Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
@JimmyT said:
I also believe that the council and police won’t touch cars abandoned on common property as it is technically private property.We had a situation where a vehicle was parked on common property. I live quite close to the local police station, so I went over and asked them if they could give me details of the registered owner. Turned out to be one of their regular visitors, who had been detained in a cell and was going to be there for an “undertemined period of time”. The police suggested we arrange for the car to be towed and parked in the street (somewhere legal, of course). The officer said “might teach the guy a lesson about where he parks his car”.
The “word of mouth” approach is really the only method I’ve had any success with. SCA is a little too skewed towards strata agencies (as opposed to strata owners) for my liking. The worst strata managers I’ve dealt with have won SCA awards. Productreview is hopeless – full of grievance posts (one star), or people who have created posts at the encouragement of their strata agency (five stars).
There is certainly an opportunity here for creating a database of strata agencies – starting with the factual stuff. A true assessment of each strata manager’s capabilities, style and performance is very difficulty to compile and maintain.
In reality, now that I have found a decent strata manager, I’m going to keep that info to myself – the last thing I want is for this person to take on a major influx of new business which could dilute the service they provide me. It’s a bit like finding a great tradesperson. And it’s a sad reflection of the highly variable end user experience of the strata management industry.
I’m in a similar situation to GregHornsby. I wonder whether we even need a motion to terminate our current SM, given the effect of Clause 14(1). My plan is to simply put up a motion to engage the new strata manager.
Does anyone know what notice (if any) we need to give to the existing strata manager? I will check this with our intended new SM in the coming days.
Our existing SM did not formally notify us on or before 28 Feb about the impending expiry of the agreement.
Sound transmission through townhouse common walls can be a real problem, particularly at night. I’d be OK with timber flooring on the ground floor (typically, lounge, dining, kitchen), but not on an upper level where there are bedrooms.
As to the question “are those reasonable objections” – does that really matter? Isn’t it up to the owners to decide these things. If a majority vote against, doesn’t that kill the proposal?
Under the old NSW legislation, owners can vote “in person or by mail”. The new legislation makes provision for attendance via teleconference. Source: NSW Fair Trading – meetings
The fact that your OC has previously allowed owners to phone in to meetings will not help your case, I suspect.
@proudsceptic said:
Here is a site that purports to rate strata management companies.https://www.productreview.com.au/c/strata-management-companies.html
Be careful with the info on this site. Many of the reviews are from people who have been encouraged by their strata manager to post a (hopefully positive) review. If you see a bunch of positive reviews spanning a short period (a week or 2), then this suggests people have been prompted to do reviews.
There are also many one star reviews put up by people with an axe to grind.
When looking at the reviews, try to exclude reviewers who have only ever posted one review across the whole website – this weeds out some of the noise.
@Susanp said:
I read that at May 2016 new legislation now require that smoke detector units have to be fully replaced within every 10 years after its expiry date?I’m not aware of any legislation in NSW that requires a replacement after 10 years.
And then you get yourself onto the EC at the next AGM.
Junk Mail Dumpers – these are the people who remove the junk mail from their letterboxes, and then drop it on the ground or place it on top of the mailbox area, waiting for the wind to blow it away. We provide a bin for this purpose, but some still find the task too complex to complete.
And what’s with the plastic bags screwing up the recycling machinery? My dog has no trouble ripping a plastic bag to shreds. Is the recycling machinery made out of recycled paper?
@Stevecro said:
General Meetings in NSW require 7 full days notice (not including the day of the meeting) plus 4 working days for postage (Interpretations Act 1987) if notices are required to be posted out.NSW: Does anyone know if there is a new postage notice period that reflects Australia Post’s revised service levels? I presume 4 days is still the standard for what is now called Priority mail. What about Standard mail (2-6 day delivery)? NSW Interpretation Act 1987 s76(1)(b) only mentions 4 working days.
Are you concerned about the cost of power usage to the owners? Running a circular saw for one hour non-stop will cost less than a dollar. These tools aren’t used non-stop. The cost is probably insignificant. Water is even cheaper.
Do you have a process for approving renovations? Impose a condition that requires the contractors to use lot power only. Then you can shut them down if they use common power.
Our block is part way through the PIPE Networks fibre to the building install.
My understanding of the NSW Supreme Court decision in May 2015 is that a telco has the right to install this type of equipment, including plugging it into an existing power socket, and drawing power without first gaining permission of the owners. The owners have the right to compensation for any power used.
I’m unclear as to whether any interference problems have been resolved.
Not sure what happens when NBN passes our block. We have no timeframe for this. Would they run fibre to the basement, or just connect individual residents via copper to their closest node? Residents here aren’t prepared to wait and see how and when NBN might arrive.
@Boronia said:
“…a safety device to protect a lot against intruders or to improve safety within a lot”Sounds like lawyer-speak for “a lock”.
As the garages have tilt-a-doors now, I think it would be a bit of a stretch to rely on this particular by-law to replace the whole door with something different.