We instructed CJ Hole to manage the sale of our flat back in Feb 22. Whilst we feel we were given over optimistic estimates on the interest we should expect, the flat was sold at the asking price. We also secured a purchase of a property that was sold via CJ Hole as well. We were assigned a sale progressor who on multiple occasions caused confusion and frustration. For example, we were asked about our holidays upfront, once we secured a purchase, and we provided that information twice. Subsequently this was ignored and completion was agreed for a date that we were never available on. This caused frustration on all sides, as ultimately the whole of the chain had to re-agree on a new date. When we told her that we never agreed on this date, we were faced with a push back, stating ‘she wasn’t aware and heard about this for the first time’, even though she was cc’d in all these emails. On the other hand, we’d like to thank James Brown for professionalism and positive attitude at all interactions. Overall, we are happy that the transaction is complete and we are in, but we’d like to see from a sale progressor in the future a more proactive approach in managing the chain, better attention to deal details and hassle free process for us buyers/sellers!

If this review was only based on the great service we receive from Rafal, it would be 5 Star. He is our property manager for three student houses and since taking over responsibility for our account things have run very smoothly. Rafal's customer service skills are outstanding, he is very helpful, responsive to the tenants needs and keeps us updated on any events. We've found him to be proactive and knowledgeable, he makes us feel like nothing is too much trouble. He does a great job of balancing the service he gives to us and to the tenants. Having used C J Hole to let our properties since 2017, and after good initial experience of the company, things deteriorated in the property management department with a complete lack of accountability for any issues. We were on the verge of looking for a different letting agent, but Rafal has managed to turn this around. C J Hole are lucky to have such an exemplary employee. Would I recommend this company? Yes, but senior management need to consistently monitor things to ensure that the service offered reflects the fees they charge.

Pleasant and efficient people

Pleasant and efficient people to deal with. My fault for not reading the T's & C's though - finders fee is NOT 50% as I was told, as VAT at 20% is added - so total finders fee is in fact 60%. Likewise, adding VAT to a £60 deposit holder's fee? - in hindsight I should have just done this myself (although I certainly do not recall a conversation along the lines of "If we hold the deposit for you it will cost £72, otherwise I wouldn't have done this). An expensive lesson learned, and no doubt all agencies operate with similar fees. But as a first time landlord I don't feel all was as transparent as it could have been, and can only hope now to break even over the 6 months tenancy. If you're an absentee landlord however, CJ Hole has a good presence in the area and a pleasant, efficient group of employees.

Quite an average estate

Quite an average estate agent. Got the job done but made minimum effort and never sought to exceed expectations. No proactive communications, though responded promptly when asked.

Misled and given false

Misled and given false expectations of sale price. Sale took over six months. Had to reduce price to by over 15% to get things moving. Felt no action on part of agent to market the property or support exchange process. I would not use CJ Hole White ladies road again and would not recommend them. I had a completely different experience with CJ Hole Henleaze with another sale. This showed me how things should be done and their rate was 0.3% cheaper.

TL;DR: Please please do not rent any property associated with CJ Hole or DPL Partnership Limited! N.B. I am not naming the CJ Hole employees I have dealt with because I don’t want them to get into trouble with their boss. The issues I list are probably more systematic and not the fault of individuals. I’m sure the people who work for CJ Hole are lovely people in other aspects of their lives, they just have the misfortune to work for a terrible company! The flat I live in is extremely overpriced, which is of course DPL Partnership’s fault, but in this case you would expect good service from the property management. I am a full time university student who also has to work 20 hours a week, therefore I was hoping to live somewhere where issues are dealt with in a timely manner - this is certainly not the case! I am also diagnosed with OCD, autism and social anxiety, which has probably made matters worse. However, speaking to other people living in my block, my experience unfortunately seems to be the norm. When I first moved in, the flat was extremely dirty, even though CJ Hole said it had been professionally cleaned. The communal areas, such as the washing room, are also always filthy. As the building I live in is very cheaply built, things frequently break. Again, this is not CJ Hole’s fault, but they take an extremely long time to fix anything (generally over 3 months), and never provide compensation. Here are a few examples: extractor fan, leaking roof, tumble drying machines and bathroom wall (which I’ve asked to be fixed for over 6 months!). When contractors do come to “fix” things, they generally do a poor job - once a contractor defecated in and blocked my toilet whilst I was not there! Here is a case study which I believe perfectly illustrates my point: There is only one lift for the whole building, and this has been out of action for over 2 months. Now normally, this would be perfectly fine by me because I don’t mind walking, however I recently dislocated my knee and so am not able to climb up to the sixth floor where I live. Because of this, I am currently living in a youth hostel (which I chose instead of a hotel so it’d be cheaper for the landlord). When I asked to be reimbursed, they took a very long time. Furthermore, when they found out that my sister is staying in my flat whilst I’m away (which they discovered by spying on her using the security cameras), they demanded the money back, threatening legal action. To summarise, CJ Hole is a dishonest, lazy, incompetent and ruthless company which takes advantage of vulnerable people to make a profit for their landlords. I know that the housing situation in Bristol is awful, so like me you may have no choice, but if you do, I urge you to not rent anywhere managed by CJ Hole, or owned by DPL Partnership Limited. Good luck house hunting, I hope you find somewhere. :)

I would not want to live anywhere that is connected to this agency! I was unfortunate to have to rent with them for 3 years and to say the service from the agents was awful, would be a VERY big understatement. I have too many issues to be able to list but the biggest issue myself, my family and many other tenants had with the agency is their treatment of student tenants! Just an example of one of the many times their treatment was terrible - As a student accomedation wifi is a very important service, across my 3 years I believe we had SEVERAL instances where we had no wifi for weeks at a time. This caused stress to a building that holds around 80 students, this wouldn't have been as big of an issue if when the issues were reported we were taken seriously! BUT NO! Instead we were told as only a handful of flats had gone onto fixflo to report it, it was not a high priority issue. It felt only when reports were sent to our university were solutions finally raises. I remember a few people sitting outside of the closest uni campus at 8pm to use the wifi to submit Essays due that night or the next morning. The overall treatment of students deserves ZERO STARS! Many of those who had been put in the unfortunate situation to need to contact them can also atest to this! Never taking any issues we (the students) brought up seriously, always needing to get the university involved or even our parents/guarantor to actually get anything sorted was proof of this! Knowing what I know now, If I had another choice of accommodations that myself and my family were comfortable choosing I would have pick it in a heart beat! But unfortunately, we did not feel comfortable choosing the other terrible accommodations either. It really was the definition of "The best of a bad bunch". If you have to edure your time, just like I did, I really empathise with you! My time at the accommodation was overall great otherwise but being as I'm specifically reviewing CJHole, they get a 1 star from me and my family Hope this help someone else at UCW when looking at Parkside House.

Rented with CJ Hole for 18 months and the experience was disappointing from start to finish. From mistakenly registering our council tax with our next door neighbours, to not keeping appointments, failing to complete repairs, no interest shown in the damp and mouldy conditions we were living in, to even getting our names wrong I have no good word to say about them during 18 months of having them as Lettings agents. Communication was poor and their standards for renters shocking. No care or attention for tenants, only for profit.

Rented with CJ Hole for 18 months and the experience was disappointing from start to finish. From mistakenly registering our council tax with our next door neighbours, to not keeping appointments, failing to complete repairs, no interest shown in the damp and mouldy conditions we were living in, to even getting our names wrong I have no good word to say about them during 18 months of having them as Lettings agents. Communication was poor and their standards for renters shocking. No care or attention for tenants, only for profit.