Forum fixes … as you were (aka, the Lost Weekend)
The Flat Chat Forum reno has taken place … kind of … almost. The reason it all looks exactly the same as before is becasue it is. At first, the…
forum
From the Forum: False economy in dodging legal fees
There’s been some discussion about whether or not you can take a neighbour to court for compensation when their noisy renovation work has driven out your tenants. You can take…
From the Forum: Zombie proxies and dead levies
Here’s a question that becomes more relevant as increasing numbers of oldies move into strata … and then pass on. Obviously, the petty politics of strata schemes are the last…
From the Forum: Strange case of the dog that goes wee-wee in the night
There’s so much going on in strata at the moment that we barely need our usual weekly roundup of Forum questions and answers. But then there’s so much going on…
ROUNDUP: Paint or varnish? Another strata cover-up
Every so often I get the feeling that there must be a strand of DNA that makes people both nit-picking and want to live in strata. Take the post from…
Roundup: A quick health check on the Forum
Does your pulse race at the thought of someone stealing your parking space? Are you having sleepless nights, worrying about the flat next door going on Airbnb? Have you developed…
Roundup: Something fishy when they say we live like sardines
I’m not one to jump on Nimbys (Not In My Back Yard) – most of us think there should be shelters for the homeless, and halfway houses for former jail…
Roundup: Cladding and parking top your responses
Our invitation in our last newsletter for you to suggest new topics for us to write about brought a few suggestions. That’s not to say that there’s a shortage of…
Roundup and the Wrap podcast – all you need in one place
The roundup this week includes a link to the latest Flat Chat Wrap podcast, which is turning out to be a lot more fun than we thought it would be.…
Roundup: And the answer is … the Forum
Usually on the weekly Roundup, I start with a story that’s caught my eye or piqued my curiosity and then lead into the best of the questions on the Forum.…
Roundup: The buck doesn’t stop here … or there
I should really call this week’s roundup the “runaroundup”, considering the way various government departments have had me pinging around like a pinball. A couple of weeks ago, I asked…
Roundup: Should neighbours be given your email address?
Do you guard your email address like it’s a secret code to your bank account. Or do you spread it around like confetti? One of the recurring questions on the…
Roundup: Are you being locked out of cheaper power bills?
Are you being balked whenever you try to take advantage of some of the competitive offers from power companies? It seems some developers and a few not very smart strata…
Roundup: When business bags your parking spots
The often irreconcilable differences between strata residents and commercial operators in the same scheme are to the fore in the Flat Chat Forum this week, with two tales with sadly…
Roundup: What made this baby so grumpy?
I couldn’t resist! Some of you missed out on this picture of what must be the grumpiest baby in the world. Due to various bits of new software it didn’t…
Roundup: Huge cost of small debt … and your questions
A friend received an email from his strata committee treasurer the other day. He was $7 behind in his levies for his flat. It was no big deal, just an…
Roundup: Why I was on TV talking about … tunnels
Your favourite Flatchatter was on Studio 10 yesterday morning (August 1, some time after 9am) talking about … well, not strata issues, to be honest – that’s something for the…
Roundup: Your questions … on radio and right here
We were on radio again for the first time for a while last week and we had our usual crop of confused, angry, irritated and frustrated flat owners. One bloke…