Podcast: Mascot in court and how to clinch a deal
In this week’s podcast we catch up with what’s happening at Mascot Towers as owners in the ill-starred building prepare for their day in court. Specifically, they will be pursuing…
property
Podcast 96: Pets, rents and new age steam trains
People who don’t care about pets in apartments shouldn’t switch off just yet, regardless of how bored you are with the whole issue. It has implications for everyone in apartments,…
Podcast 94: Tax shock and giving loans some credit
It’s a bit of a Budget special on Flat Chat this week, if only because we are talking about money. Specifically we are discussing the personal taxes that you probably…
Off-the-plan panic at the chocolate factory
Allegtions of “shape-shifting’ have raised their ugly face again, with a tale of off-the-plan owners not getting what they thought they had paid for when they finally moved into their new…
Property investments – experts say ‘go big’
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…
Hidden dangers lurking in shonky strata records
This weekend, the Flat Chat column in the Financial Review will be about how to avoid buying an apartment in a dodgy building. In it, I discuss the importance of…
Flat Chat Wrap #21: Property prices panic and the latest developer rort
With property prices plummeting across our major cities, JimmyT and Sue Williams identify where apartment values are plummeting, where they’re holding and where off-the-plan purchasers are being told they can’t…
Property prices – are you predator or prey?
With house and apartment prices falling – to the extent that some people who bought off-the-plan at the height of the boom are potentially looking at negative equity –opportunists are…
Roundup: Doing it tough in the Old Dart too
On a working trip to the UK, I am struck by a story that featured on the TV news this morning about housing affordability. Yep, it’s happening over here too.…
Flat Chat: ‘Ghost’ flats proposal running on empty
As much as we are appalled at the thought of brand new apartments lying empty for years, the proposal to tax ‘ghost’ investments – first touted by Labor then slotted…
Airbnb: Free Money and Castles in the Air
Airbnb and the battle for your block: Part 2 Last week Jimmy Thomson looked at the growth of Airbnb and the opportunity and potential threats it presents to apartment residents.…
Rant: Time we jailed serial ‘phoenix’ developers?
A couple of stories have come to my attention in the past couple of days that, frankly, have me lurching from rage to revulsion. In both cases, highly profitable development…