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…
forum
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…
Strata madness – tell us what’s driving you crazy
Is something bugging you? I mean, is there anything about living in strata that’s REALLY getting your goat, curdling your blood and leaving your mustard uncut. At the OCN Strata…
Roundup: Flat Chat live is back – better than ever
OK, folks, try to contain your excitement but the all-singing, all dancing Flat Chat Live is back on the agenda To be fair, it’s not called that any more, it’s…
Roundup: Legal action launched over Bankstown fire tragedy
The family of the student who died in the Bankstown fire five years ago, as well as the surviving victim, are suing everybody and anybody who may have contributed to…
Roundup: 20,000 reasons anonymity is the best policy
While we have all been off worrying about short-term letting and inflammable cladding, something quite remarkable has happened – the Flat Chat Forum has just quickly ticked over its 20,000th…
Roundup: The power of doing absolutely nothing
Sometimes in my idle moments – not that there are many of them – I think about writing a book on the power of doing nothing. I’m sure it would…
Forum Roundup – 80 percent fail quiz pet poser
By the time you read this, the quiz I set on the new strata laws (below) will have been attempted by 4,500 readers. And it has thrown up some surprising…