Big strata wins again as new laws tread softly
It seems one person’s regulation is another’s backdoor legitimacy, if the reaction to this week’s anticipated “crackdown” on strata managers by NSW Fair Trading is anything to go by. Minister…
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Big and bright ideas meet huge strata challenges
By Jimmy Thomson and Sue Williams Black mould built into new homes, fire safety measures ignored and undermined, real estate marketers (rather than town planners) shaping our cities – these…
Forum: Sacked SM sneaks in a final commission
Every time you try to say something nice about strata managers, one of them goes and pulls a new scam that makes everyone look bad. The strata manager featured in…
It’s Hug Your Strata Manager Day… if it’s OK
As I wrote on last week’s newsletter, a lot of people are sick of us bagging strata managers on this website. Okay, a lot of strata managers, specifically, are tired…
Compulsory SMs – be careful what you wish for
The canceling of strata manager Whitney Wang’s licence last week had an alarming aspect that many observers may have missed. Complaints about the boss of inner-west strata management firm Professional…
Forum: Back-to-school daze for Qs and As
A strange thing happens on Flat Chat around this time of year. Actually, it’s not that strange – it’s related to school holidays, and makes perfect sense. I’m guessing our…
Podcast: Struck off and probed, that has to hurt
Oh, dear. Not another swipe at strata managers, please! Yes, OK, it’s a well-trodden path but, to be fair, some of them have made themselves easy targets for the past…
Six-strike strata manager struck off for 10 years
A NSW strata manager has been “struck off” for 10 years by NSW Fair Trading following four years of complaints from at least six different strata schemes. According to the…
Podcast: Luxury pad threat to low-cost homes
It’s a bit of a catch-up in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap and a look to the immediate future, too. We’ll be getting abreast of the news that NSW is…
Common Property – all cost, little real value
In this week’s guest post from our friend Francesco Andreone of GoStrata, he’s going to make you think about assumptions we’ve all made about common property in our strata buildings –…
NSW to crack down on strata manager scams
The NSW State government is planning to crack down on the “small number” of “unscrupulous” strata managers whom it says are undermining public confidence in apartment living. New laws will…
Forum: Unelected despot bullying tenants
There is a malaise that must be unique to strata buildings – an ordinary owner awards themselves extraordinary powers and appoints themselves de facto building or strata manager. It’s not…