It’s not often I get the chance to praise developers but I’m happy to take my hat off to Nectar Efkarpidis who reckons it’s time to rethink our one-style-fits–all approach to apartments. Mr Efkarpidis has been speaking sensibly about building communities with “niche” appeal rather than constantly catering for the “homogenous lowest common denominator.” Ideas [...]

A little light relief this week – at least that’s what one owner is hoping for when it comes to the question of switches. QUESTION: I’m a member of a strata Executive Committee. Another member of the committee has submitted an invoice for the cost of having broken light switches in his apartment replaced by an electrician. [...]

Sleep deprivation and water torture sound like they’re straight out of the Guantanamo Bay handbook. But it’s no joke if you are the victim and your neighbours are allowing it to happen because it doesn’t affect them. QUESTION: We are only getting between 5-6 hours of broken sleep a night because of severe water hammer. [...]

Nowhere is the phrase caveat emptor – buyer beware – more relevant than in purchasing strata units. And if you and your solicitor or conveyancer don’t do your homework you could find yourself in trouble. QUESTION:  A new owner has bought an apartment which, it turns out, had a kitchen renovation done without owners corporation [...]

Did you read Herald columnist Elizabeth Farrelly’s piece the other week on how her house was broken into by junkies hanging around a nearby drug den who spotted her going out for the day? So how do we protect our hard-earned gear  from thieving hands? Short of making heroin legal on prescription –  and there [...]