Homelife. Property & Lifestyle Magazine Spring 2016 FREE
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Homelife. Property & Lifestyle Magazine Spring 2016 FREE In this edition. A city in bloom RHS Flower Show comes to Cardiff. Trendwatch A look at floral furnishings. Win Tickets to the 2016 Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix at the Principality Stadium. What’s on... The latest happenings in and around Cardiff. Property pages The hottest property around to suit all budgets. PLUS MUCH MORE... nº01 The all-new Audi Q7 The Legend continues. Few cars have what it takes to become a legend. But the all-new Audi Q7 is one of them. It’s lighter, more agile and more advanced – with seven seats, a luxurious interior and quattro® all-wheel-drive designed to take on the most challenging conditions. The Legend continues on a test drive at Cardiff Audi. Book yours now. Cardiff Audi Wagtail Close, Cardiff Gate Business Park, Pontprennau, CF23 8RT Tel:029 2054 7555 www.cardiff-audi.co.uk Official fuel consumption figures for the Q7 range in mpg (l/100km) from: Urban 42.2 (6.7) – 44.8 (6.3), Extra Urban 47.1 (6.0) – 53.3 (5.3), Combined 45.6 (6.2) – 49.6 (5.7). CO2 emissions: 163 – 148g/km. Standard EU Test figures for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results. Range of figures stated reflect optional downgrade from the standard 19” alloy wheel to 18” wheel. Other optional wheels may also affect emissions and fuel consumption figures. Homelife. Brought to you by Moginie James Residential Sales. Lettings. Management. Mortgages. Relocation. Auctions. PONTCANNA CYNCOED ROATH 02920 344 434 02920 761 999 02920 484 898 CATHAYS CARDIFF BAY 02920 345 345 02920 460 294 www.moginiejames.co.uk INSIDE Welcome to the 1st edition of Homelife by Moginie James. This month our magazine is jam-packed with features, news and guides to get you going for spring and summer, along with a showcase of some of the finest property on the market. 06 Welcome from Nick We hope you enjoy the read and feedback is always gratefully received. If you would like to contribute or 08 advertise in future editions, please Newsround contact us using the following details. We let you in. Moginie James Head Office 12 First Floor Thorens House A City in Bloom Cardiff Gate Business Park The RHS Flower Show Cardiff CF23 8RP. Cardiff will once again transform the city into 02920 730 888 a floral haven. [email protected] 4 | Spring 2016 Contents. 16 24 33 56 Trendwatch What’s On Pick of the Time to be Valued Taking a leaf out of Dates to add to your properties Now is the prime time the Flower Show’s diary. Browse our latest to sell your property. book, we look at floral homes. furnishings. 28 60 Speedy Giveaway 44 The Last Word 18 Win tickets to the The Latest in Barley and Rye talk beer Get Ready to Read! Adrian Flux British FIM Lettings and food combos. We explore the Speedway Grand Prix. Get smart about Rent wonderful world of Smart Wales. the Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival. 30 Spring Menu 47 The Cardiff Marriott Fine & Country 22 Hotel helps you create a Delve into the luxurious Cheers Dad! scrumptious spring dish. properties available We look at the best from our exclusive beers for your dad this property label. Father’s Day. Spring 2016 | 5 MOGINIE JAMES... AT HOME 4 5 ALL THE LATEST FROM MOGINIE JAMES HQ TEAM TALK Joining the Moginie James family at our Cardiff Gate head office is Michelle Davies in the role of PA to Nick James! IT’S BEEN AN INTERESTING FEW MONTHS SINCE THE PEDAL POWER! Alyson, Max and Chloe from our Roath office got back in the saddle again in aid of 2 Wish Upon A Star, a wonderful LAST ISSUE OF MOGINIE charity that the office has supported for several years. The team cycled an impressive 120 miles in total to Taunton back to Miskin. JAMES AT HOME… Max Girdler from our Cyncoed office explains: “Day One comprised 50 miles to our overnight stop in Tauton – although it started in driving rain, we finished in glorious sunshine! Day Two was a little stop-start, but for a good Director Nick James said: “There is certainly an increased purpose – we re-grouped just outside Cardiff, and cycled confidence in the property market since the May general en-masse (240+ cyclists all in matching jerseys!) straight election result. We have seen an uplift in activity all around through the city centre and past the castle to raise the including viewing appointments/valuations and instructions. charity’s profile. A further re-grouping just outside Miskin allowed everyone to finish together, to a rapturous Companies working within the property sector were all reception in such a small village! viewing the possibility of a Labour Government with a great deal of trepidation and some of the core manifesto We’re proud to say that Team MJ hit their fundraising policies would have been hugely detrimental to the target of £450 helping the charity to smash their target property market. of over £36,000! “ The election of a majority Conservative government will To find out more and donate visit provide stability for all those working within the sector www.2wishuponastar.org and many clients and customers, who have been holding back on either selling or purchasing their properties, will now have the confidence to proceed. Here at Moginie James, we’re anticipating a buoyant property market this Summer and beyond…” A BLOG TO BRAG ABOUT… Spring is in the air, Here at Moginie James, we firmly believe that we’re not the days are getting longer just here to help you buy, sell, let or rent…our remit is to and the sun is shining advise our clients on the complete A – Z of all property (well, some of the time!) related matters. Hence the recent launch of the Moginie James blog, an invaluable repository of information via which you can read 6 | Spring 2016 all about a diverse range of top tips and topics spanning everything from legislation & compliance to interiors & design. We’re always keen to hear from property related contributors, so if you have news & views to share, then please get in touch with our Client Relationship Manager Alexandra Carroll at [email protected] Welcome. A WARM WELCOME At Moginie James we love this We swept the board for the ‘Best time of year and it is with great Agent In Cardiff 2015’ as awarded by excitement I welcome you to the RaterAgent with our Roath branch 1st edition of “Homelife”, securing the Gold, our Pontcanna branch previously called “at home”. claiming Silver and our Cardiff Bay branch winning Bronze. These awards The past few months have been are particularly important to us as the ‘blooming’ marvellous for us, results are purely based on customer full of acclaimed accolades, service reviews - so we thank everyone award nominations, and the launch who took the time to leave feedback and of our new extended hours service. help us secure this coveted title. What’s more, we were rated the 11th best agent in the entire UK! To say we were happy was an understatement! Another celebratory moment for the “It’s our people Moginie James team came when we were nominated as Best Estate Agent in that deliver our Cardiff in this year’s Cardiff Life Awards and even more delighted that we won!! To win Best Agent In Cardiff once with brand promise RaterAgent was fantastic, but to collect the title again just a few months later that make us so and from such highly regarded awards, is testament to our service, staff, results and customer satisfaction and we look great.” forward to defending our title next year! And finally, one more thing we are proud of and want to shout about – we’re open longer! If you want to arrange to have your home valued, book a viewing or a mortgage appointment, or if you want some sound property advice, you can now call us until 8pm every weekday... Speak to you soon! Spring 2016 | 7 01 04 Congratulations to Graham Hawkins who has become Branch Manager of Roath, and Annamarie Winks and Sarah Jones who have both become assistant managers. 05 Well done to Gareth who has obtained his NAEA qualification, and Rebecca and Amy who secured their NFoPP qualifications. Good effort! 02 NEWS 01 In March we welcomed Melanie Barclay, Lisa Fletcher, Holly ROUND Hardy and Aaron Pitman to the MJ family. All come with a wealth All the ins and of experience and are valuable additions to our team. Also 06 outs of office life at joining the team is Ted, a former guide dog who unfortunately can As Nick mentioned in his Moginie James. no longer fulfil his duties. Ted welcome speech, Moginie James even has his own email address has been named by RaterAgent [email protected]! as the ‘Best Agent In Cardiff 2015’. This means so much to us as it is purely based on customer feedback – and we truly value 02 what you think. In March we were crowned ‘Best Estate Agent in Cardiff’ by the Cardiff Life Awards 2016. What an honour. What an achievement. 03 03 Moginie James is proud to sponsor a charity boxing evening at the Mercure Holland House Hotel in Cardiff on April 23 to raise money for Breast Cancer Care and Velindre Hospital. 8 | Spring 2016 News. Name: Claire Woodruff Age: 50 this year Title: Sales Negotiator Branch: Pontcanna LETTING YOU IN Favourite room in your house: Interesting fact about you: Bedroom.