Smoke signals

With pavement cafes the next no-go areas for smokers, according to reports earlier this month, where do smokers go when they are driven off the streets?  One contributor to the…

Renters: Advance unfair

A word of warning to any prospective tenants hoping to stand out from the very competitive crowd  by offering six months’ rent or more in advance:  you might have trouble…

RENTERS: Buy or rent?

QUESTION: I’d like to own my own unit but the figures just don’t add up.  Anywhere I might be able to afford isn’t as  good as the place I’m renting…

Could you be sued?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how half the strata plans in NSW are self-managed – that is, they have no strata manager although these tend to be…

Renters: Paint job

QUESTION:  A year or so ago I did some work on my rented apartment – including painting, installing shelves and some basic maintenance – in lieu of a few weeks…

Pressure selling

Pressure selling, the blight of the apartment boom a decade ago, is back with us, it seems.  The question is, are we going to make the same mistakes all over…

Renters: cuts all round

QUESTION: The owners in our building have just cut the concierge services so they can reduce their levies,  meaning that not only do we no longer have 24-hour security, we…

Dog flap

QUESTION: The Executive Committee at our complex has received an application from a resident to install a doggy door on to their balcony.  Our building manager has told us we…

Renters: Between bonds

QUESTION: I’m leaving my apartment to move somewhere closer to work, I’ve given my notice and everything is fine.  The problem is, with the cost of moving house, buying a…

Plan to ban renovations

QUESTION: A slim majority on our executive committee want to introduce a new by-law to prevent owners making any internal structural renovations to their units because recent work done was…