HERE’S ANOTHER GOOD NEWS STORY FROM FEBRUARY 2009

Obviously, I think living in apartments is great – otherwise I wouldn’t have lived in one for the past 20 years.

But it’s one of the functions of running an advice column that it’s usually only people who have problems who write to you.  This week, however I received a refreshing surprise.

EMAIL: Week after week, year after year, I read your Herald article. It seems a continuous litany of complaints and problems of people living in strata apartments. For a change, here is a good news story.

I live in a strata block of 218 units. We have a contract with one building management team for caretaking, 24-hour security, tennis courts, pool, gardening and cleaning.

They maintain the highest standards and as a result residents respect them.  Our Managing Agent is most attentive and the Executive Committee works in harmony – in fact it is a pleasure to attend our meetings.

Our finances are in excellent order and we maintain a 20 year forecast – so we don’t get unpleasant surprises. No surprise – when a unit comes up for sale it is sold within days! – MM

ANSWER: My mind goes back to Basil Fawlty: “A satisfied customer … we should have him stuffed.” But seriously, it would be nice to think MM’s block was the rule rather than the exception. So to all of you strata residents who don’t feel the need to complain, good on ya! Spread the word.

That said, last week’s column about car parking has generated more immediate responses than any other I’ve written. We asked the question should strata blocks be allowed to clamp and/or tow cars parked illegally and the answer was a resounding and unanimous yes. Have a look at the post “Lost in (parking) Spaces” for a selection of responses.