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…
Forum: Lines drawn in parking space battle
It’s a bumper crop of Forum posts this week but I’m drawn to one that reminds me of a friend of mine – a real estate agent – who was…
Saving lives not levies on old balcony balustrades
There used to be a general principle in strata that even if your old balcony balustrades weren’t up to current standards, you didn’t need to fix them unless there was…
Podcast: A wee cough leads to a week off
We thought we had this covered – cobble together a best-of list of our podcasts to be posted while I was in transit from the UK and then record a…
Block where luxury meets affordability and need
It’s the brave new world of affordable housing – a luxury apartment block where some people are forking out up to $2.4 million for units and others are paying just…
Forum: Strata manager lied about commission
One of the longest-running rows in strata has been around the fact that strata managers can legally charge commission on the insurance policies they organise for strata owners. Considering strata…