Tu Nguyen - Birmingham

A Qureshi

Landlords Perspective (and an ex-Estate Agency owner)

Pros: Cheap. Excellent at networking and social media self promotion. Available and approachable during initial contact. Has a niche in taking on HMO's which not many agents like to deal with.

Cons: Amateur, incompetent, highly emotional and dishonest one man band.
Unprofessional and a self obsessed.

Why amateur? Firstly, not accredited! After apparently over a decade of running his 'lettings business' he uses Openrent to let our properties. This goes against Openrent policies as it's only for private landlords and not agents. He should be paying c. £1300 per month for Rightmove. He doesn't register deposit or collect rent. Again limitation on him to handle client money due to his amateur set up. In the 2 years that he was managing our flats, he didn't carry out any periodic (6 or even 12 month) inspections and failed to inform us of some of the issues reported by tenants. This only came to light after we took the properties back from him. He also lost the keys to one of our flats that he was managing.
He has a couple of offshore virtual employees based out of Philippines. Apart from that he has an agreement with a poor maintenance company who is co-owned by Amina / Mina. They "manage" the properties for repairs and charge extortionate prices to landlords. They let down landlords with small jobs for larger projects. On three occasions it took months of chasing only to be told by Mina that they were too busy to do the job. Seriously, I could (and I might one day), do a documentary on the way these amateurs stress out smaller landlords and tenants.

Why incompetent? He lacks people skills. Good first impression but when you start dealing with him, he's rigid, inconsistent and (emotionally) volatile. He doesn't know how to say no and makes things up as he goes along. As a landlord with only a small portfolio in the Midlands, he was managing two single lets for our company. Initially, apart from all the admin he makes you do, he was eager to take the business. First 18 months, we had no issues, the rent was being paid by tenants and we heard very little.
The first major issue we had where the flat needed a refresh before being re-let, 6 months it took him to come back to us and admit he was unable to find contractors. We then had to get it sorted ourselves. The second issue was providing a couple of quotes to the freeholder for them to approve the preferred quote for internal damage caused by roof disrepair, he refused as it was not in his "remit"?! Final straw was when mortgage valuation surveyor needed access and he refused to facilitate as it was not part of his service. Apart from renting out the place, he was useless at everything else. Sadly, after asking for our properties back, he told me the keys were left in the key safe outside the flats, not being local, I arranged for the surveyor and a new agent to meet at the properties but on arrival the keys were not in the key safe. He avoided answering the calls and only communicated via. WhatsApp. Highly disrespectful of other people's time, especially when taking money from them for a non-existent service.

Why dishonest? In this day and age, people don't have to be good at Business to be successful, as long as they are good at managing perceptions (often via. Social media). This guy is the perfect example of this. After taking the properties back, the tenants have complained about him and a previous tenant felt she was bullied out of the property (she was a single mum and shared multiple messages where Tu was rude and disrespectful towards her). The impression I get is that he doesn't keep tenants happy so there is a high turnover and he is able to charge landlords again and again for a new tenant finders fee.

He's more concerned about building his own portfolio rather than managing properties. Not someone I would work with again or recommend. I will be posting more detail on this on social media so keep an eye out for risks of dealing with an amateur set up like this.

Medlyn Pepple

I wish I could rate this company less than 1 based on my traumatic experience. Financial strain and the looming medical expenses for a loved one are overwhelming. I had planned to use my deposit refund to clear these... I have always paid my rent at least a week before it falls due. Despite informing this agent in advance and leaving before April, they unfairly deducted rent. I've been dismissed, gaslighted, and accused of causing damage. Despite my pleas, I reluctantly agreed to deductions for cleaning and April rent. However, it's been over 4 weeks with no response. This situation has been traumatic. The company's lack of empathy and professionalism is disappointing, especially considering their role in serving the public. I feel livid to lose £890 security deposit in the care. It's sad that we still go through this in the UK in 2024.

N/B: Is this the room left in a terrible state? I can add videos too if you want.

Cappa Muzan

I have had a fantastic experience with Tu Nguyen while renting my property. From the beginning, their professionalism and dedication were evident. The team was incredibly responsive and always available to answer any questions I had, making the entire process seamless.

The agents were thorough in vetting potential tenants, ensuring that I felt comfortable with those living in my property. They also provided regular updates and handled all the paperwork efficiently, which greatly reduced my stress.

Moreover, their property management services have been exemplary. They have been proactive in addressing maintenance issues and have maintained clear communication throughout. It’s reassuring to know the property is in good hands.

Overall, I highly recommend Tu Nguyen to anyone looking to rent out their property. Their expertise, professionalism, and excellent customer service make them stand out in the industry.

Mijaan Abedin

Tu and his team (Tu, Dante, Rafael and James) have been amazing at getting me a place on such short notice. With a new job start on Monday, they worked very quickly, providing me with multiple options and accommodating for last minute preference changes based on my needs. They helped speed up the process to get me moved in as quick as possible to a property and room that absolutely matched what I was looking for. Extremely helpful and very friendly team.

Lauren Tissington

Tu used to come into our house and film our living room, kitchen, hallways, and garden to post on his social media, showing absolutely no regard for tenants' safety and privacy.

He also sent a message in our property maintenance group chat talking about plans to aquire a supported accommodation opposite our house to ‘improve the community’. Really unprofessional and wildly inappropriate for a tenants group chat to discuss. I am not interested in his plans to gentrify the area to line his pockets.

His social media presence is really tone-deaf, as he discusses candidly topics he clearly doesn’t have a comprehensive understanding of, coming from a wealthy letting agent/landlord, such as the wealth gap and raising rents for tenants.

My review of him wouldn’t be as harsh if it weren’t for his social media presence and was the reason why I decided to leave one of his properties.

My personal communications with Tu were generally fine. I was a respectful tenant and only bothered the agents if it was necessary.

My current letting agent provides a decent service that isn’t tainted by the desperate attempt at spin.

John Jain

I would not recommend this agent. Totally and completely unprofessional.

The entire team has been rude and incompetent. They have entered my room, without notice or consent on multiple occasions. The latest occasion happened on the 4th of November, and Amina flagrantly flouted the law, on camera when she barged past me to enter my room without notice. Horrible people.

Unfortunately I still live in one of their properties for the time being(until they agree to end my tenancy early), 19 grange road, they also manage 18 grange road. Avoid like the plague.

Lived here since 2nd of September and they illegally entered my room twice, in my presence. Who knows how many times when I haven't been there.

I reported a small patch of mould on the 11th of September due to a malfunctioning Dryer. Today the dryer is malfunctioning still, and the mould has all grown up and had kids. YAY!!!

Had to report them to the council, and may have to take them to court if the property redress scheme does not solve my issue.

Not worth the stress. The house looks nice at a glance, but if you have a proper look, cheap shoddy jobs allover the place, especially with their staff choice.

David Price

Since the beginning of my tenancy Tu has been friendly, helpful, and attentative. The house and room I stayed in were immaculately presented and very modern, being offered at a reasonable rate with all bills and weekly cleaner included. When I had some issues and needed help/special allowances, Tu was willing to help me find a solution and always makes an effort to simply make my life easier. Tu is a decent landlord, when other landlords would have been unfair or un-caring Tu was a kind professional. I highly recommend his services.

Suranga Perera

I have never come across with any issue during the 18 months stay in the property managed by Tu and his teammates. They attended all the repair and maintenance requests duly and did a wonderful job understanding my requirements and being flexible, communication was easy as they had a dedicated WhatApp team available round the clock and now they have a dedicated website to manage everything more professionally. Further what I liked most about them is the transparency and clear communication?.
I have few more days left and hope the remainder will continue smooth as it’s used to be?.
All the very best to you and your team, speacially Tu, Rafeal, Amina, James & Dante ?. I would certainly recommend Tu Nguyen Property Professional. Good luck.?