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Extremely disappointing experience with Chelton Brown<br><br>Our experience with Chelton Brown was extremely disappointing and turned what should have been an exciting experience as first-time buyers into an unnecessarily stressful and frustrating one.<br><br>We were interested in a property listed at £300,000, a price we felt was significantly above its realistic market value from the outset. We made this clear from our first interaction. After viewing the property, we identified a number of noticeable issues, including plastering, chimney repointing, brickwork and fencing which we believed were reasonable factors to take into account when negotiating.<br><br>We made three separate offers, and on each occasion we demonstrated a willingness to compromise on the issues we had raised. Our final offer was £283,000, which we explicitly stated was our final position. We also made it clear that if we received no response within a week, we would withdraw our interest.<br><br>What happened next was, in our opinion, completely unacceptable. We received no response whatsoever — not even an acknowledgment of our email. As first-time buyers, we were left chasing the estate agent simply to find out whether our offer had actually been presented to the vendor.<br><br>At that point, the entire experience became incredibly frustrating. We had repeatedly explained our position, made multiple compromises and put forward what we believed was a fair and generous offer, yet we were left with no communication and no idea where our offer actually stood.<br><br>We also questioned the original valuation of the property. The house next door was being marketed for approximately £40,000 less, despite being of a comparable size. We explained throughout our negotiations that, in our view, the property was worth around £285,000–£290,000 at most, and that would have been with the outstanding issues addressed. The vendor was unwilling to rectify those issues, yet the asking price remained completely out of step with comparable properties in the area.<br><br>Fast forward to now, and the market appears to have demonstrated exactly what we were saying. The property is still on the market, now reduced to £290,000 after failing to sell at £300,000. In the meantime, two comparable properties on the same road have sold for approximately £40,000 and £20,000 less respectively. One of those properties required work, but certainly not anything remotely close to the £40,000 difference in asking price.<br><br>This experience left us with serious concerns about how the property was initially valued and, more importantly, how our offers and communications were handled. The lack of communication, organisation and accountability was extremely poor. We shouldn’t have had to repeatedly chase an estate agent to establish whether a serious offer had even been put forward to the vendor.<br><br>As first-time buyers, we expected guidance, transparency and professional communication. Instead, we experienced a process that felt clunky, disorganised, slow and unnecessarily difficult.<br><br>The most frustrating part is that this was supposed to be an exciting milestone for us. Instead, the experience became so unpleasant that it completely tarnished our view of the property and the buying process.<br><br>If you are considering dealing with Chelton Brown, I would strongly recommend keeping a close eye on your offers and following up in writing. Based on our experience, don’t assume that no response means your offer has been properly dealt with you may find yourself chasing for answers that should have been provided to you in the first place.<br><br>For us, the experience was a serious let-down and one we certainly would not want to repeat.... Read more
7th Sep 2026 (7 weeks ago)