Sheffield City Living

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I've come across several solicitors/estate agents etc in my 4yr experience investing in properties, & I can wholeheartedly confirm that “Sheffield City Living Estate Agents” are up there with one of the worst I have ever had to transact with. They have no interest whatsoever in addressing buyers concerns, but a strong bias towards their client (seller) by purposely withholding information, misleading the buyer to progress with the purchase until the sale has completed, at which point any issues realised would now be at buyer’s expense. On the 18th Nov 2022, I attended a viewing for a property advertised for sale by “Sheffield City Living” and met their staff “Jonathan” who showed me around the property. The property was ideal for what I wanted, my only concern was that several internal doors in the apartment (most importantly the balcony door had locks but no keys present, when I walked into the balcony, I immediately realised there were no barriers between my balcony & the next-door neighbour’s prompting me to ask Jonathan if the keys (most importantly) for the balcony would be provided. His response was positive. (This was the initial viewing prior to an offer being made so I did not require a definite or specific response) On the 12th May 2023, I received a copy of the (“fittings and contents form and the Leasehold information form) from my solicitors in which they stated that if I wish to raise any enquiries about anything contained in these, I should let them know prior to completion. I booked a second viewing & attended on the 14th June 2023 & met Jonathan again however this time, I spent more time viewing the apartment, examining all details to ensure all fittings & contents were provided as stated. Again the main discussion was the close proximity of the 2 balconies, a person in any of the balconies (if they wanted to) can leap over & access the next apartment if the balcony door was unlocked, & it is important for my tenants/guests to feel safe knowing they have the option to lock the balcony door if needed so I specifically asked Jonathan again if the keys for the balcony doors will be provided, & Jonathan replied “Yes” they will be provided. Friday 7 July 2023, I went into the Sheffield City living Office to collect the keys and left with a “fob” and 2 different keys. One key opened the apartment entrance door (no spares) & the second key did not open/lock or belong to any door in the apartment. I contacted Jonathan on Monday 10 July 2023 to let him know the second key did not open/lock any of the doors in the apartment & expected him to say “there was a mix-up, but instead he was going to check with his client (After 9 months of incorporating the property into their selling literature). I had to contact Jonathan again on the 11th July 2023 about the keys as he did not get back to me as promised. At which point I found out there was no key for neither the balcony door nor any of the other locks in the apartment. When I confronted Jonathan about being misled, his response was I quote: “As I said, you would have to go back through the solicitor. The property has completed and we no longer have anything to do with it as our job is over.” The most basic expectation of a “competent” Estate Agent is “honesty & transparency”, but as a result of their deceit, I’ve had to forfeit £132 to have the locks replaced in addition to the large amount already invested in the purchase. I lodged a formal complaint with their internal team to bring to light expenses incurred as a result of being misled by their staff & the key message I extracted from their response was: “Jonathan assures me he would not have made any commitment about which keys would be provided as this is outside of our control.” Was it outside of their control to simply ask the vendor (their client) prior to completion if the keys for the internal locks were provided or not? I will advise any aspiring property investor who finds themselves having to transact with this Estate agent to ensure all communications are documented or pay the price!

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During my 3 years tenancy everything was fine with the Agency, they were efficient with any issue and quick to responde any query or repair but when I left the property, they took money from my deposit for something that, under their point of view, was missing. The inventory description said that a grill pan should be inside the oven but inventory pictures didn't show any grill pan and, obviously, any grill pan was in the property when I moved in. Also, they wanted to deduct me some broken chairs, which were broken before I started the tenancy and, thanks god I sent pictures when I started the tenancy informing about the chairs because if I wouldn't they would have deducted the money as well.