Who are Sussex Property Management?
Out team simply has one goal, to help both landlords and tenants in a straightforward and stress-free way. We look after you every step of the way, helping you make your move in the right direction.
My name is Sue and I founded the company in January 2003. I had experience of being a landlord in London and of being a tenant in various parts of the UK during my career in International business publishing Sales and Marketing.
I knew that I wanted to run a business that treated people in the way they wanted to be treated – The Golden Rule of sales. My American publisher preferred the Platinum Rule – treat people in the way you want to be treated yourself!
When people rent a property they want it to be their home. They want to be able to trust the agent and trust the landlord. They want to make a life in their home, possibly bring up a family. I have had some tenants in rented property for over 15 years and I have seen their children grow. I’ve seen new relationships blossom and marriages happen. Happy tenants who have managed to save together to buy a home of their own.
Some landlords only want short term tenants and that suits some tenants because they are ‘between houses’ and need time to find a new home to buy.
Some landlords want long term tenants. We try to find the right fit. We would never tell you the rental was a long term option knowing it may be taken back after a year. That’s not fair on people. Moving house is an expensive business and finding somewhere new to live can be fraught and stressful.
I take property rental seriously. I keep up to date with all of the legislative changes, and there are many. In the time I have been trading there have been major changes to law including Electrical Regulations back in 2004 and again in 2020, tenant deposit regulation in 2007, the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates for rentals in 2008, the Deregulation Bill in 2015 preventing the service of notice because a tenant has complained about lack of property maintenance, the Tenant Fees Act in 2019 making it illegal to charge applicants fees to rent a property to name but a few.
If an agent isn’t fully informed about the law then landlords can find themselves in trouble. I don’t want that to happen to any of my landlords.
Happy landlords, happy tenants that’s my aim.
Meet The Team
In order to keep everyone happy I have a great team to work with.
In the years we have been trading we have seen contractors come and go. Most of our contractors today have been with us for most of that time. We know the quality of their work. They are friendly, professional and efficient.
Our property manager Pete Mountford has been working with Sue for a few years now. His career as an architect gives him knowledge about how buildings work so he can understand repairs and maintenance. His aim is to respond quickly and effectively when tenants tell us they have a problem.
Our Inventory clerk Sharon Davis has worked with us for more than a decade. Sharon has been compiling inventories for nearly 20 years from studio flats to large country houses for the National Trust. She is ARLA Property mark accredited and fully insured, also a trained and practicing Deposit Dispute Adjudicator, so she knows exactly what should be in a good inventory report. That’s why we use her services.
Boilers and plumbing – we use Patterson Heating Engineers for all of our annual landlords gas safety records, they also do a great job in emergency call outs for us. However when they can’t we call David Cooper who has worked with us for over 10 years. He doesn’t have the capacity that Pattersons do but he’s always willing and able to pop along to help a tenant out. Sometimes all it takes is an explanation over the phone.
Electrics – Steve Cresswell is our man. His company SM Electrical has served us well since he was recommended to us by a landlord back in 2005.
Painting & Decorating – Stuart Rintoul is by far the most talented decorator I know. He’s been with us over a decade and his and his partner Adelle’s work is perfection.
Building works – only this past year we have met Steve Johnson and he is proving to be very useful. He has a small team.
Handyman & House cleaning – we have a superb cleaner called Natasha, we use her services for end of tenancy cleans.
Oven cleaning – another recommendation. We use OvenRescue whose operatives in different post codes are all superb, well trained and efficient.
Carpet cleaning – We use Astons Carpet Cleaning, they are fantastic at what they do.
Gardening – these days we tend towards May & Son. They are a professional company and can be trusted to turn up and do a good job. We’ve used smaller one man and one woman bands before and for one offs they can be great but gardening contracts need consistency and some of our landlords offer gardening as part of the let.
Locksmith – another recommendation from a landlord is Adrian the Locksmith. He’s a bit of a cheeky chappie and is excellent at what he does. He also once insisted on being my bodyguard when we waited on tenants to vacate so we could change the locks.
Pest control – this contactor is new to us. Rob of RDA seems to be just the job. Pest control was taken over by the local council for a time and you can still get this service through them however their contractor seems to want to book you in several weeks ahead. Pest control needs to be dealt with quickly, Rob does this.
While we’re here it’s important to note that we never ‘uplift’ contractor price. Be aware that undeclared ‘uplifting’ by agents is illegal. Our fully managed service whether you’re on the lower rate or the all inclusive one includes arranging contractors to do maintenance work and repairs. Afterall that’s what fully managed means and what you pay us commission to do.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and floorplan professionals – Solid Inventories carry out all of our EPCs and floorplans. It’s becoming more important now to show a floorplan of a rental property. The virus in 2020 offered us the opportunity to explore marketing – floorplans work. The marketing of rentals as opposed to sales was markedly different pre 2020. Now agents have realised the importance of good presentation.
Referencing service – an absolute must. We use Canopy who will create a passport for applicants.
Our Philosophy
Over the years we have gained a reputation for caring because we are dealing with people’s lives and livelihoods. Our clients have lives and do not need to worry about their property or, as Tenants, where they are living. As one of our clients, landlord or tenant, you won’t ever be fobbed off with excuses or left to live in a sub-standard way.
Our Accreditations
We have been ARLA, NAEA and TFP trained since the company was formed in 2003. We are proud to hold membership of Private Rented Sector Professionals (PRSP).
1 Founder
It all began with Sue and a vision!
1 Consultant
Fast and effective maintenance
Speedy Support
You got any issues? Get in touch!
100’s of Happy Clients
We’ve got the experience! Use us!