LONDONER Julie West is a big believer in that old Liverpudlian philosophy – calm down, calm down.

The founder of lettings and estate agency Zest says the property sector can often invoke strong emotions and cool heads can be a real asset.

Zest is based in Bootle and employs four people. Many of the residential properties it manages and sells are located in and around that area.

It is a far cry from the Home Counties estate agency she once worked for, where she would find herself frequently dealing with high-profile personalities.

Her biggest claim to fame was her role in selling the luxury house, which became known as Beckingham Palace, to David and Victoria Beckham.

Now she is dealing with people at the other end of the economic scale with a significant proportion of her tenants paying their rent through housing benefit.

New Government caps on the amount of rent the state is prepared to pay have put financial pressure on some of the clients she manages properties for.

“It is a worry for some of our clients,” said Ms West.

“It is hitting the lower end of the market and we are now seeing rents coming down a bit.

“Tenants are now finding it difficult in some cases to come up with a full month’s rent in advance, so on some properties were are offering half.”

Residential property has always attracted its fair share of rogues – the “Rigsby” character immortalised in the TV comedy Rising Damp still resonates with many people.

Add to that, the increase in the number of “accidental landlords” that have come into the sector.

These are amateur landlords who are renting out properties that they have been unable to sell.

Such people often under-estimate what is involved in being a landlord.

Ms West said: “People can be very naive when they first come to rent out a property, because they have no idea of what is actually involved in this business.

“They can get taken advantage of – their property gets damaged, they don’t pay the rent and then they find they can’t get problem tenants out.”

This, she says, is where the professional approach of the reputable management agent is an advantage.

She added: “We make sure it never gets that far.

“When there are problems, we don’t use solicitors – we get in there and sort it out ourselves.

“We have found that, if you talk to people calmly, then most issues can be resolved.

“Sometimes we need to get tough – if someone isn’t paying the rent, then we have no choice.

“That means we do get angry people to deal with, but I never raise my voice. Once you do that, you have lost it.”

Residential lettings account for the lion’s share of the business, but Zest also handles a number of property sales.

Ms West said: “We tend to specialise in sales to investors.

“If someone wants to sell a property quickly – say within two weeks – we have access to a number of investors with the money and who can make quick decisions.

“We also have access to finance when necessary, too.

“There are bargains out there to be had if you have the cash, but it is not as easy as you might think.

“Typically, investors are looking to buy at 25-30% below market value and they are more difficult to find.”

Ms West says she would like to open a second Merseyside branch somewhere next year.

She added: “What we want to make sure we keep is the very personal service we provide.

“Clients and tenants have my personal mobile number and they know if there is a problem they can always call me.

“They won’t necessarily get that with a bigger agency. The buck here stops with me.”