Star ratings to reduce risk in off-the-plan purchases
NSW off-the-plan apartment buyers will soon be able to access “star ratings” for developers and discover that their money may not be as safe as houses when they take the…
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Unmasked: NSW Health must truly hate us
There’s an old saying that you should never ascribe to malice anything that can just as easily be explained by stupidity. With that in mind, we can only assume that…
Forum: Tree root blockage leads to a poonami
Boy, you’ve been a busy lot in the past week. Don’t you have jobs to go to or something? But seriously, this week’s bumper crop of questions to the Forum…
Ironically, Covid-19 does discriminate after all
They say the Covid-19 virus doesn’t discriminate, but that is, of course, utter BS. If you were born into a culture where social interaction within extended families – including physical…
Podcast: Shhh … the future will be a lot quieter
On this weeks’ Podcast Sue Williams and JimmyT explore the differences if any that our current locked down, work-from-home life will make to the way we build and live in…
JimmyT’s covid comfort food kitchen: Cullen Skink
Remember when we were first locked down last year – everybody was baking cheese scones and their own sourdough? Judging by the lack of crusty bread pictures in my various…
Block ban lifted as 20-year guarantee is signed
Developers and real estate agents are free to market and sell apartments in the controversial Skyview apartment block in Castle Hill, with NSW Building Commission lifting the Prohibition Order on…
OCN update for strata on Covid work rules
The Owners Corporation Network (OCN), the peak body for apartment owners and strata committees, has compiled an invaluable advisory on what NSW strata schemes and residents can and can’t do…
1000 new homes on line for Sydney’s north-west
A new mixed-use development that will provide almost 1000 new homes near the new Metro line in Sydney’s north-west has been approved by the NSW Government. Minister for Planning and…
Forum: Tribunal rules on unrelated strata donations
Here’s a Tribunal decision that’s going to cause discomfort among the more activist members of your committees – strata schemes can’t legally make donations to campaigns and appeals that don’t…
Podcast: Covid toolkit and the lure of Zoom rooms
Covid kicks off the podcast again this week, unfortunately, but with both Sydney and Melbourne shut down it’s the first thing that springs to everyone’s mind. However there are some…
Covid confusion over who can go to work in strata
It’s been another weekend of covid confusion in strata with, on the plus side, a pretty nifty toolkit for building managers and committees being issued. However, that was followed by…