Podcast 54 – Bushfires, unit blocks and stray cats
This week’s podcast is about the bushfires. For a change, apartments are not portrayed in the media as the worst possible way to live in Australia. That’s not to say…
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How no-show investors profit from our efforts
The following was originally posted as a comment to our piece on why investors should get more engaged with the apartment blocks in which they own properties. Our sponsors Strata…
Unit blocks in bushfires – we are not immune
At the risk of appearing to jump on the bushfire bandwagon – it’s pretty hard to ignore. Homes and even lives are being lost. Whole towns are under threat but, it…
Happy new strata year – here’s our 2020 vision
We reckon this year in strata is going to be a big one across the nation. Our big campaign this year is going to be about embedded networks – where…
From the Forum: Bans on unfinancial votes even tougher than you thought
We’re back! Like that never-ending turkey curry or the last few chocolates that nobody likes, there are quite a few left-overs from the festive season for us to get our…
Invest in strata happiness – demand outstrips supply
In the early days of Flat Chat, I used to bang on about the “double investors” – the owner occupiers who not only pay their levies, but who actually live…
Party hearty … but play it safe on the balcony
Is everybody in full party mode for Christmas and New Year? Planning to watch fireworks from your balcony? Allow me to introduce some curmudgeonly caution to your festive frolics. How…
From the Forum: Strata manager charges have 10 pages of “extras”
Your strata scheme is in disarray, the strata manager doesn’t know what they’re doing (or doesn’t care … or both). There hasn’t been a committee election for years and nobody…
Same old story as phoenix frauds ‘exposed’ yet again
There’s much less fun than there ought to be in saying “we told you so” – possibly because it implies that the bad thing we told you was going to…
Boost the value of your block … and your unit
Real estate agents will tell you to buy the worst house in the best street because you can make the most of potential value by bringing the property up to…
From the Forum: Landlady too nice for her own good
There are times when I think some of our Flatchatters are just too nice for their own good. Take this week’s first correspondent whose tenant has been illegally parking his…
Off-the-plan panic at the chocolate factory
Allegtions of “shape-shifting’ have raised their ugly face again, with a tale of off-the-plan owners not getting what they thought they had paid for when they finally moved into their new…