Brown and Merry Buckinghamshire reviews

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Thank you Alex for finding the perfect home for us. We’re over the moon!

Leanne · 16 August 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Brown and Merry - poor management service

Brown and Merry (Stony Stratford branch) were paid to manage my first property-to-let and they have failed miserably in the first two years already. The initial check-in report by their third party initially seemed okay but, it was lacking thoroughness, and the check-out report was far from accurate, costing me a potential deposit re-claim due to omissions within the reports. Despite the fact that I highlighted issues /concerns with the check out report at the time, Brown and Merry have continued to fail to address the issues. Whilst one staff member deals with the check in report, a different member is responsible for the check out.. and whilst the latter impacts the next check in report, the staff don’t seem to talk to each other or see how one person’s lack of input affects the other and both have shown lack of care in addressing the matter that’s ended up costing me financially. According to Alex Read, the inventory check list must’ve been okay “ because it was carried out by a third party” so she refused to even look into my concerns, whilst Sarah Richardson has failed to reply to any of my emails for 3 months. And whoever did the house inspections must have a filthy standard of living as they didn’t notice the mould in every room of the house.. result of the poor maintenance by the tenants, which Brown and Merry’s third party also failed to comment on in their reports. They also failed to comment /address the tenants on the items stolen so I’m contemplating putting in a police report against my former tenants… Also, Alex Read at Brown and Merry advised my new tenant that she would be free to redecorate my house as she pleased, which Alex advised without checking boundaries from me first as I had not given permissions for any change. There’s a whole list of issues with these estate agents - the above doesn’t even touch the surface ..

Emma · 6 March 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Alexandra and Jenna were brilliant. I strongly recommend this real estate agency branch. Thank you both of you for your support and attention.

Larissa · 13 February 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Brown & Merry Wendover

I wouldn't recommend this branch. Our landlady decided to sell our house shortly after the tenancy began and this branch took over the sale. We were renting through the Tring branch so remember that we were Brown and Merry's clients for the duration of this review. We were made to feel like we were being obnoxious or difficult for not allowing them to do multiple viewings, taking up most of the day, for which we were expected to vacate the property and 'maybe sit in the car' as suggested by them. This happened in February and March, during lockdown when the virus was bad and when we weren't allowed to have friends or family in the house. They decided it was ok to invade our home with viewings because people would be wearing masks, although the government advice at the time was to not mix. At the time they would not let me into their office to speak to them when I asked because of... Covid. The government guidelines at the time were designed to stimulate the property market and not to protect tenants and we can all appreciate that covid isn't sentient and doesn't know the difference between these scenarios. We gave them a two hour window and said they could have two households per day in light the global pandemic that had been going on for a year by then. They weren't happy about this and tried to get us to change our minds despite knowing how uncomfortable we were. Some of the viewings were taking place in 2° weather and in the end we refused any further viewings. We filed a complaint against a member of staff for her attitude following a cancellation and she later phoned us to apologise for her comments.  We expressed to them our anger at bring treated like this in pursuit of a quick sale and received an apology. I was quite surprised to learn that you can actually refuse viewings entirely. Given the situation I wish that I had taken that option as it seems now that would have been the only way to have any peace and quiet over the next 6 months. Following our complaint, all future viewings were stopped as it came to light that we hadn't actually been served a s21 notice and the house had to be taken off the market. It was a real mess. I was left a voicemail a few months later informing me that I had to vacate the property to allow for a mortgage survey. This appointment had been booked for the day of my brothers funeral when I had family staying and could easily have been avoided had somebody thought to ask me beforehand. It was rearranged but I refused to leave the property as I'm under no obligation to allow unsupervised strangers into the house I was paying to live in. Again I was made to feel like I was being unreasonable even after they admitted that I didn't actually have to leave. The inspection was carried out with me present and so the whole charade was pointless. There was no guilt over continuing to annoy us despite knowing that we were grieving and stressed to the hilt trying to find somewhere to live. After the house was sold we had to put up with the purchasers coming to the property, hanging around taking pictures of the house, with my daughter and other children playing outside and us being able to see them, several times a day, which also made the neighbours really uncomfortable. It was really disrespectful, frankly quite odd, and I could have prevented all of this by just refusing access for viewings. This sad and stressful experience continued for 6 months in total. For these reasons I would advise that tenants make themselves fully aware of their rights and how to exercise them when dealing with estate agents. Read the relevant legislation and then use it. We bought a house in Wendover through another local agent who in stark contrast were great, respectful to both us and to the occupiers of the property. The property was in a much better condition and for a better price. Throughout this, the Tring office that were managing our tenancy were also really good. They were really helpful, approachable and responsive.

Laura · 22 September 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolute mess of a company

Absolute mess of a company ! Tried to view a house - they said they didn’t have the keys and would phone back when they had them . Never phoned back and although we repeatedly asked for an update was told nothing . House was then sold without any communication with us . When I eventually spoke to the branch manager he was very rude and abrupt and continually talked over me . Think twice about selling your house with them as this seller could have possibly had a higher offer !!

Sandra · 19 August 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Honestly amazing service this is the first time I am moving and Alexandra has been truly amazing and Jenna with how they have helped me with the whole process and not making it so stressful , honestly Alexandra was a bubbly and lovely person when doing my viewing and made my first house feel like home :) would recommend this letting agent any day

Megan · 13 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Thankyou for finding me my new home very professional and fast communication I would recommend highly!

Cameron · 16 January 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Satisfactory Rental Agency service

I wholeheartedly recommend Brown and Merry's stony Stratford office, services to anyone seeking property in Milton Keynes, whether buying or letting. Take a moment to read my review, and I promise you won't regret it. Moving can be a tedious and lengthy process, especially when settling in a new town or country. However, my experience with Brown and Merry was remarkably smooth. After contacting several agencies and registering with many online, I shortlisted properties from Brown and Merry and other agencies. Their properties stood out, and when it came to the letting process, they made it seamless. What impressed me most was the negotiation with the landlord. Alexander Read handled the discussions with professionalism and finesse, ensuring we secured the property under comfortable circumstances. My exceptional experience with Brown and Merry is largely due to Alexander Read's outstanding service. She is an invaluable asset to the company, and I extend my heartfelt gratitude to her. Thank you, Brown and Merry, and thank you, Alexander Read. Your dedication and expertise are truly appreciated. Rating: 5/5 stars Highly recommended! God bless you."

Mercy · 2 February 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Fantastic experience buying my flat with brown and merry, they made themselves available for viewings that suited myself and was always available via a phone call when I needed queries answering, Jake Sarah, Corene and Alex you’re all wonderful and a brilliant team, also a big shoutout to Brian who was amazing helping me get my first mortgage and always being so supportive!

Sophie · 13 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

An atrocity of a company to avoid for the better

This company never ceases to amaze so I will be exposing them again. In relation to the rental property; 4a The Chequers, Castlethorpe, Milton Keynes, MK19 7HG Brown & Merry, 65 High Street, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, MK11 1AY began to advertise on Friday 17th January 2025 shortly before closing time 18:00. An hour or two after the listing went live, I went on their website to enquire whether a cat would be allowed to live alongside the tenant at the property and guess what!? No response to this current day Tuesday 21st January 2025. So that Brown & Merry can't deny it, I was immediately informed "Thank you - we have recieved your message". I'm left calling the office on 01908562011 / 01908561874 whilst selecting option 2 for lettings a mulitide of times, daily to pick up on whether somebody is in the office dealing with the phoneline aswell as emails as I'm expecting such a company being instructed and in control of finding individual(s) to live in said property to respond to me by the morning of Saturday 18th January 2025 in the hope of securing a viewing on Monday 20th January 2025. Somebody at Brown & Merry has updated the property listing to "LET AGREED" on Tuesday 21st Janurary 2025 so there was clear communication between themselves and other prospective viewers of which I suspect viewings were conducted at the earliest on Monday 20th January 2025 for somebody to agree a tenancy contract the following day. I was denied a viewing nevermind a response! All in all I made a total of 19 calls and not one person picked up. I suspect Brown & Merry recognised my name, email address and phone number to deliberately discriminate against my medical / disability needs yet again but that's ok, because it has backfired leading me to expose their behaviour again. I once again strongly advise all prospective tenants, landlords and buyers to avoid this atrocity of a company.

Anonymous · 21 January 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Alex is absolutely fantastic at helping us find our perfect home, they were more like a home personal shopper which was great experience! Wouldn't recommend anyone else to help someone move house and find a perfect home, will definitely be using Alex and Brown & Merry Estate Agents, should be need to use them again. All round fantastic experience and would tell anyone to use them! Thank you Alex once again for your amazing work!PositiveResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism, Value

Connor · 13 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We have only been in contact with Brown & Merry a few days, and we're astounded at the professional and efficient approach in the contact we have had with them. Alex, who has just helped us find our perfect rental property, and Elliot who is new to his job but so helpful and organised, have both been amazing. A brilliant estate agents who care about personal circumstances and individual needs. Thank you so much to Alex & Elliot!

Ellie · 13 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Unethical / possibly illegal practice

Awful from start to finish. I was interested in a property they had listed. They were not actually selling it, it was being sold by an auction house instead. I decided to go with Brown & Merry after being told that that the seller would consider taking it off the market before the sale. The auction house later told me that they would not do this. After the property was sold it was hard to find out if the property was sold or not. I had to find out from the auction house (who were actually really helpful and honest). To this date (nearly 2 months later) B&M still have the house listed for sale (clickbait). Unethical maybe illegal?

Jay · 19 December 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Unethical / possibly illegal practice

Awful from start to finish. I was interested in a property they had listed. They were not actually selling it, it was being sold by an auction house instead. I decided to go with Brown & Merry after being told that that the seller would consider taking it off the market before the sale. The auction house later told me that they would not do this.After the property was sold it was hard to find out if the property was sold or not. I had to find out from the auction house (who were actually really helpful and honest). To this date (nearly 2 months later) B&M still have the house listed for sale (clickbait). Unethical maybe illegal?

James · 19 December 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Very poor experience in trying to…

Very poor experience in trying to arrange a valuation. The Berkhamstead office didn’t take my contact details and then didn’t show, even though I phoned the day before travelling and also called into their high street office ahead of the supposedly arranged viewing. Also, the lady I spoke to in person in Berkhamsted was dismissive and rude. This agent can’t get the basics right! Such as shame as I had a fantastic rental experience a few years previous with the same agency! I think there are better, more proactive online and high street agents to choose from.

Lorraine · 1 August 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Alex & Beth at Milton Keynes have been…

Alex & Beth at Milton Keynes have been excellent & proactive in getting my vacant property rented out quickly. They are very tenacious and business like and 'get things done'.They have both been incredibly helpful & have gone above & beyond the standard duties by doing extra tasks for me (as I am not local to the property). Having had the most appalling service from JACKSON PYNE in Milton Keynes (honestly...just run...and keep running) - where my property was neglected & very poorly managed - BROWN & MERRY are a breath of fresh air. The two lettings services I have experienced are galaxies apart.Background to me using BROWN & MERRYI previously used JACKSON PYNE , Milton Keynes to manage my properties. Quick turnover of staff (suspect most run once they see what its like) & recently seems to be a staff team of two - Richard & Courtney. Negligent from top to bottom. Steve (Finances) rarely paid me rent on time - unless I reminded him (!) - if not sometimes it was a fortnight late. On one ocassion, they 'forgot' to pay me for 5 months.JPyne also advised me to replace all windows when tenants were failing to clean them on the inside. Then I was advised to replace the whole front door when the letterbox broke & the tenants were too lazy to replace it..unbelievable..was like being in a slapstick comedy without the laughs! JACKSON PYNE only visited once a year (if that?) and poor tenant cleanliness issues were never addressed & then revisited & double checked. End result, I sacked Jackson Pyne & end up with a house that's in rent arrears & left in a complete mess.● JACKSON PYNE MK did not take a deposit, did not do an inventory & slipped a sneaky clause into the contract (unknown to me at the time) which allowed them to still receive the full management fee whilst those tenants remained in property - even if I decided to CHANGE agents. How sneaky & unethical is that? ● They jumped sides according to what gave them the least accountability.In my opinion JACKSON PYNE MK are a disgrace to the MK lettings trade. Thank God I'm free of these careless people - who I had the misfortune to mismanage two of my properties. Both of which were left dirty & damaged & costing me many thousands of pounds to correct.BROWN & MERRY now manage both my properties and are FANTASTIC.Alex & Beth are excellent. They seem to be very happy & contented staff - with a good work ethic & good sense of humour/perspective.Despite being very busy they keep in regular contact and care about you , your house & the tenant. They care about standards & they care about how people FEEL. What a wonderful,refreshing change to my other experience.

Andy · 31 July 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Brown and Merry Watford have been…

Brown and Merry Watford have been amazing from our first contact with them. Hanan from valuations was professional, responsive and very insightful, she got our house up and online very quick. Jake from sales managed to sell the house without any official viewings for asking value which was incredible! Jamie has been superb throughout the process. 6 months of negotiations (no fault of B+M) and countless set backs did not discourage Jamie and he was always keeping us in the loop as well as providing useful updates. Without him and B+M I am confident the sale would not have gone through and I cannot thank the team enough for all the work they have put into our case. Couldn't recommend highly enough!

Patrick · 6 July 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I would like to say a Massive thank you to Alexandra Read for her professional and Responsive conduct, I give 10/10 to Brown & Merry purely on the service received by Alex, you will get my business time and time again, well done and thank you.

Jason · 13 April 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I recently visited Brown & Merry in…

I recently visited Brown & Merry in Watford for the first time, and I must say, I was extremely pleased with their customer service. Will Parkinson was especially helpful and charming. I highly recommend paying them a visit if you're in need of assistance, as I am confident they will go above and beyond to help you achieve your desired outcome.

Armand · 13 April 2023

★★★★★ 3/5

Trustpilot

"FIXED FEE" warning

I want to highlight Brown and Merry's contractual fee. It is a fixed fee based on the value your property goes on the market, not the value you sell your property at which could be several thousands lower. This was not made aware to us so we got a bill for several hundreds after completion.

Sarah · 22 September 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Sophie Terry what a star!!!

I don't usually write reviews. This is my first one but i had such an amazing experience I have to share it.Me and my partner we were looking for a property to rent.I contacted several agencies as you do. But Brown and Merry Aylesbury stand out. Especially the letting agent Sophie Terry. She proactively helped us to find right property and suggested properties which were great fit but we did not considered them when doing zoopla search. I live in that property now and I am very pleased. Thank you Sophie you have done fantastic job.

Richard · 30 October 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Very poor

Brown and Merry will say almost anything to get you to take a property. Sadly, once I’d moved in, their management was hopeless.During my tenancy I had revamped and redecorated the house. It was pristine when I left. I had the place professionally cleaned, I’d weeded the garden and pruned the plants. I have photos which show the house was spotless.Yet, Brown and Merry wanted to deduct £550 from my deposit.Which is a lot of money.I asked why.They said the garden needed tidying. Yet their quote included time for tidying the lawn. Fair enough. Except that trimming it may prove difficult: it’s an artificial lawn. Made of plastic.After months of fruitless chasing I still don’t have my deposit back. Or any good reason why it’s being held back.My contact at Brown and Merry, Hannah Newman, has been almost completely unhelpful. With perhaps one exception: she advised me to take my complaint to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme as “they will adjudicate this out fairly”. Which is more than Hannah or Brown and Merry have managed. So I’ve taken her advice. I’ve lodged a complaint with the industry ombudsman.I have also been in touch with Brown and Merry’s director, Mandy Horspole, but she didn’t help either. She simply begged me not to speak to the property's landlord. Which suggests they value some of their customers, just not their tenants.I’d say, if you value your rental deposit, STAY AWAY!--A postscript: I challenged Brown and Merry via the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and managed to get 100% of my deposit back.

Justin · 23 September 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Rental property

Having just completed on a rental property in chesham Buckinghamshire I would like to say that Amóur who was our point of contact at Brown and Merry was knowledgable about the whole process and was always on hand day and night to answers any questions about the property. She went above and beyond any estate agent I have dealt with in the past. I would thoroughly recommend Brown and Merry and in particular Amour who was an absolute star.....

Gareth · 15 January 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Found the perfect property to rent, we had a few bumps in getting the property but cannot fault the lettings team here, they spent time and continuous effort trying to get all the information required and liasing with landlord in such a timely and professional manner to enable us to move with the process swiftly. They have been very accountable especially Alex throughout and compared to other estate agents I have encountered these have been extremely professional personable and thorough. Can’t fault them! Thanks for all your help in dealing with our move ☺️

Gemma · 14 June 2019