Forum: What to do with a do-nothing committee
Sometimes you have to apply the Goldilocks principle to strata committees. Like the three bears’ beds, some strata committees are too hard, some are too soft and others – maybe…
Featured
Desperate resident gets the covid reno runaround
Living with renovations in your apartment block isn’t easy at the best of times, but we put up with it because, in the give and take of strata living, some…
Podcast: Now you can read it as well as listen
This week’s podcast is all about wheel-clamping, email privacy and the amazing legacy of the Sydney Olympics athletes’ village. But one of the biggest pieces of news this week is…
How our Olympic village became a housing winner
A decision to turn normal Olympic Games planning on its head has resulted in an enduring success story for Sydney, with the former athletes’ village now a sought-after suburb. Before…
Why self-financed upgrade could only happen in NSW
A small one-bedroom flat in North Bondi was listed for auction last week, with the vendors hoping for about $800,000 when it goes to auction early next month. Nothing very…
Five stages of bathroom renovation grief
It’s been about a month since we decided to renovate our 20-year-old bathrooms and we are going through something that is akin to the five stages of grief. Except, instead…
Forum: When ‘she’ll be right’ is oh so wrong
That old chestnut of who is responsible for repairs done on a nod and a wink rears its ugly, unloved head again in this week’s Forum. A Flatchatter writes that…
Podcast: Renos, pets and kids in uncrowded houses
It’s another big week on the podcast front with a lot of serious – and not so serious – issues to discuss. First up we look at this story about…
Six-way stand-off as block stuck in cladding Hell
Owners in an apartment block in the centre of Sydney are caught in a potentially fatal six-way stand-off as owners, developers, builders and the government battle over who is responsible…
Who’s got your back when strata schemes hit strife?
In times of strife and confusion, it’s good to know who’s got your back. It’s even more important to know who hasn’t. Recently in these pages I briefly listed the…
Basement conversions rescue ageing block
The conversion of unused basement spaces to two new flats and the purchase of common property to allow the extension of existing properties, have financed a major upgrade to a…
Commissioner’s lifeline on new-build defects
Owners corporations in relatively new buildings deciding whether to fix building defects themselves or take recalcitrant developers to court – at huge expense and with no guarantee of success –…