No waiting: You can dump committee duds now
I have a few words of encouragement and comfort for anyone who thinks they are stuck with a dysfunctional committee, or is on a committee with a destructively disruptive member.…
Podcast: Flat with its own clink is a hard cell
This week’s Flat Chat Wrap covers a lot of ground. including a prison cell in in a studio flat – seriously! – in the same small town in England where our very…
SCA-NSW launches post Netstrata investigation
There were a lot of questions that remained following the devastating report on ABC TV into allegations that strata management giant Netstrata had side-stepped regulations on declaring commissions for insurance…
Great Escapes: Bush tucker with a celeb chef
Are you nursing an urge to see more of Australia, eat some amazing food and rub shoulders with a celebrity chef? Since we linked Flat Chat with our travel website…
Forum: How to avoid conflicts over interests
There were a few interesting tweaks to NSW strata earlier this year and one of them was a radical reform of the conflict of interest rules. Previously committee members who…
Managing the managers: it’s only common sense
It’s all gone very quiet over at Strata Community Association (SCA) NSW since their president Stephen Brell resigned in the wake of an expose of his company, Netstrata, on ABC…
Podcast: Strata scandal and a can of worms
It feels like the dust has settled a little too quickly on the Netstrata scandal, as exposed by ABC TV. There has been no public statement on it from the state…
Cut migrants to ease rental crisis – expert
A leading property analyst says the Australian government’s target of building 1.2 million new homes is pie in the sky. “I have a better chance of winning Lotto next week…
Thirty years on, strata scandal history repeats
Subscribers to our newsletter will have already seen this but I thought it was worth a wider readership – JT. There’s a saying along the lines of “those who do…
Forum: From the really unreal world of strata
Buying into strata for the first time is a daunting prospect – and that’s even for people who have some idea what to expect. As for newcomers, including those new…
Tradies shortage gutting housing target, claim
Australia needs to loosen planning controls and boost apprenticeship incentives, reskill migrants already in the country, and launch an international campaign to bring in skilled migrants if we are going…
Wastes of space: ‘wow’ factor flats forget families
Developers are going to have to provide more family-friendly options in medium and high-rise blocks to make a serious dent in the housing crisis, says a new report. But too…