Podcast 79 – bad pads, fams and James Valentine
It’s a bumper edition of the Flat Chat Wrap this week, boosted by an extract from JimmyT’s guest spot on James Valentine’s Afternoons on ABC radio. But first Jimmy and…
Best of times and worst of times to buy a new flat
There’s never been a better time to invest in an apartment. No, sorry, there’s never been a worse time to buy and let a unit. Obviously both points of view…
‘Abominable’ tower was last straw on defects
An apartment block described by its developers as one of its “architectural landmarks of the finest standard” has been outed by NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler as the “straw that…
From the Forum: no-reply neighbours delay renos, costing owners a fortune
What do you do when you are paying rent while your unit awaits renovation but your neighbours won’t even respond to communications, let alone hold the meeting required to pass…
Podcast 78 – Affordable flats, WhatsApp to the rescue & dining redefined
After what has felt like several weeks of doom and gloom, we are looking on the bright side in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap podcast. First of all we chat…
Why trendy cafes won’t cut the mustard with lower income families
Potential apartment purchasers would do well to look at the facilities for lower income families in and around their blocks, and not just the price tags on their on their…
Enter the PodCom – funny writers and actors wanted
Are you an actor stuck at home with nothing to play? Or a writer with a comic bent with no projects on which to hone your humour? Or maybe you…
Forum: Anti-pet chair undermining sales pitch
What do you do when your neighbours actively undermine your attempts to get a decent price when you try to sell your unit? Nowhere near the same scale as our…
Police death crash accused was ‘neighbour from Hell’
The Porche driver who taunted a dying policewoman after a roadside multi-fatality crash may be the ultimate apartment neighbour from Hell, according to a story in the Age and Sydney…
Podcast 77 – cowboys, counselling and comedy
There are just two main discussions in this week’s podcast but the topics are both hugely significant in very different ways. In the first we look at the new powers…
Time Fair Trading and NCAT were sin-binned
It’s been a while since I said this – and it’s something I should put in my diary for every three months or so – but isn’t it time the…
Building commish gets the tools to hammer cowboys
NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler can finally get on with cleaning out the apartment building industry, with the NSW government passing two key pieces of legislation this week. His planned reforms,…