Last Sunday the 4th of August a team of brave souls from Dawsons took to the sky in a small aircraft and threw themselves out at 12,000ft with Skydive Swansea.
The Team:
Callum Thomas
Joe Chiffi
Ricky Purdy & James Bolan
Gemma Burgin
Bronte Evans Hope
The reason for this brave feat was to raise money for local charity hospice Ty Olwen. After the jump, delighted and relieved, the team met up with Dawsons Senior Partner Chris Hope to present Helen from Ty Olwen with a cheque for £2,567.
Callum, our Auction Negotiator, said “What a truly amazing experience! What made it even better was raising money for a charity that is close to a lot of people’s hearts in Swansea Ty Olwen.”
To relieve patients of the Ty Olwen Palliative Care Service who are suffering from cancer and life-limiting diseases by the provision of amenities, equipment, services and facilities not normally provided by the National Health Service.
To extend such service and amenities to patients suffering from cancer and life-limiting diseases who require medical and nursing support in all care settings.
To assist the family or dependents of patients suffering from cancer and life-limiting diseases who are in necessitous circumstances in particular as a result of these illnesses.
To promote and support research into the causes and treatment of cancer and life-limiting diseases at Ty Olwen and to assist in the dissemination of the results thereof.
To award bursaries to enable nurses and other staff and helpers to undertake specialised training courses.
Ricky, Chris & Tom are joining numerous other industry colleagues to canoe the River Wye for their friend and Huntingdon’s Disease sufferer, Dominic Subbiani.
Team Dawsons are canoeing 31 miles down the River Wye from Hoarwithy to Monmouth, stopping in Ross-on-Wye in the evening for a fundraising festival!
There are over 100 property professionals joining us in the challenge, so far, and it is turning out to be one of the biggest charity events the industry has ever seen.
By day we will be taking to our canoes and covering 31 miles of river and rapids, by night we will continue to raise money with a charity auction and games to help raise more funds.
The event is on the 4th and 5th September and both starts, and ends, in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.
Huntingdon’s Disease
Is a progressive brain disorder that causes uncontrolled movements, emotional problems, and loss of thinking ability. It is essentially a fatal disease which currently has no cure.
About Dom
Dom is loved by many in the industry, due to his easy-going nature, his kind and thoughtful approach and fantastic sense of humour. He has has been in the property industry for many years and runs a successful estate agents and holiday lets business, called FBM in Haverfordwest. The agency is also part of the Fine & Country network, alongside Dawsons, so we all know Dom very well and are delighted to take part in this amazing event.
If you are able to spare a few pounds, all donations are hugely appreciated. It is hoped that Do It For Dom 2019 will bring the fundraising total over £100,000.
We are jumping 12,000 feet out of a small plane for Ty Olwen Trust because we support this amazing local Morriston charity.
6 members of the Dawsons team will be taking to the sky in a small aircraft on Sunday 4th August and jumping 12,000 feet, in the hope that they land safely and look a little like the Wales Airshow skydiver on the video!
Along with the Sky Dive, we are carrying out various other charity events to put towards our fundraising:
Music in The Quadrant, Swansea
On 25th July one of our sales negotiators Laura-Jane took to the microphone in The Quadrant shopping centre and sang requests for donations.
The team spent the morning entertaining the shoppers on one of the hottest days of the year and managed to raise £443.19 from cash donations and are still collecting online for a prize donated by Boots at The Quadrant.
The Ty Olwen Trust
The Trust set out to relieve patients of the Ty Olwen Palliative Care Service, who are suffering from cancer and life-limiting diseases by the provision of amenities, equipment, services and facilities not normally provided by the National Health Service. As well as this they also provide support to family members and dependents, along with promoting and supporting the research into the causes and treatment of cancer and life-limiting diseases.
Dawsons Property will be donating all proceeds of the skydive to the hospice, in order to aid the funding needed to continue the fantastic work they are doing on a daily basis. We thank you in advance for your support and donations.
On the weekend of the 6th & 7th July the Dawsons Property team of volunteers headed down to Swansea Bay to work at the Wales Airshow for the 2nd year running.
“Tag your Tots” was the theme, and positioned at the entrance, the staff were on hand to get all of the children wristbands with their parent’s emergency contact details secured on their arms, so that, heaven forbid, they wandered off during the excitement – especially with all eye raised up to the sky for the aerobatic entertainment – their parents or guardians could easily be contacted and traced.
On top of this, there was lots of face painting, aeroplane stencils and glitter at the ready, plus selfie frames for photos and lots of advice about the events happening over the 2 days.
As the sun beamed down on Swansea’s beautiful sandy beach, this weekend absolutely covered with spectators, the aviation fans young and old were wowed with the spectacular sights in front of their eyes along the coast. The Red Arrows performed on both days, with live commentary from Red 10 and from Red 1 in the cockpit as they performed death-defying acrobatics at 700 mph.
On Saturday evening there was an extra treat as long into the evening with the airshow’s first ever ‘After Dark’ event with highlights coming from The Fireflies Aerobatic Display Team, hot air balloons and an impressive fireworks display.
On Sunday there was a spectacular acrobatic display from the Wing Walkers which saw many a spectator with an open-mouthed ‘wow’ going on!
Dawsons Marketing Team sponsors various local events throughout the year and raises money for charity.
Last week all of the Dawsons offices became collection points for a special estate agency incentive across the UK, headed by our agency charity Agents Giving and the national Relocation Agent Network.
This annual event is incredibly important because Foodbanks across the UK are being used more than ever before. During the week, at Dawsons, we collected for Trussell Trust foodbanks in Swansea, Llanelli & Lifepointe.
The Trussell Trust charity supports a nationwide network of food banks and provides emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, along with campaigning for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.
In the UK, more than 14 million people are living in poverty – including 4.5 million children. The Trussell Trust supports more than 1,200 food bank centres in the UK to provide a minimum of three days’ nutritionally-balanced emergency food to people who have been referred in crisis, as well as supporting people to try and resolve the crises they face.
Between April 2018 and March 2019, food banks in the Trussell Trust network provided a record 1.6 million food supplies to people in crisis, a 19% increase on the previous year.
It takes more than food to end hunger but helping with food donations is a start and that is why this annual campaign is of huge importance to use at Dawsons.
Collection Day
Firstly we head to Morriston sales, to pick up 341 items, including a cheeky monkey.
Next to Morriston lettings, to pick up 189 items
and then to Gorseinon office to collect 105 Items.
635 items delivered to Lifepointe.
Next, we headed to:
Sketty office to collect 107 items
Killay office to collect 43 items
Llanelli office to collect 174 items
Deliver to Llanelli Foodbank 324 Items (Met with Claire & Colin who were so incredibly grateful)
Final trip:
Mumbles office to pick up a whopping 798 items
Marina office to collect 158 items
Swansea sales office to collect 450 items
Swansea lettings office to collect 269 Items
And with a hugely packed van
Our final delivery was made to Swansea foodbank of 1675 items
We’d like to say a massive thank you to our board man Adrian from who drove from branch to branch last Friday along with our amazing food drive co-ordinator Gemma. Plus, of course, a huge well-done to all of our friends and local contacts who got involved and helped to achieve the amazing total of:
All of the Dawsons offices are taking part in the #RANFoodbank10k along with our industry charity Agents Giving for a fabulous fundraising event to support the nation’s food banks & tackle poverty in the UK.
We’re asking all of our local friends to help us to collect items of food between 13 – 20 June with the aim of collecting 10,000 items across the Relocation Agent Network!
All of the offices will have collection bins, even one tin of food will help so please support us so please do what you can.
SUGGESTED ITEMS: Breakfast cereals • Soup • Pasta • Rice • Pasta sauce • Tinned beans • Tinned meat • Tinned vegetables • Tinned fruit • Tea or coffee • Sugar • Biscuits • Snacks
Hospitals can seem like scary places and there is nothing worse than being cooped up in a hospital ward when all of your friends are enjoying a special occasion, such as celebrating Easter.
That is why 2 of the dedicated Dawsons marketing & charity team, Callum Thomas (Swansea Auctions) and Gemma Savage (Mumbles Lettings) headed to Morriston Hospital Children’s Ward with a little Easter treat this weekend gone.
Dressed like a beautiful Easter Bunny and armed with lots of goodies, including colouring & craft kits, and eggs (of course) the dynamic duo put a smile on the children’s’ faces (and, admittedly, terrified a few too!).
We really care about our local community and love to get involved with helping out. The guys were buzzing when they returned and hope they made some of the Children’s Easter special.
You can find out all about visiting the Children’s Ward at Morriston on this link.
If you are interested in our Charity & Community work, please get in touch with Callum Thomas on
Llanelli’s Matthew Whitehead run his first half marathon in aid of a fellow staff member:
Our very own Matthew Whitehead decided to take up running in 2018 and signed himself up for the Llanelli half marathon, which is a tough goal for a regular runner let alone a beginner.
With this in mind, Matthew wanted to run to raise funds for something worthwhile. Last year Sam James of our Mumbles lettings office was diagnosed with breast cancer only weeks after discovering she was pregnant with her first child. As a company we decided to give Sam the financial support she would need to be able to recover and enjoy her maternity alongside her partner Luke by fundraising as much as possible. Now baby Maiya is here and is a beautiful, healthy little lady, and Sam herself is also doing so well with her treatments and remaining positive. As Sam’s recovery is not over yet we are still looking to raise what we can for her with further fundraisers planned through the year. If you would like to donate or help fundraise please let us know.
Industry News:
Keeping learning local but global, introducing Dawsons Training Wales:
As most of us in the property industry will know, a regulation was introduced in Wales which applies to all landlords and agents of private residential property. The regulations became enforceable by Rent Smart Wales (RSW) in November 2016, requiring landlords and agents to comply with the new legislation, licensing those who deal with letting and management activities of properties within the private rented sector throughout Wales.
To obtain a license both landlords and agents have to undergo training from a Rent Smart Wales (RSW) approved trainer. This training can be classroom or online based. As a local agency discovered when looking to train new staff, the online course is extremely accessible and suited to an agents working environment, as part of this busy fast moving life we all lead.
With the increase in purchases online in recent years and the now daily use of PayPal for most, the need for a safe, quick and easy transaction at any time of day or night, outside of the usual business hours has become the norm.
There are many bonuses to completing an online training course, with the main benefit being the opportunity to complete the course from any part of the world in your own time, at your own pace. With online courses being easily accessible to all with the click of a button, it makes sense to learn at your leisure.
With this in mind Dawsons Training Wales was born in January 2019. Having acquired a former training provider (A19), Dawsons Training Wales has been set up to ensure the ease of online training for landlords and agents remained available from a local business provider.
The learning portal, designed by Picselli a Swansea based web design company, with the assistance and approval of RSW is one of the most up to date approved online course’s available. At an affordable, and competitive cost for both landlords and agents to complete the course, Dawsons Training Wales has become a success since its birth.
With an easy-to-access website, office hours helpline and around the clock email response, Dawsons Training Wales is very much the ideal training tool for all those requiring an RSW license.
Sacrifice your parking space
If your home comes with an allocated parking space, leave it free for prospective buyers/renters to use. It’s convenient and offers an experience that’s closer to the reality of what it’s like to live in your home.
Auction News:
From Auction Negotiator Callum Thomas:
“What a fantastic start to 2019 from the auction department. Having sold 10 properties in the first auction of the year. The high flyer was 15 B+C Trewyddfa Terrace which achieved £81,000 off of a £55,000 Guide Price. We have 15 properties, at the time of writing, all ready for April’s auction which is on the 17th so be sure to keep an eye out for those. We have created a real property network at our auctions now with building suppliers, surveyors, solicitors and rentals professionals there on the day. If you are interested in buying or selling with auction please do not hesitate to call us on 01792 478904.”
This truly wonderful four bedroom family home is superbly positioned on the edge of Machynys Golf Course, boasting incredible panoramic views across the lake, golf course and towards the estuary. Located in the award-winning Pentre Nicklaus village, with palm tree-lined streets and authentic timber clad New England style houses. With the vast open plan living accommodation on the first floor, making the most of the panoramic views.
Ask a member of our team for information on how to get one of our exclusive Reward cards providing you with discounts and offers in many local companies throughout Swansea & Llanelli.
DJW Restoration are one of our newest Reward Card Partners for getting your home back into ship-shape condition.
RAN update:
“Relocation Across the Nation”
Relocation Agent Network together with their partner agents was eager to share the love on Valentine’s Day by focusing and helping our clients with their relocation needs across the UK. It provides us with a great opportunity to identify those clients either looking to move into our area and equally those moving out by referring them to one of our partner agents, handpicked by RAN for our outstanding customer service.
Here at Dawsons, we have at least one accredited Relocation Specialist working out of each of our branches who will provide all the help and support needed with a proposed relocation which can be quite daunting, especially when it comes to choosing the best areas, schooling, etc.
So Valentines Day saw every agent partnered with RAN across the UK, tweeting, posting and sharing the love ……#weheartrelocation
Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) update:
Dawsons had 4 branches in the top 13 of the UK’s best agents in February for referrals to our financial services team. You can contact our financial experts on the link:
Period Poverty has a very low profile, yet it causes a huge impact on a girl’s school attendance, affecting education and causing mental health issues due to the stigma attached to menstruation.
Today, we know that 48% of girls aged 14-21 have been made to feel embarrassed by their periods, while 71% have felt embarrassed buying sanitary products. It is estimated about 137,000 girls in the UK will miss school each year because of a lack of sanitary products or access to them. Feminine hygiene costs approx. £400 per female per annum and many young girls or their families cannot afford this expense.
More than two-thirds of women have had to use improvised menstrual protection at some point, while 51% of women have either suffered from period poverty or know someone who has.
Firstly, talking about periods, and ending the taboos that surround them, means we can better equip every girl with the products and information she needs to manage her periods effectively, without shame or embarrassment. This is something that every girl growing up in the 21st century doesn’t just deserve, but should be able to expect.
On top of that, we can help to ensure that all of the local senior schools have a supply of free sanitary products to hand out to those in need. To this end, we have decided to use all of our Dawsons offices as Donation Points and we urge you to give us help with a cause, which simply does not get talked about.
Our aim is for all of the Dawsons Office to collect feminine hygiene products throughout March and all products collected will be distributed to local comprehensive schools by our staff.
Drop in products up until March 31st 2019
Items needed:
Sanitary pads, tampons and panty-liners of all shapes and sizes, please. Along with plain cotton briefs, opaque black or navy tights, deodorants and wet wipes.
If you can donate but are unable to call into an office, please consider using an online delivery service and placing your order to be sent to our MUMBLES office:
We pride ourselves in not just having local offices, but our staff within those branches being part of the community in which they are placed. As a company, we support many different charities, both local and national, local schools, social and sports clubs, as well as local businesses and events.
Our community contributions in 2018 were by far one of our busiest years to date. To name but a few, we were involved in: sponsoring the Wales Airshow, Burry Port raft race, DJM Charitable trust, Macmillan, Save the Children, Swansea City DSA, Mr X, Trussell Trust, Cariad defib, friends of Mumbles parks, alongside many local primary school fetes, local litter picks, and many more.
We proudly raised a grand total of £14,106.00 in 2018 alone, for which we are extremely thankful to all our staff who got involved. Whilst day to day we are an award-winning estate agent, we are also team Dawsons supporting in any which way we can.
Industry News:
Dawsons placed in top 0.1% of agents in the UK after winning gold and silver. Our Sales & Lettings teams are celebrating their achievements after winning both gold and silver in the Estate Agents Awards (EA Masters) in October 2018 placing us within the top 0.1% of estate agents throughout the UK.
Ricky Purdy, our lettings director commented: “The judging of this prestigious accolade takes place over a 12 month period, involves in-depth research, many statistics and mystery shops”
Jo Summerfield Talbot, our sales director commented: “These awards are attributed to the sheer hard work and outstanding customer service all our team members display by always going that extra mile helping and supporting our clients through their journey”
Take a look as you drive by our local offices this month and see all our windows which are now splashed with awards and celebration.
Top Tips: Declutter
Declutter those cupboards and drawers, tidy up and remove excess items that might give the impression of cluttering. You may want to remove any large bits of furniture (such as a clunky wardrobe) in order to make a room look bigger. Check out our ‘declutter blog’ here.
Auction News
“2018 was an amazing year for Dawsons Auction Department! Selling 90% of everything that we took to the room. Proving that buying and selling via auction is the most secure method of sale, the national average of selling via private treaty is only 65%.
A misconception is that auction properties are in disrepair or requires work, last year we found that its the vendors circumstances that determine whether a property is to be sold at auction not the finish of the property e.g. shorter timescales, security of sale, speed of sale and ability to sell with discretion in certain situations debt, separation, emigration, death.
Going into the first auction of 2019 we have very diverse stock located all across Swansea (which includes the property pictured in Alltiago Road, Pontarddulais). Come down to the Swansea Marriott Hotel on the 27th of February and start your investment with us. If you want a free valuation on any property/land that you want to sell please give Dawsons Auction a call 01792 478904.”
F & C Property Focus:
Ryelands, Bishopston. Offers Over £800,000
A prestigious & recognisable home which has marked the entrance to the village of Bishopston since 1905. With it’s prominent stature & handsome exterior, Ryelands is a striking and property. Offering an array of beautiful original features & magnificent size rooms made up of 5 receptions, 5 beds & 3 baths. Fantastic size south facing gardens & ample parking.
Business Link:
Would you like to work out for just 20 mins a week? Through efficient electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) training you can with Body Street.
Dawsons would like to introduce our local branch of Body Street, visit their website for introductory offers.
www.bodystreet.co.uk
Careers @ Dawsons
WE ARE HIRING
Are you considering a career in Estate or Letting Agency, Property Management or Surveying? Visit our careers page for all of the current vacancies.
Reward Card:
Ask a member of our team for information on how to get one of our exclusive Reward cards providing you with discounts and offers in many local companies throughout Swansea & Llanelli
Staff News:
January has seen us celebrate Tom Hope’s 10th year anniversary within Dawsons. Tom is now based in our Fine & Country department in our Mumbles office, Congratulations from us all @ Team Dawsons, here’s to the next 10 years +.