Watt Property is re-branding!
Angela has been in talks with a marketing agency recently with a view to re-branding our business and making our services available to as many people as possible.
The marketing agency have been excellent and have already provided us with a variety of options for our new logo, where we will be dropping the “management” from our title and will soon officially become known as “Watt Property”. Along with our rebranding we are looking to relocate to larger premises and if any of our clients know of ideal premises for sale, of around 1100 sq ft, please let us know and we will take a look. We are hoping to remain in the same area of Edinburgh, but are open to suggestions for relocating further afield than Leith if we find the right premises. We will be sure to keep you updated of any imminent move.
Another exciting change in the office is the introduction of our new member of staff, Rebecca Dillon, who has joined us as our new Receptionist. Rebecca is from East Lothian and has been with us for over a month now and has settled well into her new job. She previously worked in a large open plan office with over 50 staff and is really enjoying working as part of a smaller team in our office. Rebecca is going to be taking over the role of instructing renewals of gas certificates etc. so no doubt you will be hearing from her during the course of the year.
UPDATES TO LEGISLATION
Electrical Testing Requirements
EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report
PAT – Portable Appliance Testing
You may already be aware that the Government have made a change to current legislation whereby it will now become mandatory to have electrical testing carried out on residential let properties. The change is coming into effect in stages and from 1st December this year any properties that become available for let will require to hold a satisfactory EICR and PAT. These documents will require to be renewed every 5 years, with a recommendation that a visual test is carried out annually. From 1st December 2016 all tenanted properties will require to hold these documents. To find out more about the introduction of this legislation please click on the link below.
At Watt Property we are happy to ensure that your property meets the requirements set out in this legislation and if your property becomes available for let from 1st December we will ensure that the tests are carried out. At present our electricians are providing costs of around ?150 for an EICR and Portable Appliance Tests (PATs) can be obtained at the same visit for ?2.50 per electrical item. Where an EICR has not been requested the charge will be ?40 plus ?2.50 per item. An EICR is a report which identifies the safety of the mains wiring throughout your property and can result in highlighting certain areas which may be unsafe for tenant use. The category coding on the EICR provides options to owners on how quickly issues should be dealt with. A category 1 coding will require the owner to act immediately to rectify the situation and our electrician would provide you with an estimate to carry out these works. Category 2 and 3 however are generally recommendations that the electrician suggests are carried out in the future and can be treated with a view to being carried out as part of any future upgrades for the property. Our electricians are likely to only provide estimates for this work upon request from the owner.
If you have any queries about this level of testing in your property please do not hesitate to contact either Pauline or Angela of the office to discuss your concerns or queries.
