Wards - Ashford Avis 

My wife and family have lived in Kent for over 40 years, and every house that we bought or sold, of which there have been many, has been through Wards of Kent. They have always been an efficient and business-like agency. We trust them. Recently, we had to sell a second house in the village of New Ash Green that we were renting-out for over a decade. This was because of the changes in the tenancy laws.
The house was vacated by the tenant in March this year. It was well marketed by Wards and attracted a reasonable number of viewers over many months. Although there were a reasonable number of viewers and some price reductions no firm offers were received. This was because the market was already saturated with similar houses in the area; and our house had not had any major improvements compared to the opposition. The months were passing by and it became imperative for us to sell the house before the winter came. Being vacated and empty of any life and furniture in the winter would have rendered it sad and cold. This would have increased the problems of saleability and insurance cover. Also, we wanted to avoid an approaching new fixed term mortgage rate, which was likely to triplicate due to the enduring pressures from inflation and high cost of borrowing. After a few months, the manager of our local Wards branch in New Ash Green was replaced by a new manager, Steven Sanford
Steven Sanford did not waste any time in assessing our situation and familiariseing himself with the New Ash Green scene. He came up with some novel solutions. It was obvious that sale by private treaty, which is the normal way, had its risks as many potential buyers might be picky and might demand price reductions or pull out at the last minute; thus causing us much frustration. Steven proposed a new idea, which involved a modern method auction of the house. This had the benefit of finding a reliable buyer and using proven in-house experts and conveyancers; all aimed at the promised securing and shortening of the sale process Steven and other colleagues in Wards had a good understanding of this new modern type of sale. They gave us the confidence that it would work; and in fact, it did work. We were able to sell the house reasonably quickly, without it languishing empty, for months. Yes, the house didn't reach the price that we had originally expected, but it was very possible that this price was completely unrealistic; due to the conditions that were prevalent at the time. So, in particular we would like Steven Sanford for all his care and attention during the sale. He is a very likable and efficient person, and we wish him well in his new post. Peter Davies