Flat Chat Wrap #12 – The ups and downs of apartment living with Sydney MP Alex Greenwich
Talking apartments, Airbnb, pets, the Opal, defects, cladding and all things apartment related with Sydney MP Alex Greenwich
defects
Flat Chat Wrap #10 – Talking Opal on ABC radio & and the horrors of a dirty defects battle
Talking about Opal Tower residents being forced to move back on ABC radio. Plus part 2 of our podcast on an off-the-plan strata disaster: lies, spies and lawyers as the…
Flat Chat Wrap #8 – The crumbling Opal Tower and the whole defects disaster
JimmyT and Sue Williams ask the questions everyone else is avoiding, and provide the answers people need to hear, about the Opal Tower in Sydney and the whole defects disaster…
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…
NSW Labor promises strata commissioner to tackle defects
EXCLUSIVE: By Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson A dedicated Strata Commissioner to protect apartment owners and residents and restore confidence in the strata sector will be introduced by the Labor…
Strata defect laws need an injection of Fair Go
With Sydney Olympic Park’s Opal building crumbling on one side, and buildings in Melbourne going up in flames on the other, NSW Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean had to do…
Podcast: Inside a strata disaster … a pet ban backfires
I am occasionally asked how come I ever got into writing about apartment living. After all, I’m a published author, have been a reasonabIy successful TV scriptwriter and occasionally still…
Podcast: The truth about the whole defects disaster
If you think you’ve heard everything there is to know about the cracks crisis at the Opal Tower in Sydney, and the whole defects disaster in NSW and Australia as…
Unit owners face defect bills of $100k-plus EACH
The residents of the Opal building don’t know how lucky they are. The fact that they have both high-profile and respected developers and builders involved – plus the public attention…
Cracks in Opal block reveal holes in strata protections
OK, nobody died, but this was a pretty grim Christmas for the residents and owners of the Opal Tower in Sydney’s Olympic Park. Many of them were evacuated from their…
OCN seminar to show the way through strata maze
We don’t need to tell Flat Chat readers that living in strata is complicated – you wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t already found that out for yourselves. And for…
Strata managers back a better cladding deal for owners
Strata management unbrella organisation Strata Community Australia say they are stepping up their fight for fairness as the issue of non-compliant aluminium cladding hits strata owners across Australia. And the…
Delayed defects bond not all it’s cracked up to be
The delayed 2 percent defects bond maybe not such a good idea after all, says Lannock Finance boss Paul Morton The NSW Government’s deferral of the 2 per cent strata defects…
Forum Roundup: Developer backs down
The Flat Chat Forum is a hotbed of debate and discussion, with everything from recalcitrant developers to DIY renovators. Here’s your instant weekly roundup of hot topics and cool advice on the…
Developer trying to block defects checks
When you are a new owner in a new building, it’s hard not to be suspicious of decisions that could cost you a lot of money. “The building is just…