Graves Son & Pilcher to relaunch their sales & lettings department

Brining it home

Property expert Michael Ansell joins the team at Graves Son & Pilcher to relaunch their sales & lettings department
It’s been five years since Graves Son & Pilcher moved away from the business of selling residential property. After so many years in residential property sales it was a tough decision, and not one they took lightly. The partnership wished to concentrate on commerical work, property management, block management and professional services.

“Michael Ansell joins Graves Son & Pilcher to breathe new life into one of the city’s most respected residential sales and lettings companies with a reputation dating back to the 19th century”

But things have changed, Michael Ansell has joined Graves Son & Pilcher to breathe new life into what was for so many years one of the city’s most respected residential sales departments with a reputation dating back to the 19th century.
Michael Ansell has spent the last 30 years at Countrywide, rising from trainee negotiator to director. He wanted a change, let out his London home and moved down to Brighton. He already had a flat here in the city where the building was managed by Graves Son and Pilcher. He decided that, as much as he was enjoying more leisure time, he still had a desire to work and, in particular, he wanted to get back to the thing he loved most: property.

Being part of the management committee for the building he lived in, Michael knew that Graves Son & Pilcher were the managing agents and also a firm with an impeccable record going back over 100 years. He decided to contact them and asked for a meeting with managing partner Stephen Owen to discuss residential sales and lettings. He knew that they had once operated a very successful residential sales department and felt that now might be the time for it to be revived.

“Stephen Owen asked me to come in and talk to them about my property pedigree. I had for some time been on the board at Countrywide, so not actively selling property. But I was head of the South East division with responsibility for 155 offices, five subsidiary companies and around 750 staff.

“I love my new department, working with Georgina Reed who is office manager. I first met the team here in December 2012 and joined the company as a partner in January.

I relish being back in the real business of marketing homes and dealing on a day to day basis with buyers, sellers and landlords.

“We have reintroduced sales and enhanced lettings, and it is already proving to have been a good decision. Business is good and it all started happening far more quickly than any of us could have hoped for.

“The firm already has a large portfolio of residential property for letting, mainly long-standing clients. I think it is also long standing clients who will come back to let, sell and buy through us, as well as new clients, the reputation of this firm is that strong.

“Our sales are already pleasing and it’s happening in lettings quite quickly too. I’m sure a large number of the firm’s existing clients are delighted that we are back. It was gratifying that on our first new completion we had a lovely email from the vendor saying how pleased he was with our service.

“It read: ‘I wanted to thank you formally for the way in which you managed the sale of my flat. I think you have provided a really professional, responsive and thoughtful service, which I have found of great value. – Vendor, Brighton’.

“We provide a very personal service and we intend to maintain that standard as we grow and return to a leading position the firm once had in the field.

“I started work as a trainee negotiator and I have had an amazing career but I am really loving getting back to the grass roots of estate agency. I missed dealing with clients and I love being hands on again. I have also embraced the fact that legislation is a constantly changing force so I have completed the ARLA exams so that I am completely up to date with lettings legislation.

“The sale of property has changed a lot too and we have a full commitment to offering the very best of services that embraces new technology and ideas but never at the cost of traditional values and good manners.

“I’m glad to have found a new challenge, I had thought that I could settle to a life of leisure but it soon became obvious that I needed more and that property sales and lettings was where I belong.”

It’s great news for Michael and Graves Son & Pilcher, and it’s also great news for the industry that they have judged this to be the right time to get back into residential sales. As one of the city’s most respected property firms their return to residential ales should be heralded as a sign that things are on the up, and Latest Homes wish them the very best of luck on their long awaited return.

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