The letting market in Macclesfield and surrounding areas is artificially inflated due to the volume of people coming on short term contracts, many blocks of flats are now occupied by far more tenants than owners and this is adversely affecting the quality of accommodation as some absentee landlords are apathetic about standards generally.

The property ombudsman published his report recently advising that complaints had soared for both sales and letting agents, the main problem being a lack of communication which is ironic in a world where communication is now instant, much of it however is not face to face and many of us dont realise that what is commonplace to us is not to our Client who may not have experienced a recession before and need reassurance.  Communication is the key in any business but with any property related issue it is even more important when you are dealing with somebodys biggest asset, their home or in many cases their pension investment.  Its not what you say its how you say it, so we should all think about our body language and how we are presenting ourselves and how what we are saying may come across to our Clients.  Make an effort to contact them even if there is nothing to report, it reassures Clients that you are interested in them and not just their business.

Local Housing Allowance LHA

Since before Christmas I have been trying to resolve issues with a Housing Benefit Tenant and rent arrears.  I now know that what Agents and Landlords have to do is be proactive and know the law as well as the Tenants do.  The best news that I received before Christmas was to be told that a Housing Benefit Tenant who  had received and spent his rent would not be re-housed if we ended his tenancy, albeit with a court order, because he had made himself intentionally homeless by not passing on his rent. 

Block Management

Jones Associates have over 30 years experience of managing blocks of flats of all sizes and types from brand new to listed building conversions each development has its own individual requirements.  We sometimes hear complaints from Directors of Management Companies that they can't get hold of their Managing Agents or that Contractors do not attend quickly enough, we are very old fashioned here in that we actually answer the telephone and speak to Clients without a push button system.  As a result of the personal service that we provide the Block Management side of our business is growing faster than any other.  I am sure that this is partly because everybody wants value for money at the moment.  If you have concerns about your property and the block within which it is situated please do contact us on 01625 500774