‘Cruel levies’ debt story a cheap shot at strata
COMMENT by Jimmy Thomson: The Sun-Herald article this week about the elderly couple who supposedly may be forced to sell their apartment or face bankruptcy could be used as a…
How Telcos can bully their way into unit blocks
Ever since the Federal Government embarked on its politically fraught and occasionally flawed efforts to introduce high-speed broadband to our cities, there has been a dubious tactic embraced by some…
Forum: Fix for holiday lets and affordability
Look, we know that with half of Sydney under water and the other half trapped at the airport, thoughts of holidays are far from our minds. But foreign tourists are…
Podcast: Knives out for Commissioner Chandler
This week’s Flat Chat Wrap has a look at something we predicted a few weeks ago – that the knives would soon be out for Building Commissioner David Chandler, just…
Why you must tell buyers about strata nasties
How much do you have to tell prospective purchasers about problems in your strata scheme when you are trying to sell? For instance, do you have to warn them about…
Holiday lets: A national solution to state crises
As international travel opens up again, and we await the next tourism boom, it’s residential renters who will pay the price of uncaring “sharing” when ever more rentals are turned…
Forum: When a bully takes over a small block
There’s an easy and often erroneous assumption that’s often made – that living in a small block is more pleasant than life in a large one. Of course, for some…
Podcast: Hope for future in strata melting pot
Having braved the wilds of Scotland and the woes of Covid, we are back with a brand new Flat Chat Wrap podcast, with our usual mixture of optimism and, it…
Hub backtracks on strata chairs’ phone numbers
Strata committee office-bearers can breathe a sigh of relief with news that NSW Services is backing away from their requirement for chairs and secretaries to make their phone numbers available…
Property prices – ‘it’s a correction, not a crash’
Despite the current state of turmoil in the NSW property market, with prices slowing or falling, interest rates rising and inflation spiralling, a major new report has signalled that buyers…
Missing Mascot papers prove value of the Hub
As if the former residents of Mascot Towers in Sydney weren’t doing it tough enough, last month they received another blow and it’s one that smacks of local government incompetence,…
Giving free legal advice to the most vulnerable
Here at Flat Chat we frequently recommend that cash-strapped apartment residents make use of the services provided by Marrickville Legal Centre, if they need strata law support but can’t afford…