Roundup: For the thousandth time, relax!

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Tidying up this website the other day – to provide easier access to the various topics and all that – I discovered I have posted more than one thousand articles over the years.

I’m not talking about the to and fro on the Forum – there are nearly 22,000 posts in there – but genuine articles, starting from scratch and writing 500 to 1000 words on something to do with strata.

Sorting through them,  and putting all the short-term holiday letting articles in one folder, I found the very first column I wrote on Airbnb back in 2015.  In it I said it was a pretty cool idea but wondered if it might cause some consternation in apartment blocks.

Of course, that was before it morphed from a friendly, home-sharing idea into a global holiday rental monolith, creating tenant-free tourist ghettoes in the world’s great cities.

It was also before they came here to Australia and threatened our MPs that they might lose their seats if they don’t vote in favour of allowing them to turn our homes into hotels.

All that said, you’ll be surprised to learn that the vast majority of posts aren’t about Airbnb.

Admittedly, on the downside, some of those 1000-plus posts are out of date, as you’d expect since they go back 15 years.  Strata law has changed just about everywhere so many of the more recent posts are covering the same issues but with different answers to similar questions.

But one thing remains constant – as long as there are ways to exploit or take advantage of strata owners and residents, there will be dodgy developers, bad builders, suspect strata managers, lazy lawyers, nasty neighbours and ignorant investors ready to rip us off.

However, there is also a majority of honest, decent operators as well as organisations like the Owners Corporation Network – and us, for that matter – ready explain your rights and help you fight for them.

Here’s to the next thousand posts!  May the road get a little smoother from here onwards. And check out the new menus across the top of the page – you might find exactly what you’re looking for.

Meanwhile, here are the latest strata speedbumps that have popped up in the Flat Chat Forum.

  • What do you do when committee members are stalking you on security cameras?  THAT’S HERE.
  • Arty committee wants to commission a painting for the foyer. THAT’S HERE.
  • Who’s responsible for the door on to a balcony?  Answer – it depends when the block was built. THAT’S HERE.
  • Can I demand an audit of our strata finances when we don’t even have a treasurer? THAT’S HERE.
  • Strata committee won’t meet to discuss our renovation plans. THAT’S HERE.

Needless to say, there are plenty more questions and answers on the Flat Chat Forum.

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