Why do sellers choose us?
Giving you a remarkable, moving experience.
At JKEA, our mission is to be the most remarkable Estate Agent in the three counties. We are committed to our Team, Clients and our Community.
meet our founder and hear
how it all began.
A word from James Kendall.
I formed JKEA in 2011 from pretty humble beginnings in a spare bedroom in my parents’ home. I moved back home at 25, rented my own house out and went it alone.
Having worked in the industry since 2003, I have experience working for different companies on what to do and what not to do.
I worked hard for clients throughout my employed career and achieved some fantastic results working for great local companies.
It’s always been challenging having to ‘come out’ as an Estate Agent in friendship groups or meeting new people because the industry has a reputation of being seen to be sleazy, crooked, full of liars and ‘the worst’ (type ‘estate agents are’ in google and see for yourself!).
My results spoke for themselves when it came to selling homes, I had hundreds of happy past clients, but I knew nothing about running a business. – I had no experience or any sort of plan, and I just knew I had to get out of where I was and do something myself. So that’s what I did.
What’s different? Estate Agents are all the same!
If you stopped ten random people in the street and asked them what an Estate Agent did, 9 of them would probably say, ‘Take photos, put it on Rightmove.co.uk and show people around the house(if you’re lucky).
Unfortunately, that’s true for some estate agencies out there – take some poor/average photos, upload them to the internet and wait for the phone to ring.
This may have worked in 2004/5 when listing homes for sale on the internet was in its infancy, but in 2021/2 onwards buyers need more.. in fact, they demand more. Your internet presence is your digital shop window. If your photos are poor, buyers will dismiss and move on to the next property.
So what is different?
Well, for a start, we’re expert marketers. We don’t believe in just putting your home on Rightmove and hoping for the best, and we have developed our in-house property marketing plan to bring your home to the market.
Each home is different and so are your circumstances, so each marketing plan is bespoke to you and your home, but we employ proven methods to maximise the interest in your home and, subsequently, the sale price.
Our bespoke marketing.
Lifestyle Photography
Professional Photography not only shows your home off to its best but offers buyers high quality, crisp and precise details.
Presenter Led Video Tours
We’re well renowned for our walkthrough video tours on social media. Over seven and a half months worth of video has been consumed by buyers on social media in 2021 alone! Think Phil & Kirsty for your own home.
No upfront fees or contract tie in
Estate Agent contracts are outdated. Forcing someone into a period of exclusivity suggests a lack of confidence on the agents part and protects them, not you! We will never tie you into a sole agency contract period nor charge any upfront fees for our marketing.
WhatsApp Groups
A survey of 1000 people who had bought and sold a house in the UK was conducted by the National Association of Estate Agents. The number one complaint they received from those buyers across the country was that they felt communication was lacking throughout the transaction.
We create WhatsApp groups for all of our clients so that you’re able to connect with your agent and our team in and outside of office hours to ensure you’re always informed. Once you have accepted an offer from a buyer on your home, we create a separate group for the buyers, too, ensuring a smooth ride for all parties as possible.
WhatsApp will never replace the telephone, and we’re here six days a week for all of our clients on the phone.
An exceptional, moving experience.
No Lettings Department
We are a sales focussed real estate company, we have massive respect for Lettings professionals and the intensive work they do to manage properties, but from Personal experience, owner James Kendall knows that having a company offering both Lettings and Sales can be labour intensive and lead to reduced services for sales clients if there are lots of letting issues to deal with.
Quality, Not Quantity
We’re not a one-size-fits-all kind of agency, and our values are to deliver an exceptional moving experience; we cannot provide this service if we were to market every property that comes our way.
We don’t have a minimum value of homes we deal with, but we do not market everything that comes our way.
By employing James Kendall to help you move, you can relax, safe in the knowledge that you’re creating a relationship with a company dedicated to high-quality property marketing and an exceptional moving experience.
Help to buy your dream home.
The American and Australian real estate markets both have to buy agents who help buyers negotiate the biggest emotional purchase in their life. The UK does too but rarely is it offered outside of Central London.
Negotiation is a skill, and we’re expert negotiators. We’re here to help you buy your dream home too.
With our buyer representation service, you’re the client, not the seller, so we help you find the property of your dreams and secure it for you.
*Please note, we cannot act as your buying agent if the property you wish to buy is for sale through James Kendall Estate Agents due to a conflict of interest.
With You From Start to Finish
Pushing your sale through to completion can be a challenge.
Sandra Bloch is our dedicated sales progressor and will be the expert link between all parties to ensure your sale advances as smoothly as possible. We thoroughly vet all buyers, so you can be sure you won’t experience any unnecessary fall-throughs.
It’s no surprise that on average, we move people six weeks faster than our competitors.
what our clients say...
Stewart Ravenhall
My house had been on the market for six months with no offers. I contacted James Kendall Estate Agents, and they gave me some honest not-really-what-I-wanted-to-hear advice. I did what they suggested, then let them at it. The agreements were all electronic, so there was no need for paperwork. My house sold after just one day filled with viewings. I only needed to leave the house once, and I’d got more than the asking price!
Once we had the offer, JKES set up a WhatsApp group with all the key people involved in my sale (a highly-skilled admin, the big boss, my charismatic agent, the photographer, the videographer, all sorts of people I had never met) so that I was instantly informed of progress at all times. When I contacted my solicitor to arrange the sale of some household items (oven, lawnmower, etc.) I got nowhere for weeks. I tried the JKES WhatsApp group instead and had an agreement from the buyers within half a day.
Once the buyers’ survey results came in, showing some issues with my house, JKES were helpful, courteous, and professional. They could negotiate with the buyers and me to reach an agreement quickly. I really couldn’t fault the service I received. I’ve bought & sold quite a few houses over the years, which has been my favourite by far. Very impressive and highly recommended.
Joan Pau Sanchez
We recently sold our property through James Kendall State Agency and, after the experience, I would definitively recommend James Kendall as State Agency.
The process of advertising the house was done with a minimum of disruption for us and the photos, 3D images and video showed our ex-home on the best of lights. Showing the house to buyers was also done without much disruption.
All visits were done on a Saturday and it was easy to plan in advance to be out of the way for the day. Matthew Bandy and James Kendall kept us informed during the process and were always available to discuss any doubt we may have had.
Amy Emery
The team at James Kendall changed my perception of estate agents; no cheesy sales pitch, no hidden costs at the last minute, no radio silence when things got manic – they’re a breath of fresh air in a world where good customer service is so often overlooked.
The listing process of our home was straightforward, and the photos looked very professional – viewings were arranged and managed seamlessly by James & Matt.
Once we agreed on a sale and the wheels were in motion, Sandra was absolutely fantastic throughout the entire process through to completion – She kept us well informed at every step and always considered our position whilst trying to keep things moving, especially when we experienced delays and were very nervous – a credit to the company!
Having also sold another property with James before the most recent sale, I can confirm this was equally as smooth and seamless. This sale was emotional as it followed a close family member’s passing, and I was very grateful for James and the team’s sensitive approach throughout the process.
Overall I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending James Kendall Estate Agents and cannot commend their customer service, market knowledge and professionalism enough.
Top job – thanks again!
James Gough
We had planned to sell our house early in 2020. Following lockdown lifting, we originally marketed with a different estate agent. It was an incredibly difficult time with little interest and we lost confidence in being able to sell our home and take advantage of the stamp duty savings. We also missed out on the original property we wanted to buy.
The experience with James and Matt was a breath of fresh air. They immediately provided honesty, transparency and created superb photographs, video and 3D scan of the house. Within 3 days we’d had more viewings booked than we’d had in 4 months and we had 2 offers within the week, one of which we accepted. Matt and Sandra kept in direct contact with us throughout the process up until completion.
We chose to use the onward negotiation package, which proved to be extremely valuable. We had one purchase in mind that was overpriced and James guided us in reconsidering what may have been a poor investment. With James’ help, we found a more suitable property and he closed the negotiations for us on the day, saving us a reasonable amount of money on the asking price.
Moving home is no doubt stressful, but in interacting with James and the team we had full transparency on our sale at all times. We would 100% recommend the first point of call for anyone selling in Bedford would be James Kendall.