What if you needed a licence to live in strata?
When I wrote last week that there should be a ratings system for builders and developers, there was another brilliant idea bouncing around my brain, and one that has just…
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Waterfix saving strata blocks tens of thousands
Is your strata block pouring money down the drain (almost) literally? Sydney Water claims its Waterfix Strata efficiency program is saving 75 Olympic sized swimming pools and close to half…
Flat Chat Wrap #33 – Commercial tenants, caretakers versus Airbnb, and wandering pot plants
How would you feel if you suddenly had 50 to 100 strangers walking through your lobby every day, clogging up the lifts just when you are trying to get to…
The real deal for strata owners on James Valentine
I was listening to the ABC News Radio last Friday and an item came on about strata defects, flammable cladding and the state ministers meeting in Sydney. The news reader…
From The Forum: Kids’ pool ban battle still raging
Remember the story we ran a few weeks ago on the Forum about the Sydney Park Village apartment complex (pictured) that had decided to ban children from their swimming pool…
PODCAST: Space invaders, Airbnb v caretakers and purloined pot plants
How would you feel if you suddenly had 50 to 100 strangers walking through your lobby every day, clogging up the lifts just when you are trying to get to…
Time we had a Tripadvisor for unit block builders?
With defects on the minds of everyone in the apartment world, there’s a whole lot of finger pointing going on. Developers are saying engineers should be certified, strata owners say…
Supreme Court changes tack on legal cost deposits
There’s a growing trend in legal actions in Australia that has recently intruded into the strata area – litigants being asked to provide security for costs before legal action can…
Flat Chat Wrap #32 – Time we had a star rating for the best and worst developers and builders
In this week’s Podcast, Jimmy Thomson and Sue Williams discuss why it is that we can get ratings and comparisons for just about everything we buy … except the largest…
From the Forum: Tribunal exposed as toothless tiger
I’m getting slightly ahead of the news here, but in the coming days there will probably be a story online about the massive loophole in the current strata laws that…
PODCAST: A star rating system for developers, builders … and residents
We have a friend called Royce who wouldn’t buy so much as a toothbrush without checking online to see if it was the best design (at the best price) for…
Forensic research – your best hope for not buying a high-rise lemon
With state planning ministers meeting this month, informed in part by a behind-closed-doors meeting of development “stakeholders” in NSW last week, you can be sure that building defects in their…