Roundup: We’re back … with the odd hiccup
It’s been a tough week at Flat Chat Central. Our fabulous website developers (Liveby5) have been working overtime to fix a range of problems that have been increasingly causing irritating…
roundup
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: Your strata questions take the cake again
There’s so much going on in the website this week that having a Roundup at all seems like icing on a very big cake … or is it over-egging the…
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: power brokers, smokers and slackers
Purely coincidentally, in a week where my column in the AFR was banging on about untrained volunteers running massive budgets in their blocks, while competent professionals are too busy to…
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: The votes are in – noise annoys you most
Guess what! The thing that annoys us most about each other, is noise. Who knew? Far and away the most popular choice in our fun quiz about what irritates us…
Roundup: Radio Flat Chat – listen to it right here
It’s not exactly a media frenzy but, having been on TV last week, I was on ABC radio this week – and this time, I was talking about strata living.…
Roundup: Litigious lawyers, solar power and a ban on … guess who
A few of our recent featured posts have stimulated a lot of discussion here on the Forum. My comments about how some landlords won’t rent to lawyers was borne out…
Roundup: Mr Valentine ponders training committee members
In a post-broadcast chat with James Valentine the other day (you can hear the Podcast here), he raised the issue of qualifications for strata committee members. James, who chaired…
Roundup: How to get rid of rusted-on office-bearers
One of the perennial problems discussed in the Flat Chat Forum is the issue of rusted-on office-bearers who aren’t performing all that well but won’t let anyone else’s hands anywhere…
Roundup: Fixing a hole in the strata-sphere
AS we have said many times in the past, there is a great big hole in the otherwise comprehensive advice offered by Fair Trading to strata residents. We have all…
Roundup: Do a flatting friend a favour
We all know someone who lives in strata and who is wrestling with some issue or another. And the chances are that, like the good friend that you are, you…
Roundup: Rights, wrongs and the law of diminishing returns
There’s a good old whinge in the Forum this week. An owner has spent $30,000 in a legal battle with the Owners Corp and expects to spend the same again…
Roundup: Drones and moans
Sometimes I wonder how closely people read my stuff. I was criticised by a couple of people for my “dirty tricks” story (below) being pro-airbnb. Huh? Just because they’re dirty…
Roundup: Shock of the new
I hate to blow my own trumpet but I’m hearing lots of reports that people are turning up at strata committee meetings and being handed a copy of my “21…
Roundup: The times – and strata crimes – are a-changin’
The times are certainly changing . Not only has Bob Dylan won a Nobel Prize but there are only seven more sleeps until strata law changes in NSW make all…
Roundup: Not quite the Cultural Revolution
It’s only 30 days until everything we know and loathe about strata law is swept away and the bright, shiny new face of apartment living smiles down upon us all.…