Govt help makes home ownership harder – report
Governments efforts to help more people get into home ownership have made it harder, rather than easier, for first-time buyers to get into the market, according to a new report.…
Jimmy-T
Podcast: Big ideas, tax bribes and Fonzie flats
This week in the podcast, Sue reports back from a two-day seminar about property investment with the news that, yes, more apartments are going to be built in Australia and…
Low-cost homes lost in the ‘missing middle’
There’s a growing body of opinion that low-rise apartment blocks could provide a compromise solution to the housing crisis – if only Nimby councils would allow them. Once upon a…
Fonzie Flats could mean happy days for renters
If you’re old enough to remember growing up in Australian suburbia surrounded by houses on quarter acre blocks, you should remember the Fonze from Happy Days. He was part of…
Forum: Little leeway offered for levy debts
The discussion on whether or not – and when – you should push to get unpaid levels back has generated a lot of interest and it’s worth catching up with…
OCN’s big day will get us ready for the future
The Owners Corporation Network (OCN) is gearing up for its big annual Strata Matters conference which this year includes a chance to see Flat Chat Wrap co-hosts JimmyT and Sue…
Podcast: How Nimby councils block new homes
Sue is back from Europe – Huzzah! And that means not just a return of her dulcet tones but an injection of common sense into the proceedings. And those proceedings…
Global city councils put the squeeze on Airbnbs
All over the world, cities afflicted by Airbnb and other short-term holiday rentals are imposing restrictions - but will it make a difference?
Game On – let’s wargame the housing crisis
You often hear politicians accusing each other of “playing games” with social and economic policy – especially when it comes to housing. But you have to wonder, if that were…
Forum: Would you let serious levies debts slide?
It’s been a quiet week on the Forum – at least as far as new topics go; something to do with the blue moon, I guess. So while there’s a…
Have your say on building defect insurance
DLI is a strict liability insurance product of first resort that covers critical building elements, such as structure, waterproofing and fire safety systems. It allows building owners to make a claim…
ABC levies debts report misses the mark
OPINION There’s a story in the ABC TV’s business report about how an apartment owner who’s had a run of rotten luck has just had everything made worse by her…