Samuel Estates Reviews 51

I’ve been working with Nick and Paul as a landlord and business associate now for over 10 years , and could not recommend them enough . They are conscientious, hard-working , professional and honest.
I would recommend them over any other agent in the area
Greg
Landlord

Samuel Estates have been letting and managing properties for us for many years. Their ability to find good long term tenants coupled with a top management team (Luisa, Yohana, Luke etc.) are the reason we regularly instruct them with the latest new flat instructed today!

Samuel Estate are a very professional company . They deal with any matters relating to our properties in a prompt and
Efficient manner and have the polite staff to do this
Highly recommended

I have worked with Samuel Estates for over 20 years and the way I describe them is that they are not really estate agents! What I mean is that they truly put their clients first and do everything and more to help all parties. I have recommended them many times and always get great feedback.

Ignored a leak, caused severe damage to our ceiling, hired cowboy contractors, then tried to wipe their hands off the damage. I do not say this lightly, the situation has dragged on for months. The audacity, carelessless, and frankly the utter disregard for their repsonsibility as property manages is beyond the pale.

There were mushrooms growing out of the ceiling and they wasted 3 days saying "there was no leak". Yes, MUSHROOMS growing out the ceiling. The leak went on to cause further damage to supporting floor beams, which could have been a serious safety hazard.

Then they sent a parade of contractors to quote for the fixes, they chose the contractors. We asked no questions and accepted in good faith. During that process a brick fell and damage our bath and bathroom suite. Samuel Estates tried to wipe their hands off this, I quote "Since Samuel Estates was not responsible for the unexpected damage caused by DCL, we hold no liability in this case".

The contractors were acting as agents of Samuel Estates. The additional damage caused by the falling brick during repairs is consequential damage from their work. They cannot simply chose to "withdraw" responsibility for damage caused by contractors they appointed. Get real.

I'm only re-iterating publicly what I already say to them, but the people in charge removed themselves from the conversation, they literally didn't even want to hear it.

Avoid.

I was a tenant in a flat managed by them. Once the flat was rented, they disappeared. I had several problems during the year I was renting, including problems with mould. They respond very slowly and when they do, they never solve the problem (saying someone else is always to blame). The fact is, I spent a year struggling with mould problems. When it was time to move out, they had to have other people come and visit the flat. One day I said they couldn't come and they said they would come in anyway.
In a nutshell, avoid them. Contact more professional agencies.

Ryan Chemaly has made my experience with Samuel Estates the worst Estate Agent i have ever had the misfortune of dealling with. Ryan Chemaly does not know how to tell the truth, and tries to make you leave illegally, before your section 21 ends. Ryan Chemaly brings shame to ths Estate Agent unfortunately! If there was a zero star rating, i would have put this, as the 1 star is definitely not deserved. The disgusting attitude Ryan has, along with his sheer arrogance and misogynistic attitude towards women, is truly shocking.

Illegal Gas Supply, Sewage Issues, Unauthorized Entry, Leaking Ceiling and Rude Staff

If you are thinking of renting a property through Samuel Estates - I can only encourage you to look elsewhere. I have been in my property for less than 5 months and since that time:

- The gas supply was shut off leaving me without heating and hot water as the supply to the property was found to be illegal and unsafe.
- The property was entered without permission from the landlord's team.
- Raw sewage issues leaving the driveway covered for days.
- A leaking ceiling, leading water to enter the property.
- Months to find out and set up utilities.
- Asked to take out insurance on the landlord's behalf.
- Broken fridge.
- 2 Months to fix entry system issues.

And the list goes on.

I rented a “newly” refurbished property from Samuel Estates back in December and since then issues have not ended. The most shocking being when chasing Samuel Estates to let me know who my utility providers are months after moving in, my gas supply and next doors being shut off without notice by the gas network - as it was an illegal and unsafe supply.

Leaving the property without heating and hot water. Where Samuel Estates only solution was to find short term accommodation at our own cost or ending the tenancy. They did the bare minimum they could in the situation. I approached Samuel Estates with solutions to get hot water back into the property which was when my property manager Luisa continued to raise her voice down the phone yelling “oh my god” and demonstrating a clear lack of professionalism and inadequacy in dealing with the situation - or having to support further than the absolute minimum they could do. Samuel Estates conveyed they saw a kettle and a bath as a suitable source of hot water and when talking to another property manager Steve my complaint was minimized when being told “well i grew up in a house without hot water”.

Only when Lewsisham council stepped in informing Samuel Estates and the landlord that this issue would warrant likely legal action did the approach change.

I have had to continually chase Samuel Estates for responses to emails and issues. Even when raising a formal complaint about the conduct of their staff and the property being entered without my knowledge, my email went unanswered for two weeks. I again had to chase to even get a response to this.

I am informed that each property manager deals with over 150 properties each. Which goes some way to explaining the below then satisfactory service. But it is clear to me Samuel Estates have an incredibly poor systemic attitude towards tenants and have little ability in taking issues seriously and handling them professionally and maturely when they arise . When raising an issue on the phone, Luisa, my property manager laughed down the phone. Leading me to ask for the matter and her conduct to remain professional.

If you are thinking of dealing with Samuel Estates I would recommend setting your expectations very low to avoid disappointment. The above is only a very small account into the enormity of failings I have experienced and continue to experience.

I am giving Samuel Estates 1 star as 0 wasn’t an option.
I am renting a property managed by Samuel Estates. I reported a dangerous leak through ceiling lights 2 months ago, has this been fixed? NO
Do I have three young children living here? YES
This agency doesn’t care for tenents safety, they just want their money, they don’t want to offer you a happy home, they are bullies, they are rude, and they do not care. Go elsewhere

I've had great experience of customer service with Samuel Estates and have really appreciated their help with my property search.

Luisa Costa of Samuel Estates needs some proper training in customer service. First rule of thumb, you offer a simple apology to a frustrated client that you have left waiting for weeks. No matter the reason, the client is always right! They have better things to do than chasing property "managers" who are unable to tell what's urgent ( a non-working shower in the tenant's flat or a fridge that works but needs regular mopping up). By the time a customer who hasn't been able to snower leaves you 5 messages, you should already have a triple apology ready to offer, Luisa. Secondly, do not offer incompetent legal advice on a contract you did not put your name under (and so jeapordise what may otherwise have been a perfectly resolvable landlord-tenant relationship), and lastly Luisa, do not insult the tenant by telling them how to wash or flush a toilet.