From the Forum: Tribunal exposed as toothless tiger
I’m getting slightly ahead of the news here, but in the coming days there will probably be a story online about the massive loophole in the current strata laws that…
PODCAST: A star rating system for developers, builders … and residents
We have a friend called Royce who wouldn’t buy so much as a toothbrush without checking online to see if it was the best design (at the best price) for…
Flat Chat Wrap #32 – Time we had a star rating for the best and worst developers and builders
We have a friend called Royce who wouldn’t buy so much as a toothbrush without checking online to see if it was the best design (at the best price) for…
Forensic research – your best hope for not buying a high-rise lemon
With state planning ministers meeting this month, informed in part by a behind-closed-doors meeting of development “stakeholders” in NSW last week, you can be sure that building defects in their…
Flat Chat Wrap #31 – Tip of the defects iceberg and why it’s such a massive problem
In this week’s episode of the Flat Chat Wrap we look at the revelation that the Opal and Mascot towers “disasters” are just the tip of a very large apartment…
From the Forum: How do you deal with a dope who can’t cope?
There’s an interesting statistic that I never tire of quoting: no strata manager in NSW has ever been struck off for being really bad at his or her job. And…
PODCAST: When defect disaster warnings were covered up
In this week’s episode of the Flat Chat Wrap we look at the claims that the Opal and Mascot towers “disasters” are just the tip of a very large apartment…
Flat Chat Wrap #31 – Tip of the defects iceberg and why it’s such a massive problem
In this week’s episode of the Flat Chat Wrap we look at the revelation that the Opal and Mascot towers “disasters” are just the tip of a very large apartment…
Hidden dangers lurking in shonky strata records
This weekend, the Flat Chat column in the Financial Review will be about how to avoid buying an apartment in a dodgy building. In it, I discuss the importance of…
Race is on for states’ rental law reforms
Rental laws are a big issue in strata, with more than half of apartments being occupied by tenants, meaning half of apartments are owned by investors. That’s a lot of…
Flat Chat Wrap #30 – Three kinds of insurance and a few facts that will shock you
Jimmy Thomson investigates four different kinds of insurance (including Airbnb) and why telling one little white lie about whether or not you were allowed to have short-term letting in your…
From the Forum: Confronting unfinancial committee candidates
Finances and, specifically, who’s behind in their levies are always sensitive topics at AGMs. You don’t want to embarrass your neighbours if they are doing it tough or maybe just…