New blocks blocked, small builders go bust
The messages are mixed as new blocks blocked by costs and small builders go out of business - but it's not all doom and gloom.
costs
Strata shock! Why your levies are way too high
Why are your levies a lot higher than you expected? There's no mystery and you can reduce them – if you’re prepared to get stuck in.
Podcast: All the buzz about embedded networks
This week’s podcast is mostly devoted to embedded networks, what they are, why they can be good or bad, and what you can do to make them work for your…
Forum: The shocking cost of saying ‘no’
I’ve long been an advocate of a policy of “if in doubt, do nothing” but it seems there are situations in strata – especially in small schemes – where not…
Podcast: Pet deterrents and the new Commish
There’s good news this week for those abandoned covid fur-babies and the apartment residents who’d love to offer them new homes. The highly dubious tactics clearly aimed at deterring people…
Pets and ‘forced sales’ strata laws to change
Major updates on the cards for four key areas while Property Services Commissioner to take on strata too. Pet ownership barriers, the cost of repair work, collective sales and compulsory…
Poll: What would you cut in your strata budget?
If you had to make cuts in your strata spending, where would the axe fall first? Budgetting is crucially important today with the cost of living going up and inflation…
Unbalanced: When owners stop paying levies
With inimitable timing SCA (Vic) President Julie McLean has posted about the dangers of letting individual owners’ levy debts pile up. As you’ll see from these posts to the Flat…
Benchmarking Qld strata scheme running costs
Comparing the costs of running different strata blocks can be like measuring apples against oranges – or apples and ducks, more like. How do you set a benchmark for costs…
Forum: Can we share power to save money?
There has been a trend over the past few years for blocks that had one electricity supply, who then shared the costs according to unit entitlements, to install separate meters.…
Forum: Sneaky secretary swapped EGM motions
Strata chairs and secretaries can get very sneaky when it comes to manipulating votes. One FlatChatter discovered this when he proposed some expenditure on physical security for an Extraordinary General…
How to curb your levies but keep the quality
A few weeks ago we looked at the fancy additions to your apartment block that may be inflating your levies through running and maintenance costs. But there are many ways…