Category Archives: Sales

L-R Donna Howell, Vivienne Jones, Kelly Israel, Tracy Hernandez and Rebekah Young
Lettings, Recruitment, Sales, Staff

Leading estate agent announces five new appointments

Leading estate agent Dawsons is delighted to announce a raft of new appointments in its sales and lettings departments.

Five new staff have joined the Marina, Morriston and property management teams.

Both Vivienne Jones and Kelly Israel have joined the Marina branch.

Viv, the new office manager, comes with a wealth of knowledge in the property industry spanning 20 years. Previously she has worked in the new build industry, having managed numerous new developments for major ‘new homes’ builders and latterly in the second-hand market.

“Viv’s combined experience complements our busy Marina Branch in the second-hand market and our Land and New Homes Department,” said Joanne Summerfield-Talbot, Dawsons Director of Residential Sales.

Kelly joins Dawsons after an interesting career that has seen her work on the Jeremy Kyle and Jerry Springer shows.

“Kelly’s customer service skills and friendly, bubbly approach have made her the success she is today, having previously worked in hospitality. We wish both Viv and Kelly every success in their ventures,” added Joanne.

Tracy Hernandez joins the Marina team as a Saturday negotiator, using her engagement, enthusiasm and her personal experiences within the property market to great effect.

“Tracy’s customer service skills are already proving a great success with our Marina clients on both the rental and sales side of the business,” said Ricky Purdy, Dawsons’ Director of Residential Lettings.

Rebekah Young returns to the lettings industry after a short break away. She joins the Morriston branch to support the team at a very busy period in an area she is able to recall previously gained knowledge and experience.

Donna Howell joins the property management department as a property inspector.

“Donna has an eye for detail, and great customer service experience as a result of many years working with the public. Both of these skills to be utilised on a daily basis, along with her outgoing and very personable character which our clients find very important during this period of the rental cycle,” added Ricky.

As well as new staff Dawsons has taken delivery of some new fleet vehicles.

“Dawsons fleet is seen in and around Swansea every day we wanted an eye-catching design.  The array of colourful Fiat 500s that are seen out and about have now been joined by three new cars,” Naomi Webborn Residential Lettings Department Coordinator.

CAPTION: L-R Donna Howell, Vivienne Jones, Kelly Israel, Tracy Hernandez and Rebekah Young.

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.

 

Tips on selling your house
Dawsons, Sales

Top 10 Key Tips on Selling your Home

It is that time when people start considering putting their house on the market – new year, new house. The process of selling your house may begin with appointing a reputable agent, but after that there is plenty you can do to help not only secure a speedy sale, but also to fetch the best possible price.

A key element is how you prepare your house for viewings. This is sometimes called “staging” but it is vital if you are looking for your property to be sold in good time.

Here are our top 10 tips:

  1. First impressions – ‘Kerb appeal’ is one of the most important aspects of selling your home. It is crucial how the property looks for ‘first impressions’. It means having neat front lawns, clean guttering, clean windows, and making sure there are no rogue rubbish/bin bags hanging around.
  2. Give your home a bit of a makeover. For instance, give the walls a fresh lick of paint (preferably neutral) to give the impression of a bigger, lighter room. It will also appeal to the potential buyer because they won’t have to decorate themselves.
  3. 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.
  4. Repairs – it’s important to repair that cracked window pane or tile. Make sure all your light bulbs are working and that kitchen cupboard isn’t hanging off.
  5. Clean and repair– repair that discoloured tile grout, remove limescale, dust those cobwebs on the ceiling and buy some quality air freshener.
  6. Tidy up the garden – weed the patio, trim that out of control hedge and cut the grass. Basically make the garden look manageable.
  7. Give your kitchen a makeover – the kitchen is the most valuable room in a house. Upgrading cabinets and work tops might appear expensive but can be worth it in the long run. Also, declutter work surfaces and remove bulky appliances.
  8. Make the house feel light and airy – wall mirrors make a room look much bigger and lighter, especially in smaller rooms or hallways. Clean windows inside and out, and ensure that you have lamps on in any dark corners.
  9. Get a reputable agent to show potential buyers round – it’s their job to know what things to say, what to highlight and what to downplay. They are also effective at answering those tricky questions about the noisy neighbours.
  10. Bad smells are the single biggest turn off for prospective buyers. Make sure you clear/unblock drains, wash bins, open windows, and get rid of cooking smells from the kitchen. Plants and flowers bring colour, life and light to a room and smell wonderful.