The real deal for strata owners on James Valentine
I was listening to the ABC News Radio last Friday and an item came on about strata defects, flammable cladding and the state ministers meeting in Sydney. The news reader…
defects
Time we had a Tripadvisor for unit block builders?
With defects on the minds of everyone in the apartment world, there’s a whole lot of finger pointing going on. Developers are saying engineers should be certified, strata owners say…
Flat Chat Wrap #32 – Time we had a star rating for the best and worst developers and builders
We have a friend called Royce who wouldn’t buy so much as a toothbrush without checking online to see if it was the best design (at the best price) for…
Forensic research – your best hope for not buying a high-rise lemon
With state planning ministers meeting this month, informed in part by a behind-closed-doors meeting of development “stakeholders” in NSW last week, you can be sure that building defects in their…
PODCAST: When defect disaster warnings were covered up
In this week’s episode of the Flat Chat Wrap we look at the claims that the Opal and Mascot towers “disasters” are just the tip of a very large apartment…
Flat Chat Wrap #31 – Tip of the defects iceberg and why it’s such a massive problem
In this week’s episode of the Flat Chat Wrap we look at the revelation that the Opal and Mascot towers “disasters” are just the tip of a very large apartment…
PODCAST: Mascot Tower sinking but residents kept afloat by loans
This week in the Podcast we look at the Mascot Tower story and the apparently generous offer by Fair Trading to bankroll emergency accommodation for residents. They are saying it’s…
Flat Chat Wrap #29 – the great Mascot Tower giveaway … and what it means about cladding
Confronted by images of residents of Mascot Tower evacuating the building, the NSW government has moved relatively swiftlly to plug the accommodation gap with a loan to the Owners Corporation…
Boycott: Is it time we had an off-the-plan ban?
The advice from Owners Corporation Network spokesman Stephen Goddard could not have been more blunt: Don’t buy apartments off the plan. His actual words in an opinion piece in the…
Flat Chat Wrap #28 – Residents out on the street as another Faulty Tower crumbles
Residents of the 130-plus apartments in the Mascot Tower apartment block in Sydney’s South were evacuated over the weekend when cracks in walls and supporting beams suddenly widened. JimmyT and…
Faulty towers – hope for the best but prepare for catastrophe
It’s hard to know exactly how to respond to the chaos at Mascot Towers. If you haven’t heard, last weekend hundreds of residents were forced to leave a South Sydney…
Strata insurance and the effects of defects
We all know that building defects aren’t covered by strata insurance. You didn’t? Well, now you do. Your strata insurance covers the scheme for accidents and incidents, not wear and…