EPM

Ok, so, as promised, here is an update… and it’s still four stars.
I wonder if it’s because I have this unnerving habit of actually going into the office in person when I have a question, but EPM have been nothing short of angelic to me. Back in December, when we had that maaaad weather in December when the rain was kinda blowing UPWARDS under the eves, I emailed them two days before Christmas to say a couple of drips were coming through the ceiling. That’s all it was, a few drips, but I was sad that when I got back from Christmas they hadn’t got back to me. I’m cutting them some slack because they’d probably left for the holidays when my email came through and things get lost. If I’d been really bothered I’d have phoned, but there was no damage done.
Now then, a couple of weeks ago, my washing machine broke down. I did my usual trick of walking into the office to mention it and at the same time I explained about my email that had gone astray. They were supremely apologetic. In two days, an engineer was round to fix my machine, and today I had a call checking to see that he’d been, and asking if anyone had sorted my ceiling yet too. I said yes to the former, no to the latter, and they promised to get onto it.
I never expected unprompted communication from them on any matter not relating to finance. I’m impressed! This is the key, folks. Don’t email, don’t phone. Walk in. That’s kind of my approach to stuff anyway but that’s my tip to you.

Avoid! Far worse than the average Edinburgh letting agent. Once we signed the lease problems were not resolved in a reasonable amount of time and the letting agent was difficult to reach… and would not take responsibility for poor service. I wish I knew before signing the lease — I will leave when it ends.

If in need of help,
No responsibility
Don’t count on these guys!

EPM are probably no better and no worse than the majority of letting agencies in Edinburgh. As in, they get most things right, but have an infuriating tendency to be helpful only when it suits them, and can often be maddeningly unresponsive to your queries and requests.
When I rented a flat with them, most of the time everything was fine and so I had very little contact with them — which suited me perfectly. But of course, it’s only when things go wrong that a letting agency is really tested, and in EPM’s case, their strategy seemed to be to ignore us for as long as possible hoping that we would give up and go away before at last giving in and sending in a repair man/​returning a deposit/​confirming next year’s lease etc.
Their office and their staff all give the impression of being very upmarket and are impeccably polite, but don’t be completely taken in by this, as it won’t stop them trying to very politely screw you over.

Dear Unilocal reader,
Looking for a flat? A decent one right? With everything functional and warm enough for that cold Scottish winter? Stay clear of this company then!
I arranged two meetings with an agent from this company on two separate flats. They didn’t turn up to either.
For the first flat, the guy eventually contacted me after I called him several times outside the building we were supposed to meet up, apologising because he was inside and had not realised we were waiting. Then he said he would be downstairs in a minute. After 20 minutes (and at this point about 45 minutes after our arranged meeting time) we gave up.
For the second flat they did not even called to apologise. We waited close to half an hour and when no one showed again we decided to try our luck and ring the door bell. The unsecured main door led us to dark staircase and after knocking at two flats eventually found the flat on offer. The tenant was really nice and offered to show us around. It was an awful flat, and according to the tenants EPM had failed to repair their toilet and mouldy shower for the past 9 months despite their constant calls. In addition, one of the tenants kept pets making the overall smell of the place unbearable.
No thank you it is then e-​p-​m.

So far, Edinburgh Property Management have been pretty excellent! They’ve sorted everything out as soon as we’ve brought it to their attention and they were really helpful in all the pre-​moving in arrangements. I always feel that people only show their true colours in a crisis, however. So, of course, to benefit the Qype network at large, I thought I would test them. I left a tap on all night (the waterboard had turned the water off, and then turned it back on again at like 4am!) and managed to flood three floors of my building. All in the name of science, of course yes.
So, the result? Well, on the negative side, Edinburgh Property Management had not given us an emergency contact number, and directory enquiries tells us the one they have is ex-​directory. Not helpful. BUT, on the positive side, once we got hold of them they were excellent! Really calm and surprisingly friendly, they sent someone round right away, who was really positive about the situation. And the best news? Their insurance covers and damage, and they’re not going to fine us! What a nice letting agency!