Why the new state taxes won’t kill Airbnb
The NSW government has just closed its entries for people wanting to comment on changes to short-term letting laws. One proposal has been a limit on the number of people…
Forum: Power and beauty of a big red button
There’s a Flatchatter out there who deserves a herogram from us all – although he has chosen to remain anonymous, so that ain’t going to happen. A couple of weeks…
Podcast: Why the rental gap is closing fast
There are myriad reasons why apartment rents are getting closer to and even, in a couple of areas, have overtaken the rents demanded for houses.Is it because the immigration tap…
Great Escapes: How we survived a nightmare
It’s not that nobody wants to hear what a great time their friends and colleagues had on holiday – perfect beaches, amazing food, efficient and hospitable hosts. It’s that their…
City apartment rents catching up with houses
Apartment rents are rising so fast in our biggest cities that they are catching up with house rents, according to a new report. New data reveals a consistent rise in…
Forum: Strata Manager hiding behind ‘privacy’
Just when we were starting to get worried about posts to the Forum tailing off, there has been a virtual tsunami and questions and complaints, but the one that jumps…
Great Escapes: Reviewing the dodgy reviewers
You know that feeling when you arrive, travel whacked and jet-lagged for your holiday hotel or Airbnb and it’s not quite what was promised on the website. It turns out…
Back chatting on the ABC with James Valentine
For longer than either of us can remember, James Valentine used to invite me on to his Afternoons radio show to talk about strata, writes JimmyT. People would call in…
Podcast: ‘Worst-ever block’ and Greens v Nimbys
In this week’s Flat Chat Wrap podcast we look at a report that building commissioner David Chandler has issued a stop-work order at a Wollongong construction site after structural defects…
Stratastrophe! Sign up for strata disaster webinar
Is your block ready for whatever disaster maybe lurking around the corner, be it fire or flood, tsunami or mystery sinkholes? Back in spring 2023 an Owners’ Corporation Network (OCN)…
Trainee strata managers’ deadlines extended
Assistant real estate and strata managers in NSW have been given an extra three months to keep working while they register for professional qualifications so they can maintain their registrations…
Forum: Frenemies wrestle over new carpet
The first ever apartment dispute I heard about when I started down this endless river of words about 20 years ago concerned two “captains of industry” who shared a lift…