Electrical Safety Advice for First Time Property Developers

During the last 20 years or so, there have been quite a number of TV programmes about property development. As a result, more and more people are turning to this as a means of making money. Housing in south London is not cheap but there are still bargains to be had at property auctions in Balham, Clapham, Streatham, Tooting, Wimbledon or Catford, and even further afield in places such as Cheam.

Before buying a property to renovate, you really need to visit. During the visit, you will get a good impression as to the overall state. But what of the wiring? In some houses, it will be obvious even to a non-electrician that it will need a full re-wire – braided cables leading to light fittings, surface mounted socket outlets, small round light switches and so on. In such a case, as a first time property developer in south London, you should call South London Electricians on 020 3199 9093 to let you have a quote for a re-wiring job so that you can get an idea of the cost for your overall renovation budget.

In houses where it looks like the wiring is in a better state and has been modernised, things can be trickier. Most first time property developers have no training as electricians and will not know if a full, partial or minimal rewire of your south London renovation project is needed. So when you buy, you may under or over estimate the renovation budget. If you over estimate, this will give you less cash to buy the property you are interested in and so you could lose it. Underestimation creates the problem of running out of cash during your renovation. South London Electricians have the latest range of electrical safety testing equipment and can quickly and efficiently tell you exactly what needs to be done.

A big mistake that first time property developers make is to ‘get a knowledgeable mate’ to deal with the wiring or even to do it themselves in order to save money. The issue here is that you will need to get the wiring checked and certified by the local building inspector which takes a lot more time than employing a qualified south west London electrician to do the work. Without the correct Part P certification, your project is likely to make less profit as you need to show that all notifiable electrical work meets Building Regulations.

You will no doubt have plenty of ideas about what you want to do with your newly-acquired south London property renovation project. However, as a non-trained electrician you could easily make decisions about the number and location of electrical sockets and lighting that may not be safe or appropriate. It is then expensive to re-jig your plans at a later date. Taking advice from a south London electrician before finalising your development plans could save you hundreds (or even thousands) of pounds and a lot of wasted time.

South London Electricians are based in Croydon so we are ideally placed to carry out a pre-purchase inspection quickly anywhere in south London. We are fully qualified electricians and have a wide experience of partial and full rewiring during property renovation. All work we undertake on your project will be competently carried out and certified so that you have the all-important Part P certification for selling your completed renovation at maximum value.

So don’t let the wiring of your south London renovation project cause you grief, chat with us on 020 3199 9093 now.