in the Chelsea Green office. He was extremely professional throughout the process, very clear with what the next steps were and I’m very grateful for all his help, especially as it took a fair bit of patience. Thank you Charlie!

Worked with Warren in the Wimbledon office for our purchase of a house. He was excellent throughout, great communication, always clear and to the point. He stood out amongst the various other agents we had to deal with in sale and purchase and we would highly recommend his services. He also had excellent recommendations for periphery services (which we used for the building survey).

We bought a property through John D Wood. The service was excellent.

Victoria was very good, candid and direct in the right moments and communicative throughout.

It was evident that they worked 'for their clients' as much as they did balancing securing the sale.

I will be using them when we come to move on.

We had a great experience selling our house through John D Wood, Southfields. The whole team was very helpful throughout the process, and Lewis was particularly professional, patient, and efficient in helping us overcome the inevitable hurdles that arise during a house sale. A big thank you to everyone involved.