Northwood incorporating Bowes Mitchell Newcastle Upon Tyne reviews

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Claire at Northwood has been absolutely incredible! It would almost be worth moving house ever again just to do business with these lovely people! 😉Thanks so much guys! …

Big · 19 September 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Many thanks to the team at Bowes Mitchel for another successful sale. I have used Bowes Mitchel on several occasions now, because off there honest and straightforward approach. Michael and Lynn in particular have been a great help in the recent sale, Under changing and challenging circumstances.PositiveResponsiveness, Professionalism

Glen · 26 August 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Northwood Aberdeen. Say goodbye to your deposit

Northwood Aberdeen.I rented a one-bedroom flat for 3 months, the balcony had no protection and it took them almost 2 months to send someone to install cheap lumber there.When I decided to leave they charged me for everything and they want to return only 35% of my deposit.They charged me 50 for the string to pull up the curtain (seriously?), AND 50 for painting the wall (I peeled the paint off when I remove my painting) and the kitchen, and it goes on and on. I lived there for 3 months and they cleaned as if I had lived for 1 year.My deposit is in dispute and I will not give them the pleasure of keeping my money just because they inflated the costs.

Rodrigo · 18 August 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

AVOID NORTHWOOD LIVERPOOL

My partner and I applied for a house. Sent everything they asked for, matched their requirements on the application form, told them I also have a student loan on top of my job and also we do have a homeowner guarantor which they seemed to forget later on and said ‘you need a guarantor for us to consider your student loan’ when yes, we have one, have stated this several times, it’s included in the application form. They didn’t even look at our application for a week after we sent it, we had to call to ask if they’d definitely got it, could barely ever get through, always on a break/another call or ‘Ruth doesn’t do applications in the morning’, barely ever available, told me on several occasions I’d get a call back, she didn’t bother, I’d have to keep calling, they messed us around for a month taking forever to process the application, didn’t even bother to request a work reference until 3 weeks after we applied and then literally 2 days later, was saying ‘we’re still waiting on your work reference and we’ve just received another application’. First of all, why are you accepting another application when we’ve already completed ours and have been waiting 3 weeks for you to process it. I found out my work did send a reference on time, they just pretended not to have received it because they were using us as a backup until someone better came along. (Meaning someone older, I feel as though we were discriminated against due to our ages even though we both have jobs, make more than 3x the annual income and have never missed a payment in our lives.) We even offered to pay the entire tenancy upfront because she lied and pretended she had no work reference, she told us that we could do this, couldn’t get through to her for days afterwards then when my partner refused to wait for a callback that would never happen and asked to stay on the line, she instantly became available and said she’s given it to the other application. We had to call her like 10x to get that information. We applied for it a month ago and told her that we wanted it for August 1st, she didn’t even receive another application until after our desired move in date and left us hanging. We put all of our eggs in this basket and now my cat & I will be homeless in a few days when my current tenancy ends. Going to have to see if a family member will take us in whilst we try find somewhere else but where will all of my things go? Avoid this company at all costs, landlords too! You’ll be waiting months for a tenant if you go with these because they don’t bother to get off their lazy arses and process applications swiftly and are always on breaks. You’re losing money if you go with them.

Daniellee · 7 August 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Doesn't even deserve 1 star

Doesn't even deserve 1 star. Rented a house last year from the Heswall branch. It has put us off renting forever. A hole in the living room wall ignored, various other maintenance incidents removed without discussion, poor communication, took ages to fix electrical issue and forged paperwork (date of initial inspection incorrect) - probably because new law states they have to fix within set period of time. Tried to fob us off by saying it was when the decision was made, however we are not stupid. We improved the property by painting the blue hall a more neutral colour and changed the orange carpet similarly. Asked for a contribution after terrible service forced us to leave. We were told this had never even approved by the landlord (we received paperwork approving the work). We were granted permission to have a cat, then this was retracted. We were informed by a friend of the landlord that he had a special arrangement where he pays more for a 'no fuss' agreement. They regularly blamed the landlord for being slow to approve things and suggested he was difficult. Hard to know what to believe. The Director Joanne and husband seemed reasonable when we met and spoke to them, as did most of the other team. I just cannot fully put into words how horrendous this agent is from a renters perspective. Not really sure why we didn't deserve basic and decent customer service.

Chloé · 27 July 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Would highly recommend this Estate Agent. Great communication and lovely, friendly and helpful staff. We got a full asking price offer within days of putting our property on the market. It’s been an extremely positive experience & the staff at the Benton office provided us with an excellent service and expert advice throughout. Thank you.

Kath · 17 June 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Should have had a viewing at 3.00pm…

Should have had a viewing at 3.00pm today with the West Derby branch in Liverpool. Waited over one hour and no one showed up; no call and no apology. What a dreadful company. I am living 260 miles away and have to rely on the goodwill of family to do viewings for me. This has put me into a really embarrassing situation and I won't like asking in future. I wonder if the vendors are aware that Northwood are losing them potential buyers? Don't use or trust them

Jaymo · 10 July 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Couldn't recommend Bowes Mitchell enough l'd give them 10 stars if l could.All lovely helpful people and Clare goes above and beyond to help,keep the good work up x

Violet · 20 August 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Well what can I say that has not been…

Well what can I say that has not been said, speaking as a landlord, can honestly say you can believe most of the horror stories below, started with the hastings office then seems that office closed all business transferred to eastbourne, meant to be a years contract to start with then see how they performed before going onto a longer one, all I can say thank allah did not start with a longer contract.Yes I am aware it was difficult times due to covid but not one inspection was done during the entire length of time their tenant was there, despite asking why not even a video walk through by there tenant, who was fast enough to ask for repairs to be done, northwood even had a gas safety done two months early on a new boiler I might add without telling us, then doing other work before checking it needed doing, then when the tenant finally leaves find they have changed a new floor failed to change any bulbs that have gone taken several of them with them, ruined a new carpet with cigarette burns left a load of rubbish..and had the audacity to offer a fraction of the cost needed to put right all the faults found after there tenant moved out also pretty sure that they failed to serve notice in time telling the tennant the contract was going to end after the 12 month period despite me telling them we were not renewing, hence the tennant stayed another six months, also know they failed to pay northwood the last months rent as I travelled down from nottingham to collect the keys only to find the tenant was still there and they submitted an email to northwood saying the could use the deposit as rent..

Duncan · 11 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Never again

We’ve rented from Northwood for nearly 2 years now, and the only positive thing I can say about them is they really do look after the landlords. This house is riddled with damp (which they knew about, because after we reported the damp in the back bedroom the agent said they’d had problems with damp coming through that rear wall). I wish I’d recorded every conversation we’d had with them so we had proof that they are all bare faced liars. They told us at the last inspection that, if we moved out tomorrow, they would be keeping the deposit because the mould paint we’ve been forced to buy to try and tackle the damp issues doesn’t match the rest of the walls. The kitchen and bathroom have poor to no ventilation, which we’ve reported multiple times, and just get fobbed off with excuses and told that it’s our responsibility to try and stop condensation and damp. We’re looking for another rental property to move into ASAP, and we’ll be avoiding Northwood like the plague.

Susan · 2 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

NORTHWOOD WIGAN

NORTHWOOD WIGANDreadful. Although I have to say, it depends who you get. Not everyone in the office is dreadful but 1 in particular is.We decided against Purple Bricks (don't know why tbh, maybe because Northwood gave us the highest price- which was knocked down to the price Purple Bricks originally said we'd get) & went with Northwood.After taking unflattering photos, we asked for them to be changed- only 1 person can take photos and they're not available so we missed a full weekend. When the photos were taken, the old ones were left on the website as well as the new. Even when we requested the old ones were taken down, there was still a couple of old ones left on.Still surprises me that when people are off work, Estate agents are closed. They only open till lunch on Saturday and closed Sunday.But all this is nothing compared to one person's attitude and complete unprofessionalism. This person was abrupt, unhelpful and made the whole experience very stressful. Bearing in mind, jobs like taking photos/ sorting websites/ making sure the buyer had the cash ready to go for completion- all the estate agents jobs- were all not done, or done poorly, this person got involved in things not their job- eg. emailing the solicitor and demanding when and how the solicitor had responded to enquiries. When we completed, there was a couple hours gap between our buying and selling completions & we were still emptying the house. This agent at Northwood phoned and said we had to be out, it wasn't our house, there are legal ramifications in us not being out etc. In the end, we contacted the buyer, who was lovely, understanding and said it was absolutely no issue whatsoever and to take our time.The whole experience was made far more stressful than it should have been. I think they forget buying a house is probably the biggest purchase you'll ever make in your life. If I went into any other shop and spent over 100k, they'd treat you like royalty, but for some reason, some estate agents treat you like scum.Sad really as I've used them before to rent my house out and they were great. Just be careful who you get in this office. Ask, the staff will know exactly who you mean.

DARYLL · 24 May 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Exceptional service from the team and the solicitor, Jasmine. Without them I do think we would not have got this property. Would certainly recommend and I would use again if needed.

Ian · 16 June 2023

★★★★★ 3/5

Google

It's a shopping mall it was easy to navigate and clean toilets very clean compared to some malls parking was not excessive but would be better if offered 1 or 2 free hours Parking would encourage me to shop there more

Geordie · 16 June 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Me and my 83 year old mother moved into…

Me and my 83 year old mother moved into a dusty house, rented via Northwood. After time i realised there was a rat problem due to a property which has been empty next door for 6 years. I contacted Northwood many times and nothing was done. In the end they shored up a hole outside the property. Still the problem continued and they did nothing at all, their advice was call a vermin catcher in, so i did, the problem continued. In all my time there, 4 years, and then they had the cheek to take my deposit away.In my view, stay well clear of Northwood Warrington. Lazy, unhelpful and gave no concern to an 83 year old lady who had to live with a vermin problem. I recently contacted the previous tennants and they too verified the problem and that Northwood had ignored for them too.Beware!!!

Jason · 9 April 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Absolutely tremendous. Two members of staff Caitlin and Clare have worked out of hours to help us and have been amazing. The last email received last night was after 9:30pm, just shows how far these two will go for you. So friendly. Great personal service. Would highly recommend.

Julie · 16 May 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I have just purchased my first flat through Northwood and found that they were very professional and efficient. They kept me informed right through the process and were very quick to reply to any queries I had. I would recommend them to any buyers and sellers of property

Linda · 16 May 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Misleading and Disingenuous

I received an email from the branch manager of Northwood Franchise in Bolton at 9.30pm yesterday evening. The email apologised for not responding sooner and asked me to complete a pre-viewing questionnaire. I completed immediately and returned.The following morning I receive an email form another member of staff advising me that an application has been received, so my application would not be processed, but they would add me to the database. I have three issues - Firstly, it is clear that Northwood were 'hedging their bets' when asking me to complete a pre-viewing questionnaire. This was a complete waste of my time and the follow up email essentially fobbed me off with a "apologies, but"Secondly, the Franchisee director Steve called me, he spoke for a clear three minutes explaining all about how his landlords would be upset if they didn't stack up potential tenants right up until the point that the property is let. the fact of the matter is that Northwood's business model is to guarantee rent to a landlord if a property is empty, therefore potential tenants are 'racked, stacked and packed' until an application is complete. Customer servcice in regard to potential tenants clearly comes secondary to the attention given to landlords.Thirdly - GDPR regulations require organisations to seek explicit permission to add contact and personal details to marketing databases. Northwood made an assumption that I wanted to be added, which is not the case. Had I not specifically requested for my details to be deleted I have no doubt at all that i would have been added. I have sent a copy of this concern to the Information Commissioners Office.

Jonathan · 7 April 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Couldn’t fault the service received by Michael and Clare. Knowledgeable, professional, helpful and genuinely nice people. They have now done a few sales/purchases for the family and have always been fantastic to deal with. Would highly recommend them.PositiveQuality, Professionalism

Dionne · 26 August 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Would recommend Bowes Mitchell every time. My mum's house was sold within a week of being put on the market after being with another agent for 5 months and no viewings!! They are all very professional and friendly and go the extra milePositiveResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism, Value

Vicky · 26 August 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I've recently bought a house through Bowes and I couldn't be happier with the process and outcome. The team are friendly, knowledgeable and professional. Clare especially helped make what could easily have been a very stressful time into a breeze. I would definitely recommendPositiveResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism

Emma · 26 August 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Staffs without humanity

Problems comes to all human beings. Last December, I had such problem. A day before my flight to home, the main door of my flat automatically got locked and I couldn't get in. I knew that Northwood Lancaster keep a backup of my key. I called (and also emailed) Northwood Lancaster and a staff received my call. She suggested me to wait assuring that she will find some staff to help me and took my details (phone number, etc.). I waited for 3 hours (outside their office in the shivering rainy day). After 3 hours (it was already getting darker), I called her back and got a disappointing reply. I also got an email reply at the same time that they can't help me because they are closed. I had assumed that they are kind-hearted people. But, from this experience, I got the feeling that these staffs do not have any feelings. Considering a special circumstance (that was described over the phone and email), would they have not been able to help as they were still picking up the phone, available on chat and replying emails? Or is it because these people do not want to help foreigners (non-British people)?

Naya · 29 March 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

If I could give 0 stars I would

If I could give 0 stars I would. I have never dealt with a more incompetent, outlaw-ish company before in my life. Over the course of a year and a half, Northwoods constantly let us down with poor maintenance and had no backbone when interacting with the landlord. If I listed everything they did wrong, this review would be longer then War and Peace, so save yourself the hassle and just stay well away from ever using Northwoods unless you like living in death trap accommodations and enjoy communicating with a bunch of morons.

Liam · 23 March 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Northwood Portsmouth

If you are looking to let a property, this is my feedback from using two different lettings agents for long-term lets. In both instances, I signed up to the guaranteed rent scheme and both delivered in that respect as my rent was always paid on time. However, when it came to managing the property, they were poles apart...‘Your Move’ returned my house in a habitable condition - subject to wear and tear, as expected, and it was clean, ready to move back into. ‘Northwood’ returned my house in a dilapidated and filthy state…… yet still refused to pay for a professional clean out of the tenant’s deposit. The house needed a great deal of work before it was habitable again, however, according to Northwood, the damp mouldy walls, the rotting sink area, the extensively stained living room ceiling (from a bathroom leak that still hadn’t been fixed) and the areas of malicious damage to the property were apparently just normal ‘wear and tear’.I don’t have any pets but after spending time cleaning the house I was covered in flea bites… and although the carpets were smothered in pet hairs, Northwood stated that pets weren’t permitted at the property so there couldn’t have been any fleas and refused to compensate me just £19 for flea products! Furthermore, most of the fixtures and fittings were missing (curtains, blinds and even door bolts!) however, because these were over a certain age, Northwood informed me that they had no value and no compensation whatsoever would be given.The miserly amount of compensation finally agreed left me hundreds of pounds out of pocket, though I have no doubt that they will have taken the whole deposit from the tenant.Northwood’s website promises they will take great care to select the right tenant to look after your property and carry out regular property inspections, but when I asked for a copy of such reports, none were forthcoming.When my property was returned, I learnt a hard lesson, but with a very simple formula:‘NEGLIGENT TENANT + NO AGENT INSPECTIONS = DILAPIDATED PROPERTY’In summary, due to my dire and disappointing dealings with the management team, my opinion is that Northwood are no better than liars and thieves, interested only in lining their own pockets. Happy to take the monthly commission, but do absolutely nothing for it.I would NEVER EVER use this company again, Northwood Portsmouth, AVOID at all costs… or, like me, you may end up paying the price in more ways than one!

June · 8 March 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I had a great experience working with Northwood inc Bowes Mitchell Estate Agents in Benton. They were very professional and quick to respond to any queries or concerns I had. I would highly recommend them!!!

Afshin · 10 January 2023