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chicken feet said:
I recently purchased a unit and was dismayed by the neglected state of the letter boxes inside the foyer area of our complex …
Hi chickenfeet, when I was viewing properties before purchasing my villa, I was amazed at the state of letterboxes. Many tiny and with doors hanging off. I thought like you that if I was going to live in one of those places, I would be asking that the letterboxes were replaced with the larger size.
Australia Post website have “approved” dimensions that not only suggest the size but also distance from the ground for individual letterboxes.
Fortunately, my Owners Corporation had purchased a set of larger lockable metal letterboxes that sit on our front brick fence, instead of the smaller “in the fence” previous models. I notice quite a few strata buildings in my suburb have done the same.
I had a locksmith change the lock on my letterbox when I was having my other locks changed after settlement.
pedro said:
Everyone has a different definition of dysfunctional. Punishing someone because of a lack of tolerance for the most minor inconvenience or non compliance qualifies as dysfunction for me.
I applaud your tolerance and understanding pedro, but if you read more than just the posts that show on the side, you will see that many people are terribly affected by “non compliance”.
What if it was your elderly mother or aunt who was not able to move their car, or mobility appliance out of their garage, because another person refused to move the car that should not have been in the way?
Sad but true Whale.
I have noticed that parents teaching their children to respect the rights of others are in the minority now.
Many are not taught from childhood to respect the rights of others, or encouraged to be polite.
At least this mesh is almost invisible, and for pets, it probably could be installed lower down and almost out of sight on a balcony, or in a section of a balcony or terrace.
There will be many products potentially useful for strata residents, but I would hate this forum to turn into a series of advertisements for those products.
Sponsors and paid advertisements can be listed in another part of the site, but please not in the general comments.
Diana from Bondi said:
… to build a deck across our flat, which stretches across the front of a six-unit apartment block (two flats at the front, four at the back). We would be building in common air space, etc. A real estate agent said if it is done well it will add value to the whole building…
Hi Diana
It is hard to picture what your apartment block looks like and if the proposed deck in common “air space” is above another unit.
How can one deck add value to the whole building if it is only for one apartment?
As Whale has explained there is much you need to do to get it approved then built to an acceptable standard.
If I was going to be in an apartment underneath that deck I would veto it, because I would be worried that any future owners (and maybe even you) would not maintain it properly, even if it was built to cope with the sea air.
Every year we hear of decks collapsing and people injured. Probably because those decks were old and overloaded at a party, but it happens.
I wonder if the tenants have some sort of extreme medical condition that means they must have water running over their bodies!
They must not have experienced the joys of camping, or waiting for a hot water system to be replaced.
Are tenants' rights more important than owners' rights?
If you live in NSW, lots of luck! No matter how many people complain the developers just go to the Land and Envionment Board and it gets through any way. You would need thousands of individuals complaining and as some recent developments in Sydney show, developers “rule”.
Local councils seem to be influenced by numbers, so the more individual residents who complain the better.
In my suburb there were a group who were very involved in door knocking, petitioning, and attending council meetings to protest a part residential and retail development that was out of character for the area, and not needed. It will create extra traffic in a small lane going past a pre-school kindergarten entrance. The lane is already being used as a 'rat run' by cars as there are only two roads that allow a right hand turn onto the main road going through the suburb.
All the protests only delayed the inevitable for about six years. The original developers sold out, but it still went ahead and the heavy machines have moved in.
Tyalla said:
I live in a 100 lot scheme. Some flats are air-conditioned, others not. There is a central aircon system with individual air handling units in each airconed flat.
Some years ago a by-law was passed that purported to have all aircon running costs and maintenance costs paid only by those owners that actually had aircon installed. So far, this has been acceptable to most people (and has delighted those that didn't have arcon and now don't have to pay) but has greatly irritated some owners that have aircon but choose not to use it.
The central aircon plant is coming to the end of its useful life. The cost to replace it will be substantial, maybe $200,000+. So there is now a proposal being mooted for a new by-law. The effect of this would be to:
- Allow owners that don't use with aircon to decide to have their systems disconnected. These owners would not pay anything towards the cost of replacing the system to which they have had access for many years
- Those owners that chose to remain connected would bear the cost of replacing the central aircon plant
I believe it is wrong that owners that have had access to the aircon system all along can just stop contributing to costs when the system needs replacement. If the proposed approach was to be extended to its logical end there would be a turnstile on the lift and at the entrance to the gym! I would greatly appreciate any comments people may have about the legality of all of this, or where I should begin to look.
Was it that the building installed aircon was so bad that some owners installed their own extra aircon units? Unless you live in a very “green” building, with great ventilation and insulation, I think you you would need aircon for resale value, as well as for the hot summers and cold winters. It would make sense to me to replace the old central airconditioning with a more efficient system to all the units at the one time. Some people may choose not to use it, but their electricity bill will be lower than those who do. What if some owners decide they do not want to use any electricity at all and have it disconnected, take out their plumbing and choose to bring their water from the nearest stream?
It should still be connected to the unit for another owner to use after they move on. Better to do the whole building with an “approved” system at one time, or take out the old system completely, leaving each owner to install separate units (according to local council rules as well as Owners Corporation By Laws).<
I love trees but this discussion is about a Mango tree! If the cost of removal is < $500 it must not be very big YET. I have lived in the tropics and Mango trees can be huge. The trunk may not get as thick, but think of the canopy of a large Morton Bay Fig tree! Not only do the mango fruit drop to the ground (the tree is too high to climb and collect it), but the trees also “drop” a sticky sap/goo that stains anything that happens to be underneath. I can imagine the roots would do a lot of damage as well. I suggest get rid of it quickly, and plant something else that will provide shade and not seek out sewer lines for moisture. Just get a tree that does not cause allergies like the Plane trees in Sydney streets.
Well said Struggler.
I had no previous experience with “Strata” but fortunately I had a fantastic Conveyancer who explained things very clearly at Settlement of the purchase of my villa.
I only remembered a fraction of what she said, but Flat Chat has been a great education.
It should be mandatory that Real Estate Agents know enough to let people know what is involved when buying into, or renting property owned by an Owners Corporation.
One place I looked at was obviously for over 55's, and confirmed when I read the Contract. The place was advertised as “suitable for over 55's” but a lot of younger people were at viewings and seemed to think it would not be a problem. In another instance, a 30 year old complained in our local newspaper how unfair it was when he was told that he could not live in the place he bought, as it was only for over 55's.
struggler said:
I am not sure whether one can appoint an owner to do maintenance around a complex, or rather an owner volunteers to do such and everyone agrees to this arrangement. And this would no doubt only be general maintenance/repairs such as sweeping, weeding, bit of cleaning/clearing up.
I think that no matter how community minded or well meaning an owner volunteer is, and whatever they volunteer to do, it can lead to resentment as previous posts have expressed. Either they do not get any gratitude or people complain about the way they do it.
An owner who loves to garden may want to take on that role, but sure as anything, someone would complain about the colour of the bushes, or that they get hay fever and want the other owners to pay for their pills.
Better to pay a gardener/handy person with proper insurance cover who is hired on a regular basis.
Pay to have painting done professionally, and repairs by qualified trades.
If there is some general cleaning/cleaning up needed for a short term then I think any volunteer should have any expenses refunded.
holofernes said: … With regards to consent I think you are confusing contract law and strata law. …
Hello holofernes, “lowly law student”,
Most of us strata dwellers are law abiding and just want to live in peace.
I can not speak for others but I do not care a jot about whether something is part of contract, strata, criminal law (or any other form of “law”.)
I just want some consistency and easy to understand “rules” to help live in harmony with my strata neighbours.
Keeping your cat inside should solve the problem. Much safer.
I used to have an “outside” cat that happily became an “inside” cat when I moved. The only thing I had to do was get her claws trimmed every few months.
She lived to be 22 years old.
A cat scratching post saves the furniture, paper pellet cat litter does not smell if it is changed regularly (not down the sewer).
This is related to Foxtel and other pay TV services.
Several months ago we received a brochure explaining the Digital roll out across Australia. There are a couple of pages for people in Strata asking “Is your building ready for digital television?”.
When analogue television is finally turned off, will it mean that Owners in Strata plans will need to replace whatever they have now to receive television signals, or is it just the television set?