Why Opal owners are really suing the state government
News that residents of the Opal Towers are planning to sue the State Government over its alleged failure to guarantee the building standards of their crumbling apartment block may be…
strata
Podcast: Everything you never knew about strata insurance
One of the big questions around the recent Mascot Tower problems was why didn’t the building insurance kick in, rather than the state government having to bail the owners corporation…
Flat Chat Wrap #30 – Three kinds of insurance and a few facts that will shock you
Jimmy Thomson investigates four different kinds of insurance (including Airbnb) and why telling one little white lie about whether or not you were allowed to have short-term letting in your…
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…
Reasons why you should – and shouldn’t – get elected to your committee
Do you ever get the urge to stand for election to your strata committee? Are you convinced you could do a better job than the existing members? Do you want…
Flat Chat Wrap #26 – From Russia with love and the $120k insulting email
Jimmy Thomson and Sue Williams discuss apartment living in the new Russia and the email exchange that cost a Manly tenant $120,000 in a defamation case.
Strata email defamation leads to $120k damages
There’s a lesson for anyone who’s ever tempted to fire off an angry, sarcastic or frustrated email to their strata committee – a defamation case over emails has cost one…
From the Forum – Flap over funny finances
Most of the arguments in strata come down to money. Even disputes over visitor parking end up with “I own a share of this and visitors haven’t paid a cent…
Podcast: Why strata law changes are such a painfully long time coming
When it comes to strata law reform, it can be a long time between drinks. Victoria is just at the end of the public consultation stage of their very substantial…
Vic strata laws set for massive shake-up
This column has often said how wonderful it would be if all the states had similar strata laws – not just to make it easier for people moving interstate, but…
Podcast – Buy a $1.2m penthouse on the Minister’s home turf
Fancy a 400 sqm penthouse with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, two parking spaces plus uninterrupted city and parkland views … for only $1.19 million? Interested? Why wouldn’t you be? This…