Buying property ‘blind’ likelier than picking a pet
We are more likely to purchase a property sight-unseen than we are to choose a rental or a pet, car or boat, according to a new survey of more than…
Strata Defects
They range from minor issues with finishes to major structural and fire safety problems – and when repairs are rwuired , the buck stops with the owners. Hers are hundreds of posts that track the failures of the past and the current efforts to create a less defective future.
Would you advise a friend not to buy off the plan?
There was a survey of 500 apartment blocks conducted earlier this year by NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler’s team. It found that more than one-third of new buildings had serious…
Podcast: Anti-anti-vaxxers and 20,000 listens
Forgive us for patting ourselves on the back this week but, having surpassed 20,000 downloads and listens to the podcast, I reckon we’ve earned a little self-indulgence. Suffice it…
Podcast: Defects detected and pets rejected
In this week’s podcast we chat about a report which reveals that one-third of 500 unit blocks inspected in a survey had serious defects, from leaking bathrooms, to fire safety…
Locked down? Free ‘grow your wellbeing’ webinar
If there was a society for the prevention of cruelty to plants, here at Flat Chat Central we would long ago have been led off in chains while our wilting…
Podcast: Pets to lets – 200 columns and counting
How has apartment living in Australia changed in the past four years? The answer is a lot, but still too little. This week, we celebrate our 200th column in the…
How Flat Chat grew from a bitter defects battle
Believe it or not, the 200th edition of Flat Chat to appear in the Australian Financial Review was published at the weekend. But that’s not half of it – not…
Video and webinars reveal smart buyers’ secrets
It’s the biggest purchase and therefore the biggest gamble that most of us will make in our lives … buying a home. And the element of chance seems to take…
Block ban lifted as 20-year guarantee is signed
Developers and real estate agents are free to market and sell apartments in the controversial Skyview apartment block in Castle Hill, with NSW Building Commission lifting the Prohibition Order on…
Forum: Noisy neighbours but no-one’s listening
It’s the stuff of strata nightmares. The apartment upstairs is owned by an overseas investor who probably doesn’t know what’s going on. It’s been sub-let by a landlord who has…
New date set for Strata Matters conference
There I was, sharpening up my one-liners, trying to remember who I’d insulted in Fair Trading and dusting off my kilt for next week’s Strata Matters conference, when someone switched…
Podcast: Social housing a Sirius miscalculation
As we emerge from our “close contact” self-isolation we are probably going to have to go back into hiding after the selfie we took of ourselves still at work, despite…