At a time when developers and apartment buyers agree on at least one thing – they both want low levies – the leading pressure group for strata dwellers is hoping to persuade owners to spend more on their buildings, not less.

It seems that we start planning to improve our new apartments before we have even bought them, doubtless with an eye not just to making them better places to live but with a view to lifting their value when we come to sell.

However, that urge to improve doesn’t always extend to the building in which our apartments sit.  We all know about buying the worst house in the best street, but what about trying to sell the best flat in the crappiest block?

It’s as if we think prospective buyers will be led blindfolded to the lift so that they only see the glory of our fabulous abodes and not the abject squalor that surrounds us.

Well, those clever people at the Owners Corporation Network have realised that you probably get a lot more bang for your buck when it goes towards the cost of upgrading the whole building and not just your little slice of paradise.

The OCN is the peak body for strata owners across the country, and the NSW branch is holding a day-long seminar in Sydney on November 9^th to examine how you can improve the value of your whole building and thereby at least protect the worth of your unit.

The event, which will be hosted by yours truly, examines every aspect of the home improvement issue from what’s worth spending money on to how to get the money to spend in the first place.

Experts will be talking about compliance with everything from planning laws to the strata Act.  There will be tips on converting your building from an energy guzzling monster into a clean green machine as well as ways you can improve your own unit without destroying your neighbours’ lives.  And just in case you thinks that plastic grass on the wall is the way to go, there will also be a buyers’ advocate to tell you what they market is looking for.

It costs $66 for the day ($55 for OCN members), including lunch and you can find out more by logging on to ocn.org.au [https://ocn.org.au].

By the way, OCN is rapidly spreading its reach into all states in Australia. It’s for strata owners and, especially, members of executive committes and you kind find out their plans for your state by logging on to the same website and contacting them there.

Also Melbourne readers may be interested in a new group called OCHelp which apparently does what it says on the tin and tries to help members of Owners Corporations with their problems.

You can contact them on ochelp@mail.com or read more about them and their upcoming events HERE. [http://www.flatchat.com.au/forum/welcome/owners-corporation-support-group-melbourne]

Readers in Queensland will get advice specific to that State (and its occasionally bizarre legislation) from the Unit Owner’s Association of Queensland. [https://www.uoaq.org.au]

By the way. the OCN event should not be confused with Flat Chat Live, which I am also hosting the previous weekend, November 2, as part of Strata Community Australia’s Owners Day.  [https://nsw.stratacommunity.org.au/page/events/2013-sca–nsw–convention/] Log on and click on ‘Owners Day’ for more information.