There an interesting little puzzle this week that exposes one of the growing number of sneaky tactics that some strata managers use to milk more money out of their clients.

The Netstrata saga has exposed how some strata managers – and I stress SOME – have found ways of getting around the strata laws that say they have to declare the commissions they get from organising insurances for strata schemes.

To be clear, the Netstrata people weren’t doing anything illegal, but that didn’t make it right.

Next in the parade of morally dubious dealings, how about the neat bit of shifty business that allows strata managers to use favoured or even subsidiary legal firms to pursue levies debts to the point of bankruptcy or forcing people to sell their homes?

And all of this is done with the approval of the other owners because the way the system works, the debtor has to pay all the costs of the debt recovery.

Who wouldn’t sign up for a scheme that gets all your unpaid levies back at no cost to the strata scheme? OK, the debtor has to pay for all the legal and administrative processes involved in recovering the debt,incurred at the strata manager and their lawyers’ discretion, provided they are “reasonable”.

Well, some strata schemes think this could be a bit harsh on people who are already doing it tough, and don’t want to go along with a process that could force one of their neighbours out of their home.

And this all came to a head when one of our Flatchatters’ general meetings agreed on a different approach to debt collection.  But when the minutes came out, the motion was nowhere to be seen.

What happened?  The strata manager said the motion contradicted the terms of the contract the strata scheme signed with the strata manager so they just dropped it from the minutes.

Can the strata manager’s contract trump the will of the owners? You’ll find the answer HERE.

Elsewhere on the forum

Can we use a special resolution to incorporate balcony door on an old building into common property?  That’s HERE.

Our strata management trial period is running out but our SM won’t answer calls or emails.  That’s HERE.

What can we do about a strata manager and committee who appear to be in cahoots?  That’s HERE.

Neighbour won’t listen to complaints about leaving junk outside her door.  That’s HERE.

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