This week’s podcast features JimmyT and Sue Williams examining the half-million dollar turnaround in a strata defamation case, a discussion about who’s the boss in a strata scheme – the…
Imagine you’ve had your AGM, there were a couple of contentious issues, a by-law here and there, a few raised voices, maybe, but eventually it was all resolved and everyone…
It’s the kind of bad dream that has strata chairs waking up in a cold sweat; being thrust into the heart of a very public building disaster, with residents thrown…
There’s a common misconception that apartment blocks must be more environmentally efficient than stand-alone housing. Having all those people living in a building with the same physical footprint as a…
The ongoing saga of the open letterbox outside a strata scheme, the email war it prompted, the defamation case that followed and the award of $120,000 in damages reached a…
The job of fixing the construction industry is too big for just one person and NSW needs a standalone building commission, not just a single commissioner, to fix the state’s…
Particularly at this time when half the country seems to be going uip in flames, fire safety seems to be more relevant than ever. So imagine you are in a…
We cover a lot of ground in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap, starting with the surprising news that new apartments are getting bigger while houses are getting smaller. Is it…
Almost half the new homes being built in Australia are apartments, according to an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey, and flats are getting bigger while houses are getting smaller. The…
NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler’s recent comment that apartment buyers should “beware” of the potential for their new block falling around their ears – apart from sounding suspiciously like victim-blaming…
It seems that Airbnb, the spoiled brat of the holiday letting industry, is finally having to grow up and accept some responsibility. Their attitude has previously been ‘we’re so popular…
There are no fixed rates and they offer different services, but how much should a strata manager be charging? And how much commission should they be getting on strata insurance?…
This week, JimmyT and Sue Williams tackle subjects that range from the sinister to the sublimely ridiculous … with some practical advice for investors in between. Why won’t the government…
The NSW government’s decision not to release the identities of the 444 buildings in the state that have potentially deadly flammable cladding may have a more political side than questionable…
With mortgage interest levels at an all-time low and apartment prices yet to reach the heights of a few years ago, there may never be a better time to take…
I was talking recently to a strata manager about a new service that’s springing up around their territory – I call them strata advocates – and she said “Oh, you…
Fancy becoming an instant property magnate? For an “investment” of only $10 you could win a fully-furnished apartment block on Queensland’s Gold Coast. With a penthouse apartment, two lower flats…
It’s funny how people react differently to exactly the same information. For instance, suppose you get a note from a neighbour saying, “we’re having a shindig on Saturday – apologies…