Gates EstatesReviews 

Exchanged a few emails regarding properties to let and have found their services to very helpful and gave me all the information I needed.

Great friendly advice on local properties and a very welcoming office.

I've found Gates Estates lettings to be professional and speedy in responding to what I needed. I would certainly recommend them. Great team.

I've found Gates Estates from personal experience to very honest and efficient with their services.
I've dealt mainly with lettings for advice on BTL properties.
Kyle talked me through some areas best for BTL and provided sound advice.

RENTED PROPERTY..SHOCKING SHOCKING SERVICE,... HOUSE WITHOUT WATER, HOT OR COLD AND HEATING FOR 9 DAYS, THEN HOT WATER FOR ANOTHER 5 DAYS STILL TOLD TO BUY A HEATER UNDER SECTION 11 OF THE LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT 1985 THEY HAVE 24 HOURS TO REPAIR.... WHAT A JOKE! THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING OR DOING ANYTHING AS LONG AS THEY GET THE MONEY EACH MONTH
THEY DO NOT RESPOND TO MESSAGES HAVE TO CHASE THEM ALL THE TIME... DO NOT USE IF I COULD GIVE LESS STARS I WOULD.
DO NOT USE...

Avoid this business like the plague! Nothing but issues as a landlord from mis advice, communication and management by gates estates and their team. They failed to submit evidence to the DPS in time resulting in me loosing my £550 bond, then won’t pay it me back, given its their fault. Now going ombudsman as these guys need sorting.
The other reviews on here clearly say it all
That’s one issue of 20 I’ve had with them
Just go to a reputable place and save your self the hassle

Went to view a property and confirmed for next day. Went to house and waited, no one there 15 minutes later and no call to say cancelled . Called them and they said we called you, but as no reply you didn’t confirm were going! We booked with them day before...... They didn’t even leave us a message to say needed to confirm it on the day and never told us the day before when booking it that we would need to confirm going..... eventhough we booked it the day before viewing... ?...?.?..
So, would never use them to sell a house, as seriously shoddy service! Wouldn’t use them to sell a house!
They had a copy of this and ignored the complaint made to them!!
Avoid if want a house selling......

I had had previous good experience of Gates, and therefore felt confident to go back to them for the sale of my house. I now wish I had not relied on this history, but had done some checking. Clearly firms’ standards can deteriorate.

The contract offered was inappropriate. Gates offered me a Sole Selling Rights contract. All consumer bodies (including ‘Which’) advise against accepting Sole Selling Rights - ie agents taking commission under all circumstances even if you find a buyer yourself. I therefore amended it. I have since been advised my amendment had no force. The office staff told me ’Sole Selling Rights’ & ’Sole Agency’ meant the same, which is not true.

On a number of basic matters, their service was shoddy, and fell below standards one is entitled to expect from a professional estate agent:

*They took a long time to respond to my request for better photos, then failed to ensure they were in the printed version of the brochure.
*They failed to make the promised regular visits to the unoccupied house, thus risking voiding my insurance.
*Mail - including important bills - accumulated. They could easily have forwarded mail (or I would have collected, if they had informed me). This lack of care created the risk that my electricity would be cut off.
*They failed to notify me that weeds had accumulated, making the property look neglected.
*Estate Agents are obliged to keep accurate records of viewings. The records which I was shown failed to demonstrate that the reasons I was given for the failure of my house to sell were accurate.

The house was on the market during the normal selling season. On Ryan Gates' recommendation, the initial asking price was “Offers around £99,950”. They subsequently advised a reduction to “Offers over £90,000".

After some months, Ryan himself offered a cash price of £80,000 for a ‘quick completion’, without a commission charge. You will note this is nearly £20,000 less than his originally recommended asking price. I accepted this. Had the sale concluded rapidly, at the price he promised, I would still have felt aggrieved. Almost unbelievably, though - and this is the reason I’m writing this review - a couple of days before completion date, Ryan ‘gazundered’ me, dropping his offer to £78,800! A sleazy & shabby move. To compound it, the reason he gave for dropping the price was that new information, including the existence of mining surveys, had come to light. This was simply not true. Mr Gates’ solicitor was aware of the mining report from the outset.

He also wrote the following: “Changing what had been agreed at the last hour is not how I do business, but … I hope you don’t feel I am trying it on … "

I know what I think about how he does business, I invite the reader to make their own judgement.

My solicitor was very clear that she was in no doubt that the behaviour and actions of this agency constituted a conflict of interest: “There are strict rules about the disclosure of a buyer’s interest in the selling agency … it seemed to me that Mr Gates was acting as agent in advising you about asking prices - there is a clear conflict in that he is writing to you both as the buyer and as the agent."
I can't repeat the word she used to describe him!

At the conclusion, I was worn out, and let the sale proceed at £79,000.

No reader will be surprised by my recommendation that you find another firm.

House not sold as a refurbishment or renovation project. Might just consider keeping a dog in the house until it is brought up to decent standards. We did not get a survey done, but there is a legal requirement for honesty from the vendor and the agent. Just spent quite a few hours removing an old section of guttering, that was too short, and fitted in such a way as to make removal difficult. Made up a bespoke section and now the water from the roof goes down the fallpipe and not down the outside wall. The seller volunteered that there had been a problem, but that she had got it sorted. No way was it sorted and the damp patch was hidden by a large fridge and curtains. And that is just the tip of the iceberg a lot more and expensive work to be done. House was not occupier ready

After marketing my property with Gates, I had trouble from almost the outset. So I instructed another agent also on the basis of 'may the best one win!' I was promptly called by a lady from Gates once they found out I had added another agent, and whom was exceptionally rude and challenged my decision to instruct another agent, I merely shrugged this off and put it down to her having a bad day. I was also informed at this point that I'd received an offer on my property (one I would have taken I might add) but that I had rejected it?! Simply untrue, and I'd never had the call to advise me of any offer in the first place, never mind reject it!!

They did eventually sell the house and I accepted a lower offer from a new buyer. This was traumatic to say the least, the new purchaser wanting to change the goal posts and push move in dates all the time etc.. Eventually I cracked and pulled the sale.

Very quickly the other agent sold it as someone had been waiting in line in case things fell through, I accepted an offer the same as the previous purchaser (so wasn't Gazumping), the sale went through. Months went by and I applied for a new mortgage, my credit file came back with an alert of a CCJ on it....yes you guessed from Gates Estates!! they had underhandedly sent letters of correspondence to the wrong address and not the one they had on file and had used previously, warning me of court action for loss of profit. A court date went by that I had no way of knowing was happening and low and behold a judge issued me with a CCJ. Luckily I caught this in time, paid the judgement of £1500 to clear my name. This stinks as they claim the charge of £1500 was for "Admin" they did absolutely nothing as the sale had hardly progressed with them, they did almost zero advertising, and when I asked for a breakdown of why the charge was so high I basically got a copy of and invoice which said "charges for sale - £1500"!!!

Do not trust, Ryan is a creep at best, his staff are rude and discourteous, and clearly have admin issues if they cant tell whether I have had an offer made on a property or sending legal admin to unknown addresses, in my case a court summons! - Smells a bit fishy to me don't you think?