Covid-19, Cape Town Winter Storms and Load Shedding… What next?

Dear Annette Laing Property Consultant Clients,

The Annette Laing Property Consultants (ALPC) Team hopes that each and every one of you are keeping warm, safe and well during these difficult times.
We would like to start off by saying thank you for your continued support, and patience while the company has had to adapt to the new way of life and business in South Africa.
Please see below are a few points giving you a little more insight on how things have changed at ALPC, where there are still some delays as well as things to come.

Covid-19:
Covid-19 hit us all like Mike Tyson, leaving everyone uncertain of where we were or where we were going. However as many of you experienced, the ALPC team never went down. The emails and phone calls kept coming, and we would assist as far as the Lock Down regulations allowed us.
What has changed since the beginning of Lock Down? At the start of lock down around 30% of our staff were able to work from home, but we are pleased to announce that as of today 100% of our staff are able to work from anywhere with an internet signal.

There might be a bit of catch up work to be done, but response times should improve drastically.
Unfortunately we have not heard the end of Covid-19 yet, as it still causes great delays at the postal service, municipal offices, deeds office and other services providers that the Managing Agent and Body Corporates rely on.

We are also busy setting up software which will allow formal meetings such as AGMs to take place with the correct online voting procedures and other regulatory requirements from the safety and comfort of your own home. (If you have not yet done so, download Zoom on to you cellular device or computer, as this will be the basis of most conference communication, not only at ALPC but in the world).

Cape Town Winter Storms:
Being one of the most stormy winters we have had in a while, it has caused great inconvenience for many with things like trees blowing over, carports collapsing, roof tiles blowing away, leaks, flooding , blocked drains and electricity shorts.
Should you be caught by one of these, kindly get in touch with our maintenance department and they will assist you as soon as possible. Lynette and Loretta will also be able to assist with insurance claims, should it be a claimable event.

Lynette Daniels: maintenance@annettelaing.co.za

Loretta Johnson: maintenance2@annettelaing.co.za

(If you are uncertain of which maintenance member services your complex, please copy them both into your email and the relevant person will attend to your enquiry).

Some things to take into consideration and may not know when reporting a maintenance issue:

 The Western Cape has a population of approximately 7 million people, meaning that there is a great chance of others experiencing similar issues at the same time as you are, resulting in a delay of reliable contractors getting to you right away.
 Majority of roofing contractors will not get onto roofs while it is raining and the wind is blowing, as they need to take their staffs safety into consideration. Similarly electricians will not come out in the rain, as we all know water and electricity are not friends.
 Electricity and Drainage: Many owners do not know that some aspects of electricity and drainage cannot be attended to by a private plumber or electrician, meaning that should there be an issue with these parts, you are stuck with the City Of Cape Town and with the current COVID-19 situation and depots opening and closing every other day of the week, there is no longer a 24-48hours waiting period. We have been experiencing up to 120 hours, and that is after getting the ward councillors involved.
 Insurance Claims: Many owners request an assessor be sent right away; unfortunately it does not work this way as assessors cost a lot more than most claims. Majority of the time the damage is a lot less catastrophic than what it appears. Should the quotes reflect differently, the insurance company will then appoint an assessor? (This process will not happen without a claim with some quotes being submitted first). Kindly also note the quicker the claims process is started, the better, as you only have 30 days to submit a claim.

Load Shedding ” Oh no it is back”:
Much like COVID-19, Load shedding is a phrase that we are unfortunately still going to be hearing for a long time to come, and is out of our control.
Please be advised that as the ALPC team is working remotely, and live in different zones, staff members will be off at different times of the day, and in some cases may even be off twice in one day.
Likewise these down times also affect, contractors, municipal offices, cell phone towers and the internet, causing frustrating and uncontrollable delays for everyone.

Please note that our landline at the office does not work during loadshedding and that an email to your portfolio manager would be best, if you are unsure of who is your portfolio manager is, kindly email info@annettelaing.co.za and your communication will be directed accordingly.

We at ALPC will try our very best to reduce delays where possible in this regard.

We would once again like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for continued support, and patience during these difficult and confusing times.

Kind Regards,
The Annette Laing Property Consultants Team.