John Shepherd Estate Agents - Solihull & Shirley Avis 110

My change of tenancy in Solihull went smoothly. I found the local staff always helpful and friendly, whilst maintaining their high standards of professionalism. A special shout out to those involved: Senka Dragicevic, Abbie Clark, Gemma Sproston, Nakesh Kaur, Rebecca Marsh, Caitlin Duggan and Alan Johnson. Thank you all.

I contacted John Shepherd to enquire about renting after being made redundant last year. My income position is non-standard because I have a mix of PAYE income, redundancy payment and self-employment income. I explained that I had evidence of funds, could provide supporting documentation and also had a guarantor.

I was told that I could not view any of their properties and, in my view, the response was dismissive and unfair. The phrase used to me was that they “don’t rent to your type of people”. I found this extremely upsetting and concerning, especially as I was not asking to avoid referencing or affordability checks. I was asking for my circumstances to be considered properly.

I understand that the law now restricts large rent-in-advance payments, but that should not mean people with mixed income, redundancy history or self-employment are automatically excluded from even viewing properties. I would expect a letting agent to assess evidence fairly, including savings, bank statements, self-employment income and guarantor support. I have asked for the reason for refusal in writing as I have two similar phone calls.

Many thanks to Caitlin, Alan and team for being super efficient & friendly in sorting our tenancy out so quick! Quick responses to emails & messages, prompt action & expert guidance!
Thank you so much :)

The lettings team at John Shepherd just did a fantastic job letting three properties for us. The service and responsiveness from Senka, Caitlin, Gemma, Shennay and Rebecca is exceptional. The renewals and property management team are equally brilliant so thanks also to Faye, Tina, Andrea, Lauren and Tracey. Apologies if I've missed anyone who deals with our properties, they’re all great.

🚨Unprofessional & unethical Estate Agent

I engaged this agency to market my property following a 10-year tenancy, at which point the home required some general updating. I relied on the professional advice provided by John Shepherds, who assured me the property was suitable to go to market in its current condition.

I also agreed to pay £390 for professional photography. Unfortunately, the quality of the images was not acceptable. Personal items such as coats, boxes, and children’s photos on the fridge were clearly visible, and no effort was made to stage or appropriately edit the images prior to advertising. It was rushed to market.

The initial market valuation provided was inaccurate. Within just two weeks of listing, I was advised to reduce the asking price by 13%, which I did based on their recommendation. I was informed that viewings had taken place; however, I received no feedback whatsoever from these viewings, despite being assured that I would receive regular weekly updates.

Additionally, I was not informed about premium listing options at the outset, which are critical during the initial launch period of a property. This was only offered later as a goodwill gesture after I raised concerns about the pricing strategy. Earlier use of this feature may have improved visibility and buyer interest.

Communication throughout the process has been consistently poor. I have had to repeatedly chase for updates, often waiting over a week without any response. I have not received the level of service or results expected from a professional agency.

Sales Director, Matthew Ellsworth has taken a week to get back to me and sees no real concerns in what I’ve noted here and suggests to continue working with the agency he assures me things will change. Given the lack of communication, transparency, and results over the last 13 weeks you would expect they’d have the decency to do the right thing, as I obviously no longer have confidence in their ability to act in my best interests.

Please consider this if you’re looking to sell a property with John shepherds.

I have been working with both Lauren Foster and Alan Johnson whilst i have been in rented accommodation, they have been very helpful when necessary, the communication has been professional and affective, have supported both transition's into the property and also upon departure with guidance's that helped this run smoothly, i have been extremely happy with their service.

I needed a rental property ASAP, Caitlin responded to my mail very quickly and organised everything from start to Finish. We managed to secure our rental property within 2 weeks all thanks to the hard work and commitment Catlin provided us. Would definitely recommend to any prospective Tenants or Landlords

Caitlin is very responsive and tried to make sure we have a smooth move-in. Much appreciated.

Lucy at Solihull branch is fantastic such a superstar

They have a good knowledge of the local property in a wide area of the Midlands.
The staff have been most helpful.

"I've had a fantastic experience with Natasha She's been incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and supportive throughout the process

We had a great experienced with our agent Caitlin Duggan. She’s very professional, helpful, friendly and very approachable. She’s very patient when responding to all our questions. Processing to rent a property and moving to a new house became easy. It was smooth and stress free because of her. We would highly recommend her to everyone. Thank You. Keep it up.😊

I have recently become a new tenant for a property under this estate agents. From the very first call right up until now, Lucy, Kaitlyn Tash and especially Shennay have been so helpful and prompt in their responses it's been an absolute breeze and nothing is ever too much for them! Thank you for making this process such a stress free pleasure :) x

Shanney is wonderful very friendly and helpful. A look ways sounds very cheerful on the phone.

I was looking for a one bedroom flat to rent and came across one through John Shepherd Solihull that looked good. I arranged a viewing where I was met by Shennay who showed me round the property and gave me all the information I needed right there for me to decide to move forward. Over the next two weeks Shennay was diligent and professional in getting all the information needed for the landlord to make a decision and I’ve now moved in all sorted within about 3 weeks to meet my timeline. Thanks Shennay and John Shepherd.

I had a fantastic experience with John Shepherd. Senka and Caitlin were incredibly helpful from start to finish. They found me a tenant for my property very quickly and made the whole process smooth and stress-free.
Their communication was excellent, they were professional throughout, and they genuinely cared about delivering a great service. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking for efficient and reliable property support.
Thank you, Senka and Caitlin, and all at John Shepherd for such outstanding service!

Caitlin helped to make my move easy. I received gentle reminders about any actions I needed to take and Caitlin always responded promptly to my questions and queries. I received a great service, and want to thank Caitlin for making what should have been a very stressful situation, more manageable.

I arranged over 1 week ago to have my house valued by John Shepherd Solihull and provided a guide on the expected valuation based on good local knowledge of similar property values and market activity in the local area. I am flabbergasted that, after rearranging various commitments to ensure I am able to be present for the valuation, I received a call from the agent at 4pm the day before our meeting to essentially advise me that the ‘compares’ they have done would likely result in the valuation being significantly apart from my own expectations. When I asked about the compares, the properties used had no relevance to my own. They were not detached houses, different number of bedrooms / bathrooms etc. clearly John Shepherd do not want to take on the listing of my property, nor do they want to actually look at relevant market data and, what’s more, they have no appreciation for anyone else’s time and the logistics in ensuring you can be present for a valuation in the working week. A terrible experience. I strongly advise anyone looking at estate agents in Solihull (seller / buyer / leasing) to avoid at all costs

Maisy has been brilliant, any queries myself and my partner had she answered straight away or found our for us promptly.

Thanks again!!

As a landlord, I’ve really appreciated the support I received from Lauren Foster during a particularly challenging period. She has been professional, easy to deal with, and communicated clearly throughout. I was kept informed at every stage, which made a stressful situation much more manageable. Overall, a positive experience, and I’d be happy to recommend Lauren and the team to other landlords.