Tag Archives: Estate Agent

Burry Port Raft Race
Burry Port Raft Race, Charitable Events, Dawsons, Sponsorship

Countdown to the Dawsons-sponsored Burry Port Fun Raft Race

Dawsons is looking forward to being the main sponsor of the Burry Port Fun Raft Race which is now only days away.

The race takes place on Saturday, 22nd July at 6pm and is in aid of Burry Port RNLI & Afia Banjul Children’s Football Academy, The Gambia and promises to be a fantastic day out for the family.

“We are delighted to be sponsoring the Raft Race especially as it is raising money for such good causes,” said Chris Hope, Dawsons Senior Partner.

“One of our offices is in Llanelli and many of our staff are from the Burry Port area, so we had no hesitation in getting involved.

burryportraftfb“It promises to be a fun day for everyone and I know many of our staff are looking forward to getting involved and raising valuable money for charity.”

Added Chris: “Why not come down and support the raft race in the beautiful harbour setting of Burry Port.”

The event is being covered by TV, radio and the written media and promises to be a memorable evening.

You can enter a team made up of 4 to 10 adults, aged 16 years and over. Entry is £50 and each team is being asked to raise a minimum of £100 deposit.

All crews are required to design and build their own rafts and paddles using begged, borrowed but not stolen materials.

Awards are on offer including best dressed raft, last raft over the line and first to sink.

There will be food and drink available, live music and special guests: Cyril The Swan, Cochyn The Dragon (Scarlets mascot) and your favourite characters from The Party Factory. There will also be children’s inflatables there.

As well as Dawsons the event is also being sponsored by the Llanelli Star, JR Events & Catering, Burns Pet Nutrition and Burry Port Co-op.

CAPTION: Chris Hope, Senior Partner at Dawsons, with organisers Isabel and Craig Goodman and Burry Port RNLI crew members, officials, and fundraisers

Dawsons' auction at the Marriott Hotel
Auctions, Dawsons

Going, going… all gone – Dawsons enjoy 100 per cent success at auction

To buy or sell at an auction is proving a popular choice among Swansea property owners as was proved at Dawsons Property’s latest event.

To mark the half year position with a bang, Dawsons’ recent auction was a complete sell out, with 100 per cent of the available stock being purchased, which included a Grade Two listed church and a large run down Manor House in Mayals.

A modern auction is great for people looking for unusual properties and they have become increasingly popular with buyers who want to avoid the traditional house buying chain.

One of the main lots at the auction was St Paul’s Church in Plasmarl.

Dawsons Sales Negotiator Corey Ashford said: “St Paul’s Church was quite an unusual and quirky lot – not a lot of Grade II churches come up in the area.  We set the guide price at £75,000 and were absolutely thrilled to see if reach £90,000 on the day”

Property auctions are in vogue and are becoming an increasingly popular avenue for buyers and sellers and are fast catching up with the more conventional ‘private treaty’ route for homeowners.

This was proved at their recent event when many of the lots under the hammer went for considerably more than their guide price “In fact, two of the auction lots – 2-3 Llewellyn Circle and 30 Parkway both went for twice their guide price.

Dawsons Senior Partner Chris Hope insists: “Nowadays it’s a successful way of selling properties and getting the full price the market will pay. It is not all about a property which is battered and bruised, which no-one wants to buy “a property auction provides a rich variety of property types.”

Dawsons’ auction department has sold 94 per cent of the properties they have marketed so far in 2017. With an ever growing team, the auction department is thriving. Having had three auctions under the hammer so far, 2017 looks to be Dawsons’ greatest year to date for the team.

Dawsons Property sponsor Newton Primary Summer Fair
Community, Dawsons, Sponsorship

Primary school delighted with Dawsons Summer Fair sponsorship

Staff and pupils at Newton Primary School are getting ready for their Summer Fair which is being sponsored by Dawsons Property.

The estate agent has donated £250 towards the fair, which will be held at the school on Sunday, July 16 from 12pm, will help the school’s fundraising efforts.

“We are delighted to be sponsoring this year’s school fair and Dawsons believe the link we have within our communities is paramount to our businesses success, so therefore we make a conscious effort to support local events,” said Dawsons’ Senior Partner Chris Hope.

“All three of my children went to Newton School and we had no hesitation in deciding to sponsor the Fair.”

Newton Head Teacher Helena Rees said: “We are very grateful for Dawsons continued support and sponsorship for this summer’s fair.

“As well as Dawsons’ contribution I am extremely grateful to our PTA who have raised a lot of money for the school, which with budget cuts and the age of austerity is very welcome.

“I am very pleased with what we have in store for the Fair – there is something for everyone. It should be a great day.”

On the day, there will be visits from the Fire Service and the RNLI, with a bouncy castle, face painting and sumo wrestling, as well as a Pimms and beer Tent for the adults.

As well as sponsoring Newton School Fair, Dawsons is also sponsoring Burry Port Raft Race, in Burry Port Harbour on July 22 starting at 11am.

CAPTION: Dawsons’ Senior Partner Chris Hope (left) with members of Newton Primary’s school council and PTA member and school governor Claire Davies (right).

 

Dawsons aquisition of SA1 & Marina Properties
Acquisition, Dawsons, Landlords, Lettings, Staff, Swansea Marina

Leading Swansea estate agent announces acquisition of marina property firm

Dawsons Property has announced a merger with Marina & SA1 Properties.

The takeover sees two well established, local and trusted companies combining in a bid to enhance customer experience and other professional services to clients in the Maritime quarter.

The merger has been a seamless transition which sees the Marina & SA1 Property clients benefit from the thorough planning and cooperation of both teams from the very outset, and as the summer months move forward.

“What a great acquisition this has already proven to be, and we are already looking to the future and building what will be a special team and presence in the Marina for the exciting times ahead,” said Ricky Purdy, Director of Residential Lettings.

“The transition has been a smooth one, with our new clients at the forefront of our objectives.

“We hope to continue this process during the weeks ahead at several open evenings and meet-the-team events that we are to hold over the summer months.

“We know how important continuity is, and agent/client rapport, so meeting in person makes for a great start to our long term working relationships.”

The Marina & SA1 Properties will now display the Dawsons brand.

The Marina and SA1 staff along with Dawsons’ Marina staff, who have been with us since the opening day at the Marina six years ago, have already formed a formidable team focusing on customer service.

Having already established a strong presence in the Marina, supported by their four other rental offices elsewhere within Swansea and Llanelli, the Dawsons brand looks to establish itself further within the Marina in readiness for the continued developments both independent and those related to the University.

With the merger, coming over to Dawsons are Irene Williams and Delyth Evans.

Irene has extensive customer service and lettings and sales negotiation experience. She is knowledgeable about the local area and property values in Swansea. She is motivated to help you sell or rent your property as quickly as possible by providing a knowledge-based valuation together with a friendly and informative service.

Delyth provides bookkeeping and accounts support. She is the “go to” lady for people who have queries about your statements or rent payments and is providing invaluable back office support to the busy front office team.

CAPTION: Tim Kostromin (Dawsons Partner) shaking hands with Roger Blakeborough-Pownall (Director of Marina and SA1 Properties) and behind left to right are Ricky Purdy (Director of Dawsons Residential Lettings), Leon Atolagbe (Dawsons Senior Negotiator and Valuer), Laura Carver (Negotiator and Senior Administrator), Naomi Webborn (Residential Lettings Department Coordinator), Michelle Ireland (Negotiator), Irene Williams (Negotiator and Administrator) and Pauline Blakeborough-Pownall (Director of Marina and SA1 Properties).

Emma Bolton
Dawsons, Qualifications, Relocation, Sales

Dawsons manager celebrating becoming Relocation Agent Specialist

Emma Bolton, the manager of Dawsons Branch in Mumbles, is celebrating after becoming an accredited Relocation Agent Specialist.

The accreditation was awarded by Relocation Agent Network (RAN) and is achieved by completing a comprehensive online training programme, The Importance of Service.

RAN is a national network of independent estate agents (of which Dawsons is a member), and introduced the training programme to ensure each of their members provides the very highest customer service to those relocating around the UK.

Dawsons Senior Partner, Chris Hope said: “We take staff development very seriously and Emma’s Relocation Agent Network accreditation is a great example of what can be achieved when staff are supported properly to improve their skill set. Of course, having a Relocation Agent Specialist in the team is also great for our relocating customers.”

To be successfully accredited, participants must complete three phases of learning, which begins with four training sessions on the importance of customer service.

This is followed by three online seminars covering the Relocation Agent Network Referral Process and how best to help customers who are relocating around the UK. Finally, participants must convert their theoretical learning into a practical skill set by delivering assistance to three relocating customers.

By working with fellow members across England, Scotland and Wales, Relocation Agent Network members provide an exclusive relocation referral service to customers.

For those relocating to Mumbles and Gower, Dawsons guides their customers through the daunting task of moving to an unfamiliar location. This includes local area information on schools and amenities, popular neighbourhoods and (of course) finding the right property for them.

The introduction of a Relocation Agent Specialist to the Dawsons team, ensures that this process is made even smoother.
Relocation Agent Network’s Managing Director, Richard Tucker said: “Selected by us as the best independent estate agent to represent the Network in Mumbles and Gower, Dawsons have proved themselves as the area’s Local Expert. So with the addition of an in-house Relocation Agent Specialist, they have gone one step further to provide relocating buyers and sellers with the very best customer service.”

Auctions, Dawsons, Sales

Dawsons auction: your chance to own grade two listed church

The former St Paul’s church in Plasmarl, Swansea goes under the hammer at Dawsons Property Auction on Wednesday June 14 at 15:00 in Swansea Marriott Hotel.

The Grade II listed building is expected to ignite a lot of interest as it is such an unusual property.

Dawsons Sales Negotiator Corey Ashford said: “It’s quite an unusual and quirky lot – not a lot of churches come up in the area. There’s a guide price of around £75,000 on this so it’s a good price bracket for a lot of potential buyers.

“The church probably dates back to the end of the 19th to early 20th century, and retains quite a lot of original materials including the organ, stone walls, suspended wooden flooring and the original roof.

“It has D1 planning permission which would allow a number of uses such as a day nursery, education or training centre or medical centre. Its grade II listing means it is of historical importance, so there are restrictions as to what you can do with the building externally and internally.

“Overall it’s a great lot with plenty of potential, and it will be interesting to see who buys it and what it becomes.”

The church is one of a huge range of properties being auctioned on June 14.

Burry Port Raft Race
Burry Port Raft Race, Community, Dawsons, Sponsorship, Staff

Dawsons delight at being main sponsor of Burry Port Raft Race

Dawsons Property is delighted to be the main sponsor of the Burry Port Harbour Raft Race on Saturday, July 22.

The estate agency, which has one of its main branches in Llanelli, is heading up the event which is raising money not only for the Burry Port RNLI but also the Afia Banjul Football Academy in Gambia.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be sponsoring this event in Burry Port but we will also to be taking part in the raft race itself,” said Dawsons Senior Partner Chris Hope.

“Many of our staff are local to Burry Port so it was natural for us to support this fun and very worthy event which is going to be a great day for the family.

“The Llanelli and Burry Port areas are very important to our business and we cover right down to Carmarthen.”

burryportraftfb

Added Chris: “Why not come down and support the raft race in the beautiful harbour setting of Burry Port.”
You can enter a team made up of 4 to 10 adults, aged 16 years and over. Entry is £50 and each team is being asked to raise a minimum of £100 deposit.

All crews are required to design and build their own rafts and paddles using begged, borrowed but not stolen materials.

Awards are on offer including best dressed raft, last raft over the line and first to sink.

There will be food and drink available, live music and special guests: Cyril The Swan, Cochyn The Dragon (Scarlets mascot) and your favourite characters from The Party Factory. There will also be children’s inflatables there.

As well as Dawsons the event is also being sponsored by the Llanelli Star, JR Events & Catering, Burns Pet Nutrition and Burry Port Co-op.

CAPTION: Chris Hope, Senior Partner at Dawsons, with organisers Isabel and Craig Goodman and Burry Port RNLI crew members, officials, and fundraisers

(Ends)

Dawsons Llanelli branch
Dawsons, Qualified, Relocation, Sales

Llanelli Office show how crucial being part of Relocation Agent Network is

Dawsons’ Llanelli Office is proving that being part of the Relocation Agent Network (RAN) is key to offering clients a full and efficient house buying/selling experience.

Over the past few days the Llanelli branch has dealt with four different requests from people moving from Barry, Lampeter, Neyland and Wiltshire looking to move to the Llanelli area.

As Dawsons are RAN accredited it allows them to work with agents across England, Scotland and Wales, providing an exclusive relocation referral service guiding their customers through the daunting task of moving to an unfamiliar location.

“Being part of the Relocation Agent Network is a huge advantage for us to provide customers with the ability to move in and out of the area,” said Angie Bastin, Manager of Dawsons’ Llanelli branch.

“I don’t think people realise in fact how many people move into and out of the area, but as we proved recently we do get a lot of RAN referals of serious buyers.”

A lady in Neyland who was looking to move to the Burry Port area was a case in point, because the people she hopes to buy from want to move to Cornwall and have used RAN to find a property in the south west.

“This was a perfect RAN example: a lady who wanted to move to this area buying off a couple who wanted to move to Cornwall.,” added Angie.

The success of the Llanelli branch ability to use the Relocation Network comes just after Sales Negotiator Joe Chiffi celebrated becoming an accredited Relocation Agent Specialist – the fifth member of the office to get accredited.

“We take staff development very seriously and Joe’s Relocation Agent Network accreditation is a great example of what can be achieved when staff are supported properly to improve their skill set,” said Chris Hope, Senior Partner at Dawsons.

“The recent stream of customers looking to move into the area from various locations proves how crucial it is to be part of RAN.”

CAPTION: L-R Joe Chiffi, Llanelli Office Manager Angie Bastin, Matthew Whitehead, Felicity Curtis and Emma Davies.

 

David Parton
Dawsons, Sales

Happy Dawsons customer praises local service having failed to sell via online platform

While they present themselves as a cheaper option, online estate agents cannot match the benefits of using a real local estate agent, according to one man who has tried both.

The happy Dawsons customer from Swansea originally placed his property with a well publicised online estate agent, before switching to Dawsons.

“I felt they had a good platform which made it easy to get feedback.  Also, we felt the house we were selling would do most of the work itself,” he said.

However, after two weeks of viewings, he started to doubt his choice.

“My wife and I were conducting the viewings and we were finding that some of the feedback we were getting related to things we had said during the viewings. While we were thinking these were very positive things, people were clearly thinking in a different way to us.”

He started to suspect that he and his wife were not well placed to handle the viewings and to answer potential buyers’ questions in the best way.

“It was making us think that maybe if we had local estate agents dealing with the viewings they would be better equipped to deal with those questions.”

Being keen to sell the house quickly, he put it on the market with Dawsons, and was immediately impressed by their proactive approach.

“Dawsons have a good presence in the area, and I was struck by how proactive they were: they will call people up to tell them they have something that might suit them, and they have a database of people looking to move to the area via the Relocation Agent Network.

“Their estate agents are well equipped to handle the viewing and answer any awkward questions, and I also think people generally feel a bit more relaxed viewing with an agent rather than the people who own the house.”

Just as he hoped, Dawsons secured a buyer very quickly and the sale progressed smoothly. He appreciated having easy, regular contact with Dawsons so that he could keep up to date with what was happening.

“I liked having that personal touch and it was good to have that local point of contact.”

In hindsight, he feels that the apparent cost savings of the online platform did not compare to the benefits of having a local agent on the case.

“The commission we paid Dawsons is a small percentage compared to what you get from the sale of the house so we were willing to take that hit to sell property – and they sold it very, very quickly.

“It’s a nice house in a good area so we were surprised we didn’t quickly get a buyer through the online platform. I think I underestimated the value of a local estate agent compared to an online platform.”

David Parton (pictured), branch manager for Dawsons, said that outperforming an online estate agent comes naturally for Dawsons.

“When the vendor described his issues with his experience to date and what he was looking for, we could clearly see we would be the ideal match for his needs,” he said.

“Our highly experienced Senior Negotiator/Valuer, who has spent 20 years with the company and lives in the area, carried out the market appraisal and clearly laid out what our strong team of 5 would do every step of the way, from ringing out to our database the same day to gain viewings, typing up the sale and progressing the sale up until exchange and completion.”

Although the vendor had paid an up front fee of several hundred pounds to the online estate agent, he could still appreciate that paying Dawsons’ fees, if they agreed a sale, would be well worth his while.

“We lined up six viewings within the first day, and the vendor appreciated the constructive feedback he received from us within 24 hours of them happening.”

Very quickly an offer was made which Dawsons negotiated and agreed the same day.

“Due to the complex nature of the chain and different dates required for different parties within the chain, it took a lot of my 14 years’ industry experience to progress the sale – even over the Christmas break which fell in the middle of it,” said David. “The vendor and I spoke almost daily on the run up to exchange of contracts and he commented at the time that it’s a good job we have a dedicated sales progressor within the team.

Dawsons finally completed the whole process and moved the vendor and his family to their new home.

“We are all thrilled to have been a part of and have enjoyed catch ups with him and his wife as we regularly bump into them within our local shopping area,” he said.

 

 

Dawsons SA1 property
Dawsons, Lettings, Sales

Dawsons’ impressive housing stock within Wales’ most desirable postcodes

Swansea boasts some of the most desirable postcodes in Wales to live. In fact, three of those postcodes appear in a new list of the top 10 postcodes in Wales.

Dawsons is proud to be offering some very desirable properties from within those three postcodes – SA1, which ranks as the third top postcode in Wales; SA5, which is ranked as the fourth top postcode in Wales, and SA6, which is ranked as the 10th.

The survey, carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) on behalf of Royal Mail, found that those three postcodes scored well on such factors as quality of schools, access to green spaces, good employment prospects, working hours, affordable housing and average commuting times.

In particular, Dawsons has some much sought after sales and letting properties within the SA1 postcode, which comes third in the survey behind the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff Central.

“We have an impressive portfolio of both sales and rental property across the city but we do have some fine examples within those top-rated postcodes and specifically within SA1,” said Chris Hope, Senior Partner at Dawsons.

For example, Dawsons have a particularly impressive apartment in the Meridian Tower which is up for let at £1,500 per month and another apartment in St Christopher’s Court, for sale at £259,950.

Meridian Tower, Trawler Road, Swansea, SA1 1JW

(Under Offer £1,500 PCM)

This is a luxury two-bedroom apartment situated on the 17th floor with stunning views over Swansea Bay.

The apartment (pictured at the top) comprises of open plan lounge/diner, fitted kitchen, en-suite to master bedroom, walk-in wardrobe and family bathroom. It benefits from underground parking, lift access and being set close to the city centre.

St Christopher’s Court, Swansea, Swansea, West Glamorgan, SA1 1UA

(For Sale £259,950)

This is a two-bedroom property on the first floor offering views of Swansea Bay.

The apartment consists of a master bedroom with en-suite and Juliet balcony, an open plan living/dining room with a sit pout balcony. It also has a fitted kitchen with integrated appliances. It includes a family bathroom and allocated parking.

Here are the Top 10 postcodes in Wales:

  1. CF63, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan.
  2. CF24, Cardiff Central.
  3. SA1, Swansea.
  4. SA5, Swansea.
  5. SA72, Pembroke Dock.
  6. CF3, Cardiff South.
  7. CF62, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan
  8. CF5, Cardiff West.
  9. CF11, Cardiff Central.
  10. SA6, Morriston, Swansea.