It’s official: balconies and yards are goldmines
If your apartment or townhouse has a balcony or a courtyard, you've got fresh air, sunshine... and value that adds up to a virtual goldmine.
balcony
Forum: Levies squeezes and admin fund fiddles
There’s an old saying in strata – the smaller the block, the bigger the problems. When everyone knows each other, any points of conflict can quickly become personal. Add to…
Forum: Who can and can’t stand for election?
Who can be elected to your strata committee? More to the point, who can’t? The answer to the first question, in NSW at least, is just about anybody, including non-owners…
Smoke drift battle exposes NCAT’s farcical flaws
The recent Sydney Morning Herald story about a couple who – at the third attempt – won a case to get their neighbours to stop smoking on their balcony may…
Forum: Insurers will only pay for half of fence
Another week, another weird question – at least, it’s a question about weird behaviour by strata owners. Here’s the scenario. A car goes out of control and smashes the fence…
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…
Forum: Balcony not up to code, FT not up to speed
One of the gratifying things about wrangling this website is that it is keenly observed by a bunch of strata owners and professionals who keep us up to speed with…
Is this the last gasp for Qld balcony smokers?
Balcony smokers in Queensland could be forced to take their habit indoors after a ruling by the state’s Body Corporate Commission that an apartment resident must smoke inside her unit…
Locked down? Free ‘grow your wellbeing’ webinar
If there was a society for the prevention of cruelty to plants, here at Flat Chat Central we would long ago have been led off in chains while our wilting…
Call for ban on balcony barbies … but not here
The heat has been turned up on balcony barbecues as a cause of fires in apartments … but in a part of the world where you might least expect it.…
Podcast 83: Joke dad, garden secrets and pass-the-Corona party
It’s another showbag of conflict, calm and coronavirus craziness on the Flat Chat Wrap podcast this week. First, inspired by a question from our Forum, we discuss what you can…