Forum: Can we turn extra space into more parking?
Among the perennial Flat Chat Forum issues, parking is right up there with pets, parties and parquet flooring. And among all the parking questions, the most common are probably queries…
common property
From the Forum: Who pays when running repairs are left to rot?
Everybody knows that the owners corporation (body corporate) has to pay to repair and maintain common property (if you didn’t, you do now.) Oh, and by the way, YOU are…
From the Forum: Washing woes as perfumes pollute upstairs pad
There are periodically so many discussions and debates about laundry on balconies that the issue has it’s own section in the Flat Chat Forum. But it’s not the sight of…
From the Forum: Treasurer pumping cash for dubious rent of space
There are times when strata committee office-bearers get themselves into trouble for no good reason, like simply failing to keep their paperwork up to date. And there are others when…
Flat Chat Wrap #19: Shoes in lobbies and snooping neighbours
Jimmy Thomson and Sue Williams take a wry – and slightly bruised – look at what’s attracting mail to the Flat Chat Forum.
The Wrap podcast: From homeless to renting, USA-style
This week’s Wrap podcast topics could hardly be more different. In one we discuss what you can do when a homeless person takes shelter in a nook of common property.…
Calling out land grabbers and strata thieves
Are residents who commandeer visitor spaces and annex chunks of common property for their own use really thieves? In a world where breaking the law and flouting regulations is not…
What exactly is common property … and what isn’t?
‘How come the inside of my front door isn’t but the outside is?’ ‘If the paint on my walls is my responsibility, what about the tiles in my bathroom?’…
Why do we neglect our single biggest investment?
For most Australians, our home is the biggest single investment we make. If we also own other properties, even more so. So why would you let the value of that…
Roundup: Neighbour dug a secret cellar under her flat – then sold it
Just when you think it’s safe to dig through the latest posts to the Flat Chat forum, somebody comes up with a question that makes you go WHAT!?! But then,…
Roundup: Car hits wall, insurer slugs tenant. Who pays?
There’s a post in the Forum this week that should warm the cockles of your heart – but I’m afraid it just has steam coming out of my ears. A…
Forum faves: Cat lovers persecuted by dog owner – and the psycho next door
Aaah, the wonderful world of strata. I found some old Flat Chat columns on my computer today, going back almost 12 years , and guess what? We are still talking…