JCF Property Management

16/12/2021

This is my personal opinion, which JCF or others don't have to like or agree with.

JCF are the most useless managing agents I have ever come across and, as a buy to let landlord I have been dealing with multiple managing agent for years. Technically my other half is the 100% owner of the property and leaseholder, but I do more of admin side of the household.

They and their client (my freeholder) have been demanding wrong % contribution that went against what was specified in the lease. I have been disputing this since Feb 2019 and paying the proportion that is specified by my lease. In Summer 2021 the freeholder has instructed their legal representative to write me about "arrears". I had spoken to the legal representative (who was professional, knowledgeable and pragmatic) and this resulted in JCF dropping their demands and agreeing to charge me the correct % amount going forwards. Even their own legal told them I was right!

Record keeping - one would still have more data if one threw documents into a black hole. We had a van on fire on the estate (no incident log, no information collected by the freeholder, no claim made against the insurer of the van that went on fire and instead a claim was made against our property insurance). There were multiple instances when one of 2 oil boilers failed leaving 108 families without hot water for a long weekend - Thursday to Tuesday (in Winter) - again none of these failures get documented and next time it happens they just treat it as an "independent" incident.

Transparency is zero. They charge £36k (not 100% sure on the number. though. around that amount £32-36k) I think per year to manage, which is fair and square, but then all of other fees are coming out of woodwork! Insurance - we pay approx £15-20k for buildings insurance + terrorism cover. JCF have never disclosed to myself (despite many requests in writing) what the commissions/inducements/kickbacks they (and their providers) receive, which is an indirect cost to the leaseholders. The response from JCF has been that "this does not affect insurance price". Are you kidding me!? of course it is a cost to me. I gather that such commissions (that JCF and their insurance broker receive from the insurance company) may be up to 35-40% of total premium paid.

Responsiveness is non-existent. I get a bill on 29th of Nov (that was never sent in Sept). Bill gets paid immediately on 29th of Nov, and on 30th of Nov I get a 2nd reminder letter to pay the bill and I get charged £36 for the privilege. When I complain and start digging, it turns out that their own procedures indicate there should be 14 days gap between the 1st and 2nd reminder.

IT technology is non existent, client portal awful. My other half is a leaseholder, I am not, but we asked them on multiple occasions to deliver the bill to two email addresses. They are not capable of that.

They were looking for 5 weeks for the owner of the motor scooter which was left in the development and looked semi abandoned. It took us 5 mins in residents Watsapp group to find the person in question.

They employ park time caretaker (mostly to replace lightbulbs externally and push the rubbish bins onto the main road for collection), for what seems is a disproportionately high cost.

One thing JCF are really great at is blowing smoke up directors arses and telling them how amazing they are and how they should keep JCF employed.

Cannot wait to the next general meeting of the shareholders in the Freehold Co to instruct directors to:
- hopefully kick JCF out as soon as possible and as far as possible;
- give utmost transparency on costs;
- regularly shop around to make sure we get the best deal;
- demonstrate best execution and how they achieve the best outcomes for shareholders. (i.e. justifying why they want to keep JCF as managing agents).
- make sure that in the future property management contracts (whoever these may be awarded to) contain customer/leaseholder satisfaction KPI metrics, so that the property manager knows that if they will drop the ball, they are out.

Since JCF Property Mangement have taken over the Management of Deanhill Court, East Sheen, London SW14 7DN the Estate is so much Cleaner, including the Gardens and Stairs. Meryvn the Caretaker has definitely made a significant difference to the Cleanliness of Deanhill Court since he has taken over as Caretaker. There has been a massive improvement in the cleanliness of the Garden area and landings.

Mervin kindly tried to help me cut through a lock to my Shed 38 after the key broke in the lock. He can constantly be seen walking around the property working away cleaning and polishing railings and doors and is always incredibly helpful..

He is also ensuring that the Recyling Shed is kept in good order.

I was very impressed with the speed that that you arranged for the paving stone to be cemented that I tripped on.

It was wonderful to see two new replacement Cherry Trees in the Garden after the others had been blown down by a gale in the Winter.

It was also nice to see the brand-new Door Mats at the entrance to Deanhill Court.

Many thanks for the excellent Deanhill Court Financial Report, AGM Report and Newsletter.

I must say that I have been very impressed with your Management of Deanhill Court vis the previous aappalling Managing Agent. It's nice to receive a swift response from you to my emails rather than constantly chasing up the previous Managing Agent.

A big well done from an Appreciative Resident

It is vital that freehold owned blocks of flats have a very professional, knowledgeable, caring and highly competent property management company to oversee the day to day running and maintain good order and practice regarding the properties that they manage. If these important skills and qualities are lacking - properties can become poorly managed leading to buildings, grounds and communal areas being neglected and run down. Lack of care, therefore, is very frustrating and depressing for residents and, moreover, due to neglect and disrepair of properties can have a negative impact on a flat when one wishes to sell it.
For over 3 years our blocks of flats in Putney have been very well managed by JCF Property Management. And, because of this, our blocks of flats are not neglected and run down.
Our Property Manager at JCF Property Management is Georgina Young. She is very professional, knowledgeable and highly competent. Georgina seriously cares about the overall well being and good order of our blocks of flats, communal and garden areas. She is positively proactive regarding ensuring very good property maintenance as well as being promptly reactive to any queries relating to property matters. Georgina is a considerate, patient and good-humoured communicator and listener. She is an excellent disseminator of information in connection to maintenance undertakings. She is very meticulous when getting the best value and quality relating to any capital expenditure projects that needs to take place in order to improve the standard, safety, appearance and well being of our blocks of flats.
In my opinion, therefore, JCF Property Management falls within the 'Excellent' category for property management for all the reasons mentioned above.

JFC currently manage a mixed private estate of Freehold Houses and three leasehold blocks in Putney, of which we are the Freeholder. Since taking over from the previous agent in 2016, improvements have been made to the overall appearance of the estate and the running of it. On the whole their response time to residents' queries and issues is good and the fact that we have not had to get too involved in day to day matters which was happening with the previous agent shows that they are doing their job!

Since coming to Putney in 2015 JCF property management have been the management company taking care of a flat we rented and more recently managed a block of four flats one of which we owned .
Communication has been excellent and any problems with maintenance have been attended to immediately.All in all a very positive experience and we would certainly use the company again should we return to London .

Noticed we had lost running water in the evening of 16th April and contacted Elena via email. I got a quick response very early the next morning and she had contacted a Thames Water engineer the previous night and after the issue was identified it was fixed by around 9.30am!
Very speedy service from everyone in what is a very difficult time for all.
Big thanks all round!

We’ve had our flat in this block for over 23 years. In that time we’ve seen several managing agents come and go. Generally the thing they had in common was low attention span, and too little time which lead to poor and reactive service. JCF came highly recommended and their appointment several years ago has been game changing. They undertook a detailed survey and came up with a 10 year plan to eradicate the issues that had arisen through the previous neglect. This was all costed carefully and the options in terms of timing agreed with the lessees. They have worked systematically through through this

Today, the block is in good shape and there should be no more surprises. They’ve done an outstanding job for all of us. Their patience is matched by their professionalism knowledge and experience. Residential management is not easy and if you end up with the wrong firm it can be a disaster. We were fortunate that they were recommended by our neighbouring block.

We have worked with JCF for many years and whilst we have always be more than pleased ther service seems to get better every year. Besides being very professional the staff all work as if they are part of our team.

We had employed JCF Property Management in June 2015, to overlook and care for our 3 buildings and its everyday running to maintain a high standard.
First, the change over went as best as it could and if any delays, they were due to the previous managing agents.
We were allocated our own property manager, they took on board our needs and started well in implicating them.

Sadly though I as the Chairwoman could see that things where not flowing as they should, and a lot of things where not happening as promised in the time expected, little by little things were getting worse, and we then found ourselves in deep water and unnecessary situations that could have been avoided if things had been implemented as requested in the first place.
It left us with no option but as the board of directors to put forward our concerns and complaints.
Not long after JCF had a complete turnaround, the property manager we had been allocated had left the company and from that moment on everything changed for the better. we had some teething issues, but we had been allocated the best two people I can ask for to look after us. Eszter Vraszegi & Elena Pletea them as individuals are powerful and perfect but as a team they are expectational. they deal with everything as it should be dealt with. we no longer have residents complaining that they get no response to there emails, as soon as they email they get a response within that day no later than the next day.
to do list is so short and gets resolved and dealt with in the term it is expected to have been done.
Are accounts are up to date, our grounds look as they should, and the support with every step from JCF is fantastic I truly couldn't ask for more.

Director David Graves had taken our complaints seriously and from that moment did everything he could in his power to provide the services we had been promised at the start before we employed them.

I have to say this is a rare thing to experience as most of the time when you make a complaint about the performance of a company they either make excuses which delay the process of resolving issues, or make some changes but not enough to make a long-term difference.

As a hands-on Chairwoman, I have dealt with many companies and know our grounds and everything concerning it like the back of my hands. and I wouldn't of spent time writing a review if I felt the service JCF offer is not 100% and I am one that is not easily pleased or fooled.

I myself would recommend them without any hesitations. and I hope my review will help those looking to change managing agents.
JCF Property Management has improved 100% and offers a service worth considering.

We have been using JCF for several years now. This rating is only related to last year's experience and especially for Georgina (our property manager) who is really professional and has given us excellent support all this time. Well done!

As tenants, we dealt with JCF for nearly eight years. Any issues that we had, they were always addressed quickly and efficiently. Over the past few years we liaised with Douglas Olizar who did a fantastic job. Very pleased using this company.

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