Flat Chat name-checked in Parliament (with video)
Flat Chat was named in Parliament today – in a good way. Sydney MP Alex Greenwich asked the new Innovation and Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean if the government would…
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Roundup: The naked truth about a backyard nudist
There’s an odd little question in this week’s Forum, and one that I admit I didn’t take seriously at first. See, this bloke likes to get his kit off in…
Dish the data … save the planet … win $200
Did you know that, despite the fact that we share a lot of services, apartment blocks tend to be less right-on than stand-alone houses when it comes to the environment?…
Monster utes – it’s not the width, it’s the length
Have you noticed a lot of giant ‘crew cab’ utes around recently? Those big four-door 4WDs with a short cargo tray tacked on the back? Australians bought more than…
Roundup: Space invading giant utes all the rage
Is it getting a bit squeezy in your car park? If it isn’t it soon will be. The biggest selling vehicle in Australia last year was the giant Toyota Hilux…
Landlord bashing ‘doing more harm than good’
Landlord-bashing by tenant support groups is doing renters more harm than good, says an organisation of property investors, hitting back at a report that revealed many tenants were too scared…
Roundup: Back in print and raring to go
Wot? No Flat Chat? Where have you gone? Why was there no print edition of the column? This weekend saw the launch of the shiny new half-property, half-lifestyle Domain magazine,…
Renters v landlords: have-nots and have-lots
The recent revelations that rentersvare too scared to complain about problems in their units should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever rented a house or flat in…
Queensland closer to adopting forced sales laws
Queensland unit owners could soon join their counterparts in NSW in being forced to sell their homes against their will if 75 percent of the neighbours in their block agree.…
Roundup: A little update goes a long way
With the recent changes in strata laws, we realised a lot of our information needed an update, links were broken and there are new answers to old questions, so this…
A good whinge and the power of negative thinking
Nobody likes a whinger, but in strata, sometimes it pays to stow your personal aversion to complaining. A well-timed complaint could save you a heap of grief, not to mention…
Alarming prospects when phone lines are cut
Within 18 months of the NBN coming to your suburb, all copper wires will be disconnected … potentially leaving you without a back to base fire alarm or emergency lift…