Some of you may have noticed that I have been popping up a bit more on James Valentine’s Afternoons on ABC radio 702.

This follows a hiatus when James was on breakfasts, and after that when he was dealing with a major cancer scare.

Nowadays I’m (notionally) on there every two weeks, talking about all things strata. I’m loving it and that’s partly because we both feel that the callers’ questions are getting a lot more sophisticated. 

The usual queries about barking dogs and music-blasting neighbours seem to have gone, to be replaced by more complicated and, dare I say it, mature inquiries.

For instance, this week one caller was concerned about an additional room that seems to have been added to an adjoining flat – presumably without permission.

Another wanted to know if he could ask for a payment plan to cover a fairly hefty special levy.

A listener wanted to know what to do when your strata manager’s contract hasn’t been renewed and there’s a gap between the end of their deal and the AGM where a new one will be hired … or not.

And then there was the sustainability conscious owner whose OC has decided not to put a solar panel on the building’s roof; he wanted to know if he can do it himself.

I’m not sure what all this means but if feels like we, as a strata community, have grown up and moved past the obvious problem, most of which have obvious solutions.

The Strata Rules slot is a lot of fun and if you want to catch up on this weeks’ episode, just click on Afternoons – ABC listen and whizz up to the 35-minute mark (although the rest of the show is pretty good too).

I’m back on air on Monday 14th – listen in or even better, give us a call or drop us a line. Say you’re a Flatchatter and you might even get a guernsey.