Questions answered.

We are a team of 10, most are partners in the firm, and are dedicated for the long term success of the company.  

Every member of the OneTent team comes from a very strong background in another field as well as expertise in the real estate sector. We don’t hire “trainee estate agents” who have no background in other fields. We hire individuals who already possess excellent sets of skills and we give them very thorough training in estate agency work and in property management.  

From partner level to our resident housekeeper, every member of the OneTent team is highly proficient in their principal domain and is also quite competent in other lines of work. We continue to invest in professional development for our team members and giving them every opportunity to excel and advance within the company.  

We’re not an online estate agency. And we aspire to be totally different from traditional agents. We are proud to be simultaneously personal in business dealings but also to be technology-driven. We aim to use technology that is light and accessible for all parties involved. No one likes spending valuable time learning how to use a new app, no matter how user friendly it claims to be, especially if they will only need to use it once every several months. We leave the sophisticated apps to the geeks and give clients all the info they need on familiar ecosystems such as Google, Microsoft and WhatsApp.

Our most treasured asset is our team members. We invest in winning over and cultivating the best in the business, and we create a beautiful work environment to retain them. We know the buck stops with them. If they’re happy, everyone is happy.

We keep needless expenses to an absolute minimum. We pour our energy and money into our clients’ properties rather than into soliciting for new business. We don’t have expensive high street offices; we don’t have a fleet of company cars driving around for single viewings. We don’t do non-stop random mailers, or bus and newspaper ads. We don’t waste time putting up lists of available properties on our own website (who checks things like that anymore?!). We don’t print vanity brochures that clients take and throw away in an instant. Our time and money is reserved to adding value to our clients and to reward our incredibly hard-working team members.

By being proactive; taking every opportunity to keep the property in excellent condition minimises the occurrence of difficult problems. Our technicians will become very familiar with your property in a very short amount of time, because it will be the same 2 or 3 individuals who take care of almost all of your property’s needs — from the initial inspection and maintenance, to electrics, plumbing and furniture assembly, our in-house team will deal with it all. On average, over 90% of your property’s issues will be handled internally by OneTent.

Each property is assigned a team of 3 whose skill-set encompasses the majority of that property’s potential needs. The existing condition of the property as well as its location affects which 3 team members will be assigned. The landlord will have the option to opt into the team’s WhatsApp group specifically dedicated to their property. This would not only help coordinate work, but would also help the landlord stay up to date with impromptu fixes or any improvements being carried out. Any requests the landlord will have would be initiated on that WhatsApp group, and recorded separately by our admin team on our portals. This group will also include the tenant(s), which we believe helps maintain better relations, and better maintenance of the property. This method is in complete contrast with what all other agents do, who actively prevent any direct communication between landlord and tenant, in order to maintain their tight grip on the flow of information and exploit their position relative to the landlord.

Once the formalities are agreed, we start by building an asset register of all of your furniture and appliances. The asset register will include the current state and the expected need for periodic maintenance. It will also make note of any insurance obligations.  

A maintenance schedule is then set. Some items will be inspected annually, some biannually, and some will be serviced quarterly, e.g. washing machines and tumble dryers.  

On inspection days, depending on the size of the property, one or two of our technicians will conduct the checks AND carry out the maintenance required in the same visit. They will have with them the tools, maintenance chemicals, fittings and parts that are most typically needed. Only when we need materials that are not presently available will a further visit be arranged, otherwise, the maintenance work gets done on the same day. Works that only need materials up to the value of £50 will be done by us free of charge.  

There is always an annual inspection in which a comprehensive check is carried out. At the end of this, a report is produced, and any capital expenditure is advised (e.g. to change a worn-out tap, or to fix a long-suffering shower door etc.) The landlord is under no obligation to go ahead with any expenditure that is of an advisory nature. They are usually noted in order to raise awareness that this might impact a property’s rental value if not put right, or cause continuous nuisance to the renter. Only if items in the register have clearly reached or are very near the end of their life will we seek authorisation from the landlord to replace them. Landlords may still decide not to replace or refurbish as relevant, but this would likely lead to further needless expenditure on repairs and a negative impact on rental value or a longer void period. Labour is mostly on us, so replacing small things should not cost too much.  

It is worth noting that because of our regular maintenance and proactive repairs, the life span of assets in the property will significantly increase, sometimes, even doubling their longevity. This is the whole point of the OneTent mode-of-operation.  

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No.

Unlike other estate agents, when hiring we don’t opt for the smooth-talking salesperson (we don’t believe this is the most effective way of advancing a sale or a rental). Our selling is accomplished through expert knowledge, good preparation of property, and timely communications and solid advice all-round. We offer an excellent level of service which brings both sides closer to closing and signing contracts—through our work, everyone gains something, seller and buyer, landlord and tenant. Our negotiators and team members are exceptionally good at negotiations but without the off-putting elements that salespeople in this industry tend to have.

Yes, give us a call, or come and meet us for a free informal chat. We promise the following to all our clients and prospective clients: a fast appointment for valuation and consultation; no pressure; no upselling; no hidden fees; and total transparency.

We only service selective apartment blocks. Check our website to find out if the block you’re interested in is among them. We’re planning to add more blocks to our service list, so give us a ring to find out more.

If you have one apartment in one of our selective blocks and another that isn’t and want us to manage both, please get in touch, and we’ll discuss options with you.

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We guarantee our clients the introductory rate for the first 2 years. After the initial two years, our rates will still be much better than other agents’, and will still be exceptional value for money.

We will offer you a bespoke rate that will principally be based on the condition of your property. It will obviously be a better rate than our normal rates.

Yes, we are always happy to assist in acquiring properties for clients. We have a dedicated search & acquisition service that takes care of the process from start to finish.  

And as we specialise in a selective list of blocks, we can give you a detailed breakdown of the relative merits of each one of them. We would give you precise financial data and forecasts as well as really useful information about the block’s resident demographic. Ours would be high-value strategic advice on those blocks, so that you can select the one that aligns mostly with your investment goals.

We can find you properties off-market as well as properties marketed by other estate agents.

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We are with Property Redress Scheme, and currently in the process of joining ARLA.

Our business is based in Paddington. We also use workstations in some of our blocks in other areas.

We are a young, hard-working, and innovative team of professionals, with real estate backgrounds and expertise in different industries. We are dynamic, approachable, and we like having good neighbourly relations.

We aspire to build trust with our clients and business associates, across the spectrum. We take pride in being true to ourselves and kind to everyone who works with us in any capacity. This means landlords, tenants, sellers, buyers, employees, contractors, concierge, security, and of course all the neighbours!

Simplicity internally, and excellence externally

Creativity internally, and resourcefulness externally  

Teamwork internally, and community externally  

Fairness in Pricing and Personal Connection

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Meeting new people  

Helping neighbours with fixes on-the-spot and seeing their appreciation

Having the chance to use the Elizabeth Line to get from one location to another  

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Leaving clients or tenants waiting long to fix problems

Negotiators using non-sense terms to describe a property or a service

Endless quibbling between landlord and tenant during the deposit refund process

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Yes, and our contracts for short-lets are the best in the London market. With OneTent, the process of switching from long-term to short-let is a really smooth one. With short-lets, we would generally give a guaranteed fixed monthly rent that varies according to season.