Podcasts about owners corporation network

Should you invest in apartments in Australia? In this episode, Sue Williams helps guide your strategy. Once you go down the apartment investing rabbit hole, you then need to consider whether you buy off the plan or not, while understand how it all differs from investing in houses and other types of properties. Whether investing in apartments fits your strategy or not, apartment living is on the rise here in Australia. Over the last 30 years, the number of occupied apartments across the country has more than doubled – up 108% in fact according to the last census, to over 1.4 million apartment dwellings. So, what should apartment investors be considering? The devil is always in the details with any investment, as there are big differences and other costs with apartments that you need to know and incorporate if you are to be successful. And this is where our returning guest Sue Williams comes to the rescue. As you’ll remember from Part 1 of our interview, as an award-winning journalist, writer and best selling author of 32 books to date, Sue has a special interest in property and apartment living based on her own early off the plan apartment experience, which led her to has led her to found the peak Owners Corporation Network for apartment owners many years ago, and she has gone on to co-author the very first complete guide book on Apartment Living. Sue continues to write on all aspects of the industry, and she is also part owner of the Flatchat strata advice website along with being cohost of the long running and popular weekly Flatchat Wrap podcast of the same name. Tune in to learn all things apartments! Connect with Sue suewilliams.com.au Find your Freedom Formula Success in property starts with your 'why', and then the 'what' and 'how'. Let me, Bushy Martin, lead you through it! Sign up for my Freedom Formula program. The first session is absolutely free, and it only takes around an hour! Find out more https://bushymartin.com.au/freedom-formula-course Subscribe to Property Hub for free now on your favourite podcast player. Take the next step - connect, engage and get more insights with the Property Hub community at linktr.ee/propertyhubau Book a personal solutions session with Bushy to go deeper on your specific property needs or challenges Continue the discussion with likeminded investors and experts on The Property Hub Collective Facebook group Get a copy of Bushy's book, Get Invested, for FREE, and find out what it takes for you to invest in living more, working less Get all Property Hub info here linktr.ee/propertyhubau About Get Invested, a Property Hub show Get Invested is the leading weekly podcast for Australians who want to learn how to unlock their full ‘self, health and wealth’ potential. Hosted by Bushy Martin, an award winning property investor, founder, author and media commentator who is recognised as one of Australia’s most trusted experts in property, investment and lifestyle, Get Invested reveals the secrets of the high performers who invest for success in every aspect of their lives and the world around them. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube to get every Get Invested episode each week for free. For business enquiries, email andrew@apiromarketing.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a lot going on in the strata sphere this week, starting with the Sydney Morning Herald's big expose on building defects.It's well worth reading but it's funny how every time a new reporter writes about this stuff, it's treated as if it's just been discovered.Speaking as people who have been on this beat for two decades, we are just glad that the issues are being aired again.Meanwhile strata managers nationally want to know why apartment buildings have been excluded from the multi-billion-dollar boost for solar panel battery storage. By the way, in the podcast we erroneously referred to solar panels, not batteries, as a sharp-eared listener has pointed out.  And we dig into the three-way fight over commission payments between owners (in the shape of the Owners Corporation Network) plus the Australian Consumers Insurance Lobby (ACIL), strata managers, and strata insurers.   That's all in this week's Flat Chat Wrap.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.

We talk with Karen Stiles from the Owners Corporation Network about people buying into an apartment building with a gym below. One owner called the Police because she thought a bomb had gone off. Things to know when buying into an apartment building with mixed commercial businesses below. ► Subscribe here to never miss an episode: https://www.podbean.com/user-xyelbri7gupo ► INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/therealestatepodcast/?hl=en  ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070592715418 ► Email:  myrealestatepodcast@gmail.com    The latest real estate news, trends and predictions for Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. We include home buying tips, commercial real estate, property market analysis and real estate investment strategies. Including real estate trends, finance and real estate agents and brokers. Plus real estate law and regulations, and real estate development insights. And real estate investing for first home buyers, real estate market reports and real estate negotiation skills. We include Hobart, Darwin, Hervey Bay, the Sunshine Coast, Newcastle, Central Coast, Wollongong, Geelong, Townsville, Cairns, Ballarat, Bendigo, Launceston, Mackay, Rockhampton, Coffs Harbour.     #sydneyproperty #Melbourneproperty #brisbaneproperty #perthproperty 

The debate over strata properties has been ongoing in real estate, with enthusiasts and skeptics locked in a perpetual tug-of-war. The cons, such as mandatory strata levies and the perception of lower capital growth compared to standalone houses, have often taken center stage. However, in the world of strata living, there is a tapestry of complexities that often goes unnoticed, which makes it far more than just  a black-and-white investment decision. In this episode, we are joined by Karen Stiles, Executive Director of the Owners Corporation Network, and we dive headfirst into the fascinating world of strata properties, shedding light on the dynamic changes occurring in the strata landscape. We challenge the common belief that "all units make bad investments" and uncover the nuanced reasons behind this dichotomy. While there are indeed risks and responsibilities, there's a hidden treasure trove of benefits that many overlook when considering strata living or investment. But here's the twist: strata living isn't for everyone. It requires a certain temperament to thrive in a cooperative space. And as we dive deep into the challenges, and changing dynamics in the world of strata, may these insights help you make informed decisions about this intriguing facet of real estate. Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction 01:25 - Who is Karen Stiles? 02:26 - Building commission changes in NSW and its impact on property owners 08:02 - Complexities, challenges, and risks in strata property insurance 13:21 - Can the strata commissioner contribute to improved strata property management? 14:48 - Specific challenges associated with the changing strata property landscape 19:01 - Solutions or strategies to address the hurdles in getting strata remedial work done 23:45 - What is the current status of "Project Remediate" in New South Wales? 28:09 - Is there a shift from investor-owned to owner-occupied properties? 31:03 - Housing shortages and Airbnb in Sydney 36:01 - Property management regulations in Australia 39:59 - Sustainability and energy issues in Australian apartment buildings 43:07 - Strata living challenges and education 46:01 - What's the most important change you'd like to see in the strata space? 49:05 - Karen Stiles' property dumbo About Our Guest: Karen Stiles is Executive Director of the Owners Corporation Network, the independent voice of strata owners. In her 11 years with OCN, she has heard the gamut of good and bad news stories relating to what she refers to as strata births, deaths and marriages aka 1st Annual General Meetings, living cooperatively, and collective sale. Karen's experience on strata committees began with her first apartment in 1984, and includes everyone's worst nightmare: overseeing a large defects claim after an off the plan purchase. Today she is Chair and Secretary of an older, medium sized strata scheme which has undertaken foyer, lift and fire safety upgrades. Connect with Karen Stiles: Connect with Karen Stiles on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-stiles-30b18a16/ Visit their company's website: https://ocn.org.au/ Resources mentioned in this episode:  How bad can things go with buying strata property | Episode 68 https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au/podcasts/068 Resources: Visit our website https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au If you have any questions or would like to be featured on our show, contact us at: The Elephant in the Room Property Podcast - questions@theelephantintheroom.com.au Looking for a Sydney Buyers Agent? https://www.gooddeeds.com.au Work with Veronica: https://www.veronicamorgan.com.au Looking for a Mortgage Broker? https://www.blusk.au Work with Chris: hello@blusk.au Enjoyed the podcast? Don't miss out on what's yet to come! Hit that subscription button, spread the word and join us for more insightful discussions in real estate. Your journey starts now! Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theelephantintheroom-podcast Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/the-elephant-in-the-room-property-podcast/id1384822719 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Ge1626dgnmK0RyKPcXjP0?si=26cde394fa854765 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a longer than usual podcast this week so strap yourselves in. Firstly we look at the Owners Corporation Network's (OCN) 10-point manifesto which they have announced leading up to next year's NSW state election. It's part wish-list and part statement of intent and you can read it in detail here. What we discuss is why those demands are there and what it might mean if they are taken up by the next state government (whoever that might be). Then we dive into the foaming waters of Bondi Beach where, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald, locals are concerned that it's losing its egalitarian charm and in danger of becoming another Yuppified concrete and glass suburb. Meanwhile in another yarn, the local Waverley council has, somewhat typically, said that developers should consider the spiritual, cultural and historical and climate aspects of the neighbourhood before they start throwing up (pun intended) cheap and cheerless unit blocks. Developers, in the form of the Urban Taskforce, have equally predictably said life is hard enough without adding more obstacles to their business. Here at the Flat Chat Wrap have a solution which only requires some compromise and lateral thinking – so it is pretty much guaranteed never to get off the ground. In any case, don't say it out loud, but the biggest threat to Bondi is Airbnb and it's ilk. Just wait till those A380s are back in the air again and the area once again has more baristas than barristers, and you'll know all about it. And finally, we have built an extension to the podcast, in the form of the third and last part of David Bannerman's Lawyer in the Hotseat webinar. That all adds up to an hour of chat, so pace yourselves. But remember the football World Cup is only a week away so some time management may be required. Before you go, in the next week or so we will be experimenting with ads at the beginning and end of each podcast (but not in the middle).  The podcast takes up a lot of time to record, edit and transcribe so if we can get a little financial assistance with that, it would be great. However, if you hate the ads and they make you want to turn off the pod, please let us know and we can decide if it's worth the hassle. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast (or reading the transcript), please share it with your friends using the social media buttons on this page. TRANSCRIPT IN FULL NB: This is a combination of two transcripts so the timings for the latter section - Part 3 of the Lawyer in the Hotseat webinar - will be off in terms of the audio. If you want to locate a specific section of audio, take about 25 minutes off the listed timing in that section and you'll be close to the mark. Jimmy  00:00 I was on a panel at the SCA New South Wales owners day. Sue  00:06 Oh, that's the strata Community Association. Jimmy  00:07 Yeah Sue  00:08 Which is the strata managers thing. Jimmy  00:10 Yep. And it's our first time in ages have been at one of their events and, and certainly the first time I've participated in an owner's section, because for a while they were making fairly aggressive efforts to recruit people who should have been joining OCN. And in fact they were publicising themselves as being the voice of owners in strata, Sue  00:38 okay. And that's kind of a bit hard, isn't it? Because they're actually the voice of strata manager?   So it's okay for them to have an owner's chapter, isn't it. Jimmy  00:48 Advising owners and stuff and education and stuff like that? But as I, as I said, many, many, many times, if you're in a dispute between a strata manager and an owner, and you go to the strata managers organisation, who are they going to support? And if you're a strata manager, it's part of that organisation, and they support the strata owner, you're going to be a bit miffed. Sue  01:10 For sure. Jimmy  01:12 So anyway, I went to this thing,

Co-podder Sue Williams and I took ourselves off to the Owners Corporation Network's 20th anniversary event last week and it turned out to be a very revealing evening indeed. OK, the plaudits and praise were flowing faster than the free wine – and that's saying something. I hosted and Sue delivered a fascinating speech about how the OCN was formed in the darkest days of battle against corrupt developers, their sleazy managers, our supine strata committee and our incompetent strata managers. We thought we were suffering a unique confluence of bad luck … until Sue met other strata chairs and discovered we were far from alone. The big event, however, was Building Commissioner David Chandler's speech. In it he revealed the next phase of his revolution, which will gladden the hearts of owners in older buildings. He also flagged an interest in carbon neutral buildings in the future and had a none too subtle sideswipe at yours truly for my ongoing campaign to get strata out of Fair Trading. But it was generally agreed that the work OCN and especially its executive officer Karen Stiles has done laid the groundwork for David Chandler's appointment as building commissioner. You can hear David's speech in this podcast, but OCN members will be able to stream the entire event — including Sue, strata lawyer Stephen Goddard, OCN chair Fred Tuckwell, stalwart Gerry Chia and Karen (Brokovich) Stiles – on their website ocn.org.au. There were also messages from Fair Trading Minister Victor Dominello and City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. If you're not a member, there's a simple remedy for that. Check it out … but only after you have listened to this week's Flat Chat Wrap. TRANSCRIPT IN FULL Jimmy  00:00 So as we mentioned last week, we went to the OCN's (the Owners Corporation Network's) 20th anniversary event on Wednesday. There were quite a lot of high-powered people there. Sue  00:12 Yes, the room was packed. It was a fabulous occasion. Jimmy  00:16 The Building Commissioner, David Chandler, was there and the Property Services Commissioner was there. Sue  00:21 John Minns... Jimmy  00:22 And we got a video message from Victor Dominello and Clover Moore. It was very exciting and interesting. So today, we're going to take a listen to what David Chandler said in his speech. He said a couple of really interesting things about new innovations. We'll have a chat about that. I'm Jimmy Thomson, I wrote the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review. Sue  00:46 And I'm Sue Williams and I write about property for Domain. Jimmy  00:48 And this is the Flat Chat Wrap. David Chandler seems to be a very popular man? Sue  01:07 Absolutely. He's a great speaker, isn't he? I mean, he's very colourful and interesting, and very accessible. Jimmy  01:12 Yes. We're going to take a listen to his speech and then we'll have a chat about that... "Now, without OCN, we might never have been blessed with a Building Commissioner at all. And without this particular Building Commissioner, we might never have witnessed the profound and meaningful change in the building industry. Please welcome your Building Commissioner, David Chandler." David Chandler  01:37 Well, it's a privilege to be here today, because we've been on a long journey together. But today's story is really about OCN and I was talking earlier with a few folk here, that I see this is a bit like a graduation ceremony, where I've seen an organisation over 10 or so years (where I've been observing it), go from what was essentially about victims, to an organisation that's about advocacy. And you get a much more coherent engagement with people who have a clear advocacy perspective, rather than just simply being bogged down with their experience as victims. Now, that's not in any way to devalue the hell that I have seen people going through and it's been really... The motivator for me,

Can you imagine that you simply want to exercise your rights to have your defects fixed and a representative from the developer bails you up in the street and tells you people have been killed for less. Or your chair was in cahoots with the developer and agreed to an $80,000 pay-off for $3million worth of defects? Or your strata manager was so incompetent that he put the strata scheme's legally binding seal on a contract that had been changed by the developer to say that you would pay the wages of their corrupt and sexist building manager indefinitely if your block forced him out. This week we're looking back as the Owners Corporation Network celebrates its 20th anniversary, with a glance back at its early days when there was complete lack of government interest in strata … except as a good source of political donations from developers. But first, there's good chance that if you're reading this you are either a tenant, have a neighbour who's a renter, or you're a landlord (“property provider” in Victoria). After all, more than 50 per cent of strata residents rent their homes. With the Greens announcing that they want to introduce a ban on “no-fault” evictions in NSW, we have something a focus on tenants this week. Similar legislation has been in place in Victoria for over a year, but what does it mean? Can tenants only have their tenancies ended if they behave badly? And if there are valid reasons for ending tenancies - like wanting to move back in, or need to renovate - what if the landlord or agent lies about them? We also look at a survey that shows landlords are three times as likely to take their tenants to a Tribunal than vice versa, and why, surprisingly, social housing organisations taking tenants to NCAT outnumber “civilian” landlords by similar proportions. That's all in this week's Flat Chat Wrap podcast. TRANSCRIPT IN FULL Jimmy  00:00 We're going to be talking a lot about renters this week. There's a report out by the Tenant's Union about who is taking whom to the Tribunal, NCAT. And the Greens have announced that they want the laws changed to something like they have in Victoria, where you cannot have a no-fault eviction. Sue  00:20 Yes, look, that's long overdue, I think, really. Jimmy  00:24 And we'll also be talking about a big anniversary this year; 20 years of the Owners Corporation Network. I'm Jimmy Thomson, I write the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review. Sue  00:34 And I'm Sue Williams and I write about property for Domain. Jimmy  00:36 And this is the Flat Chat Wrap. [MUSIC] Jimmy Okay, well, look at the Tenant's Union New South Wales; their survey into who is taking who to Tribunal and why. There's some quite surprising figures in there; social housing landlords are three times more likely to take their tenants to the tribunal, than ordinary landlords... Commercial landlords. Sue  00:36 Why is that? Jimmy  00:54 Well, it seems to be that the reason that they take them is because of non-payment of rent, which is the most common reason for anybody to be taken to the Tribunal. Sue  01:26 Sure. I guess it's become more common these days, because rents have gone up so hugely. And also, we've had COVID, and lots of people lost their living. Jimmy  01:36 But the interesting thing; well you think the social housing people are (and that's affordable housing and housing associations, and community associations and things like that)... You think, well, they'd be the last to take their tenants to a Tribunal. But it turns out that even though they do take the tenants to Tribunal, it's not to get them evicted... It's to basically force them to sit down and talk about a payment plan. So it's kind of like... Sue  02:05 A mediation, really. Jimmy  02:06 Well, yes, I guess in a way. I think it's signalling to them, look, this is serious. You can't keep not paying rent and expecting us to live ...

This week's podcast is given over to one topic – but it's a fascinating one: What are we going to do about Australia's older apartment blocks? Sure, there's been a lot of attention given to the blocks currently under construction or recently completed, with our special guest this week, NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler shaking up the whole industry by demanding work is up to standard or, effectively, the apartments can't be sold. He has a few horror stories to tell about buildings that seem to be undertaking major reconstruction but on the ground it's strictly amateur hour stuff. And, in a considered personal response to a question asked at the Owners Corporation Network seminar last November, which is definitely not an official state government position, he is worried about the 50,000 unit blocks over 25 years old in NSW. The problem is that for many, repair and maintenance issues over the years have led to patchworks of surface repairs while the infrastructures of the blocks have deteriorated. The nightmare scenario - admittedly one that's extreme - is the Miami Beach apartment block collapse back in June last year in which 97 people died. There, the condo board (strata committee) was quibbling about the expense of fixing serious structural problems So what's the answer when even collective sales to developers to knock down and rebuild might not be an acceptable solution for home owners? Although quick to confirm this is only his personal view of the situation, David Chandler outlines the extent of the problem and explores one potential solution.   TRANSCRIPT IN FULL Jimmy  00:00 I caught up with Building Commissioner, David Chandler, the other day. Sue  00:05 Fantastic! Jimmy  00:06 And as usual, he has a lot to say about the state of apartment blocks in New South Wales. But, his focus is changing a little bit to older apartments, so we had a long chat about that and he's got a lot to say, so I think we'd better just get on with things. I'm Jimmy Thomson, I wrote the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review. Sue  00:27 And I'm Sue Williams and I write about property for Domain. Jimmy  00:30 And this is the Flat Chat Wrap. Anybody who's been reading Flat Chat, or listening to this podcast for the past year or so, will know that David Chandler, the Building Commissioner for New South Wales, has been shaking up the new apartment developers, dropping in on sites and near-completed buildings, and forcing them to fix things, or face the prospect of not getting occupancy certificates. But late last year, at a conference organised by the Owners Corporation Network (OCN), someone asked him what he was planning to do about older buildings. So, I contacted David and asked him the same question, now that he's had a chance to consider it. First of all, he wanted to outline the extent of the problem and I have to warn you, that the audio at the beginning of this recording is a bit rough, because of the circumstances under which we recorded it. But it gets better; a lot better, pretty quickly, so hang in there. Here's David Chandler. David Chandler  01:39 It was a great question and it's time to start fleshing out what's the scope of the conversation, because we can now see an increasing number of buildings that are over 25 years of age, and that number is growing and so while we're adding stock, we're also growing the older stuff. While it's okay to say that nearly 40% of strata apartment buildings were completed in the six years prior to the survey conducted by us last year, that still means that 60% were constructed prior to that, and we're starting to now put some numbers on the number of schemes. There's nearly 50,000 over 25 years old. It was those concerns that people at that OCN meeting, were starting to become exercised about. Jimmy  02:23 David then went on to say that a lot of the maintenance of older buildings has been carried out w...

There's an air of cynicism – or maybe it's just weary experience – around this week's Flat Chat Wrap podcast, but we only have ourselves to blame. Last week we were touting the potential for a mandatory strata management contract – like the residential tenancies lease in that the legal conditions would be fixed, but the financial terms would be variable – and realised we were joining a chorus of support for the idea, notably promoted by the Owners Corporation Network. What we and they didn't realise is that Fair Trading has already nixed the idea in its review of strata laws that will occur this year. Citing the views of the ACSL (which turns out to be the Australian College of Strata Lawyers, something we didn't know when we recorded the podcast), the Law Society, the Urban Development Institute of Australia (developers) and PICA, the strata and building management giant, the policy wonks have decided that they won't have a mandatory contract but they will come up with conditions that must not be in contracts and clauses that must. We're calling BS on the proposal, not least because there is already a mandatory contract – the one issued by strata managers on a take it or leave it basis. After years of saying we should have a strata commissioner, it seems we already have one.  The published remit of the Property Services Commissioner includes strata, it seems.  Does that John Minns is the Strata Commissioner?  We're going to track him down and find out. We also explore the idea of subsidised private rentals for frontline workers like nurses, ambos, teachers and police. And we chat about some bizarre tribunal cases from Queensland, including a block that wanted residents to carry pets in cages up 16 floors in the fire stairs and another that tried to ban doormats. And final our friends at Strata Answers are looking into the successes and challenges of strata owners who want electric vehicle charging in their blocks – how they succeeded if they did get it in,  and why they failed if they didn't. All that and more in this week's Flat Chat Wrap. TRANSCRIPT IN FULL Jimmy 00:00 I've got a feeling we're going to be disappointing some of our listeners this week.  Sue Oh no, why?! Jimmy  00:04 Because we've been talking about the strata management contracts and how a lot of us think there should be a standard strata management contract. Sue  00:14 Oh, yes. Jimmy  00:15 The same way as there is a prescriptive one for rentals. Everybody has to use that contract and even if they don't use that contract, the law says well, that contract applies. Even if you've got a verbal contract and nothing on paper, that contract still applies. Sue  00:32 Yes, we were hoping the New South Wales government was going to bring that out.  For strata residents? Jimmy  00:35 Yes, so we have some updated news on that. And, we're going to talk about pets in Queensland and doormats in Queensland. We're going to talk about the new Property Services Commissioner, John Minze and, we're going to talk about some research into electric vehicles. For strata residents. So, a lot to talk about; we'd better get on with it. I'm Jimmy Thomson, I write the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review. Sue  01:04 And I'm Sue Williams. I write about property for Domain. Jimmy  01:06 And this is the Flat Chat Wrap. We've been having a debate in the Flat Chat forum... Somebody wrote and said they'd just had a look at their strata management contract, and they couldn't believe how one-sided it was. Basically, the problem is there are so many provisions in there that say that the strata manager isn't liable for anything that they've ever done and even in the unlikely event that you do find that they were liable for something, then that liability is limited to how much you have paid them in the past two years. We discussed this last week. Basically,

With two major chunks of strata legislation landing last week – Victoria's new laws and NSW's proposals for a revamp of theirs – we pick the bones out of the plans and read their entrails for signs of what's in store in the future. As usual, there are a few significant changes plus much tinkering around the edges, in both areas, but it's what the perceived need for these new laws reveals that's most interesting. How cosy are the developers and strata managers of Victoria?  How many kickbacks and from how many sources do the latter enjoy? And how many loopholes in the law will Victoria need to close before dodgy developers are driven out? We also touch on how a lack of a strong owners' and residents' voice in Victoria (like its northern neighbour's Owners Corporation Network) has left that state's legislation, frankly, years behind NSW's laws. And on that subject, in the case of the 139 items in the NSW review, we ask how soon can we expect to see those proposals become a reality and what will the process be to get there? Elsewhere in the podcast we look at a new trend in high-end hotel-style apartments, where you can order everything from room service to theatre tickets from your concierge. And we discuss the message from the AFR Property Summit that counters the doom and gloom about apartment prices. Finally, a reminder that the OCN's Strata Matters seminar is on, on Thursday 9th, hosted by Jimmy and with a guest appearance by Sue (oh, and David Chandler will be there too). There was a handful of extra tickets newly released on Tuesday. You can try to nab one or sign up to follow us on live streaming via this link. TRANSCRIPT IN FULL Jimmy  00:00 I just checked our figures for the podcast. So, nearly 26,000 people have listened to it, so far. Sue  00:09 Well, that's quite intimidating! Jimmy  00:12 I should say, it has been listened to 25,000 times, rather than 25,000 people, but we suddenly got a jump in the number of listeners, just a couple of months ago. Sue  00:24 Really, why is that, do you think? Jimmy  00:25 I have no idea, but I wonder if it was the pandemic, or people just passing it on, or something. Anyway, we now have twice as many people listening to the podcast per week, as we had at the same time last year. Sue  00:41 That's fantastic! Jimmy  00:42 So, it's roughly about 200, a week and as somebody said, if that doesn't sound like much, imagine if you were organising a meeting, every week and every week, 200 people turned up. You would be quite pleased with that. Sue  00:58 That's fantastic. I think it shows that people are getting more and more interested in apartment living, aren't they, really? More people are moving into apartments and they're curious, and they want to avoid problems. They want to know a bit more about the politics. Jimmy  01:10 And maybe, they like listening to you. Sue  01:12 No, I don't think so. Maybe you! Jimmy  01:15 Not at all! Anyway, this week, we are going to be talking about the new laws that have just come in in Victoria, the proposals for new laws in New South Wales, and you've got a couple of items? Sue  01:28 Yes. The AFR had its property summit this week, which was really interesting. They had a big section on residential property, which was mostly apartments. Also, I did a piece for Domain magazine about how new apartments are increasingly becoming like hotels. Jimmy  01:45 Okay, well, I'm Jimmy Thomson, and I write the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review. Sue  01:51 And I'm Sue Williams and I write about property for Domain in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Age. Jimmy  01:57 And this is the Flat Chat Wrap. [MUSIC] Jimmy Big week in strata law, last week. On the 1st of December, the new strata laws came in, in Victoria. We'd known they were coming for a while, but they actually became law,

Have you ever considered purchasing a strata property but then got fazed by how different it is from buying a house? There's a whole additional layer of due diligence that needs to be done and before you get elbows deep in a property, inspecting strata records should be your first course of action. Amanda Farmer of Your Strata Property shares her expertise in strata & community titles law. We talk about why you must start with records inspection before buying, the 4 steps she takes for a successful strata records inspection, a brief look at the 101s and much more! If you enjoy the show, do like, rate, subscribe, and share it with others! We have loads of resources available and if you'd like to chat, email us at support@homebuyeracademy.com.au! We are also holding a live Where to Buy Workshop - Investor Edition later this evening, Nov 24, 2021, 7-9PM AEDT (6-8PM Brisbane time)! If you want to join us, check out the link here! We'll see you on the inside!   Episode Highlights: The Rollercoaster Apartments in Vietnam [03:52] You must always start with the inspection of records before buying [05:30] Strata 101 for first home buyers [06:21] How do you know if the records you're getting are complete & correct? [10:16]  Who makes up the body corporate of strata apartments? [11:13] Why buyers MUST examine strata records [13:06] Step 1 - Request to see the records [18:04] Get advice from someone who truly understands strata [22:02] Step 2 - Understand what should be there when you inspect strata records [24:22] Why do forecasts and the capital works fund go hand in hand? [26:54] What does Amanda look for in terms of strata compliance? [32:56] Buying old vs. new buildings [34:45] Step 3 - Understand the misconceptions when it comes to records inspections [38:18] Step 4 (for owners) - Request for any missing records you want to see [44:57] Step 4 (for buyers) - Ask an adviser if record details make you uncomfortable [46:00] Don't be afraid to invest in strata (with the right knowledge)! [48:35]   Links from the Show: Successful Strata Records Inspections by Amanda Farmer Episode 68 | How bad can things go with buying strata property | Karen Stiles, Owners Corporation Network of Australia Episode 87 | Building approvals, conflicts of interest & who's to blame for construction issues? | Kerry Hunt, Manager Building Construction Team Episode 103 | Strata owners - rights & obligations | Amanda Farmer, Your Strata Property Episode 106 | Dodgy developers & Strata Living | Jimmy Thomson, FLAT CHAT Episode 113 | What's behind the wall?: 85% of developments have defects | Dr. Nicole Johnston, Deakin University Episode 176 | Developers are in the Government's crosshairs | David Chandler, NSW Building Commissioner   About Amanda Amanda Farmer provides upfront, no-nonsense legal advice and representation via her legal practice, Lawyers Chambers. As a Fellow and Council Member of the Australian College of Strata Lawyers, she is recognised by her peers as an accomplished professional in the area of strata and community titles law. Amanda advises and represents owners, buildings, developers, strata management companies and local councils. She is also the host of the Your Strata Property podcast.   If you enjoyed today's podcast, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and share the show! There's more to come, so we hope to have you along with us on this journey! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael is joined by Stephen Goddard, Strata lawyer and spokesman for the Owners Corporation Network, to discuss his recent SMH opinion piece about the dangers of building defects in residential strata schemes.   Mr Goddard writes, ‘For some time now it has been a self-evident truth that new residential strata schemes can be plagued with building defects which are left for a new owners' corporation to fix.'   ‘The defect frequent-flyers used to be water penetration, cladding and failing facades. But the tower at Canterbury is our third multi-storey building acquiring notoriety for its potential threat to life and safety due to structural instability.'   ‘Why do these events only occur in new residential strata construction? Failure by government to come to terms with this repetitive problem is treating our construction industry as a protected species while stealing the future of the people convinced to buy apartments off the plan.' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covid-19 is back in the news in new, super-infectious variants, and in the podcast this week we ask the highly relevant question of what do you do if it comes to your apartment block? Do you expect everyone in your block to be told that someone is self-isolating because they have been tested, or were in a certain place at the same time as an infected person, or if they just have a bit of a cough and the sniffles? Would you be annoyed if you were that person and all your neighbours were warned to stay well clear of you?  Do we have to wait for a resident to get the bug? And should our entire block be locked down if someone does? LISTEN HERE Should residents in “hot” zones be wearing masks in lifts and carparks right now or do we have to wait for the state government to tell us what to do? The Owners Corporation Network is asking NSW Health to take strata seriously (they say they are) and strata lawyer Amanda Farmer has advised us all to stay vigilant. We say, most blocks watch the states' health departments' notices slavishly, so we need some clear advice now, so we can be ready. Then we follow the story of the woman whose leaky balcony was getting up her nose – literally – in the form of black mould. And that story has led to a revelation about Victorian balconies in the Forum. And, finally, three big developers face a range of negative reactions as their projects are rejected or are in serious trouble, while real estate agents are in the crosshairs for not warning prospective purchasers. All that and more in this week's Flat Chat Wrap.  Transcript in Full Jimmy  0:00  There's a lot going on in apartments this week and a lot of news and not much of it very good. We've got the lockdown of the apartment block in Melbourne. We've got the spread of the Coronavirus in Sydney and the call by OCN for New South Wales Health to actually have protocols for apartment blocks. Sue  0:24  Sounds like a good idea. Jimmy  0:26  And we've got developers getting themselves into all sorts of trouble. Plenty to talk about! I'm Jimmy Thomson; I write the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review. Sue  0:38  And I'm Sue Williams and I write about property for Domain Jimmy  0:41  And this is the Flat Chat Wrap. [MUSIC] Jimmy So, lockdown of an apartment block in Melbourne and then virus spreading through... I mean, I don't know if you can even call it casual contact... Passing clouds. Sue  1:10  Absolutely! That's a real worry, isn't it? Jimmy  1:12  It is and they are connected, these things. The apartment block in Melbourne; apparently, the transmission of the virus was through people passing in the carpark. These are townhouses, although it looks like an apartment block from the pictures. These are basically townhouses and they have their own front doors to the outside. So you're thinking, well, how's the transmission going on here? Apparently, it was in the communal carpark, underneath. Sue  1:43  That puts it on another level completely, doesn't it? Jimmy  1:47  Well, yes, in so many ways, Sue. Then, we hear about the spread from the Bondi Junction shopping center and they've actually found CCTV, where they've got the original infected person and saw him basically brush past. I don't know even if they made physical contact or walked in the vicinity of the person who got infected and that's all it took. Basically, two people, breathing the same air. Sue  2:17  So, what can you suggest to help keep apartment and townhouse residents safer? Jimmy  2:24  Stay home! Look, the Owners Corporation Network has sent out a press release. It's actually a letter that they sent in February to New South Wales Health, saying "come on, you've got to come up with a protocol for apartment blocks." Remember back a year ago, or a little bit more. We were outraged that Airbnb hosts were saying "come and self -isolate in our apartmen...

This week on the podcast we look GOMO, specifically grief over missing out on your dream home. It's the other side of FOMO, where fear of missing out has you plunging headlong into what might be unwise purchases and contracts. When it comes to houses, it can feel more like a seduction and betrayal when you've been encouraged to imagine living there for years of domestic bliss, then the faithless vendor goes and sells it to someone else, just because they have more money. You can get a taste of Sue's original article on GOMO (© Sue Williams) for Domain here. LISTEN HERE Then we chat about sea changers and tree changers, why people are fleeing our city centres and where they are going. And try to explain exactly how we came to ignore our own advice about diligently doing your homework before purchasing a flat, especially off the plan, and plunged into buying one in Kiama. We talk about how newcomers to strata often don't have a clue about their rights and responsibilities and how an Owners Corporation Network and City of Sydney webinar is setting out to resolve that issue. And we discuss the benefits of having electronic notice boards in our lifts (not so much those highlighted in this week's newsletter).  That's all in this week's Flat Chat Wrap. TRANSCRIPTION IN FULL Jimmy 0:00 A couple of years ago, you invented an acronym, which was GOMO. What does that stand for, Sue? Sue 0:06 That's right. It was a variation of FOMO; you know, fear of missing out. I was doing a story about grief, when you do actually miss out and so I called it 'grief over missing out.' It never really caught on, GOMO, but in fact, I was asked the other day to write another story about GOMO! And, I was delighted, because maybe this time, it will stick. Jimmy 0:27 So, we'll be talking about GOMO; what else have we got? Sue 0:32 The move of lots of people towards coastal regions in Australia (and also regional areas as well), post-COVID and the newest recruits to that trend. Jimmy 0:43 Right. And, we're going to be talking about your rights and responsibilities when you move into an apartment block and how you can get some advice on that. I'm Jimmy Thomson, I write the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review. Sue 0:59 And I'm Sue Williams and I write about property for Domain. Jimmy 1:02 And this is the Flat Chat Wrap. [MUSIC] Jimmy So Sue, you've been writing about GOMO; 'grief over missing out?' Sue 1:22 Yes, because the housing market at the moment is so tough and the apartment market is similarly tough. I mean, in some areas, it's a little bit soft, particularly in Melbourne CBD. It's kind of quite easy to buy an apartment there and the prices haven't gone up at all and in certain areas (well, very few areas of Sydney is the same). Harris Park out west, has actually shown a drop in apartment prices, but everywhere else, apartments are doing incredibly well. There's a huge demand; an excess of demand over supply. A lot of people are going to auctions or trying to buy apartments that are actually for sale, and a lot of them are missing out and time and time again. Jimmy 2:07 I thought apartment prices were going down and rents were going down? Sue 2:12 Rents have gone down but they're coming back up again. Apartment prices in most areas are quite strong. They're just soft in some areas; the CBD's of most cities (certainly Melbourne and Sydney), but in lots of other areas, apartments are doing pretty well and there is still a shortage of apartments in many areas. There's an excess (Docklands), or Green Square over in Sydney, but in most areas, it's quite patchy and demand is much greater than supply, so lots of people are missing out, a lot. Jimmy 2:46 So, people are going into the areas that people really want to go into and there's just not enough supply? Sue 2:53 That's right. A friend of mine is trying to buy an apartment;...

Apologies for subjecting you to another short-term letting vent, but after last week's state government schemozzle when the new holiday rental regulations were announced, then shelved, we thought we’d better have a look at what was going on. And it turns out it was a case of history repeating itself.  Remember a couple of years ago when the then Planning Minister Anthony Roberts and former Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean were about to announce new NSW short-term letting regulations that would basically have handed the whole box and dice to Airbnb-style hosts on a plate? The microphones were plugged in, the TV cameras lights were at full dazzle, and then right at the last minute a couple of Government MPs realised that residential rentals across the state were about to be handed wholesale to a bunch of American “disruptors” with few if any comeback or restraints. Listen Here Suddenly it was mikes off, lights out and “don’t call us, we’ll call you”. Well, something similar happened last week, only the announcement of what would probably have been the toughest short-term letting regulations in Australia was made and then three days later they were shelved until November What happened? Surely it wasn't just that holiday rental giants Stayz and apartment owner advocates OCN both complained bitterly, was it? Listen to the podcast for our somewhat cynical insight into the whole farrago. Also we look at Mascot Towers, two years down the track, the massive financial losses apartment owners face and what we think the government should do. And Sue visits West Australia where property is going through the roof in a state that almost defines the phrase "boom and bust". That’s all in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap. Transcript in full Jimmy  0:00  Wow, what a week; double whammy! No sooner had we published last week's podcast, all about the new Airbnb or short-term letting regulations, then the government did a U -turn. Sue  0:14  Yeah, they were obviously listening to you, Jimmy and thought, 'wow, we realize there's so many problems with it.' Jimmy  0:20  Then I've looked on the internet and discovered that you couldn't actually hear the podcast anyway. We had about 11 listeners and then you were away; you were in Perth? Sue  0:31  Yes, I was. Jimmy  0:32  So, I couldn't re-record. Sue  0:34  But you managed to sort it out. Jimmy  0:35  Kind of, yes and here we are today. We're going to talk about why we think the government changed its mind. We're going to talk about Mascot Towers; the latest on that. And, we're going to talk about a massive projected increase in house prices in WA. Sue  0:53  A sign of my dedication, going over there to check it out for you. Jimmy  0:56  Absolutely, going round all the real estate agent windows, taking notes. I'm Jimmy Thomson, I write the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review. Sue  1:08  And I'm Sue Williams and I write about property for Domain. Jimmy  1:11  And this is the Flat Chat Wrap. So, that was a pretty sudden turnaround by the government on short-term letting. I mean, they released it on Friday afternoon, a week ago. 'Take the trash out day' (they call it on the West Wing here, where you get rid of all the stories that you don't want  to have too much coverage in the weekend papers, in the hope that they'll all be forgotten about, come Monday). The Owners Corporation Network got really upset about some of the provisions. The Stayz people (I think they're owned by Expedia), got very, very, very upset and Airbnb stayed very, very, very quiet. Sue  2:07  Who knows what they think? Jimmy  2:08  I think we know what they think. Then suddenly, the planning minister came out and said in the interest of conciliation and fairness and giving everyone a chance to adjust to the plans, they were putting them off until November. Sue  2:22 

OK, stop, relax, breathe. We’re not taking a break these holidays so much as easing our collective foot off the gas We thought that, rather than drag someone out of their post-Christmas coma to be interviewed on the Flat Chat Wrap podcast, we’d give you a chance to reprise some of our most listened-to episodes of the past year, some of which you might have missed or want to hear again. In fact there are two “normal” episodes that stand out as our most downloaded. Episode 91 – Crackdown on Dud Developers and Episode 87 – Comedy, coffee and a new way of renting . In Ep 87, we first discussed build-to-rent apartments, had a chat with the owner of a café in an apartment block, and announced the completion of our Pod-Com “Hyperbole Towers” (which you can hear again by clicking on the link below). Pets, pets and pets In Episode 91, we spoke to Karen Stiles, Executive Officer of the Owners Corporation Network, about the impact Building Commissioner David Chandler is going to have on new apartment builds in NSW. Given this week’s news that another major developer has gone bust,  he certainly has his work cut out. Apart from those podcasts, anything with “pets” in the title rated well, no doubt due at least in part to the shenanigans that saw NSW “no-pets” by-laws revoked, reprieved and then re-revoked.  These included Episode 89, Episode 92, Episode 95  and Episode 96. But these podcasts and the rest aren’t not all only about pets – there’s plenty of other stuff going on in strata for us to get our teeth into in these and other episodes. Neglected For the record, our most neglected podcast – at least since we trebled our listeners by moving platforms from our previous hosts, the podcast equivalent of witness protection –  was Podcast 68: Six months of Sundays, classic movies, perfect pods. Maybe it’s because when it went out in April, this episode didn’t have it’s full title attached. Or maybe it was the content – how to survive lockdowns with a smile.  It may be interesting to listen back to hear how we thought we’d fare as the pandemic spread. Sue Williams and I (JimmyT) will be back next week with a full and fresh episode as we review the year in strata across Australia. By the way, I have changed the podcast archive link on our front page to Google Podcasts as Apple iTunes doesn't seem to offer more than 10 old episodes. Let me know if you have an issue with any of that. But, meanwhile, sit back and enjoy (again) Australia’s first podcom (podcast sitcom), Hyperbole Towers and listen to its benighted committee, forced to meet on Zoom with all the back-stabbing, power plays and nefarious goings on that you’d expect. And, once again, thanks to our special guest Todd McKenney for adding some stardust to the show. Listen Here And for those of you who don't yet pod - and it's as easy as clicking on play, above - here's the script in full. You're missing half the fun but enjoy anyway. Hyperbole Towers - The Script    Scene 1: the cafe   FADE IN:   NARRATOR It's 12 minutes past six PM on a  post-lockdown evening and Charlie Lee, chair of the Hyperbole  Towers strata committee, is  wondering where the rest of its  members are.     SFX: Mobile phone ringing   ALFIE (In phone)  Hullo. Building Manager Alfie here... I'm sorry I'm in the  middle of a meeting.   CHARLIE No, you're not.   ALFIE (In phone)  I most certainly am... oh...  hello, Madame Chairperson... I am  in the meeting. Where are you?    CHARLIE I'm in the cafe. At the meeting.  Where are you? And where is  everybody else?   ALFIE (In phone)  We are meeting online, Madame  Chair. As required.   CHARLIE Required?    ALFIE (In phone)  Our new by-law. Remember we had to  pass one so we could have meetings  on Zoom or Skype?   CHARLIE During the lockdown? How could I  forget? Four hours of mindless  arguments punctuated by three  resignations,

We’ve scored a century! This week sees us post the 100th episode of the Flat Chat Wrap – and that's only counting properly produced and distributed episodes. We would have held a giant dance party to celebrate but, hey, what with Covid-19 and social distancing and all, we might limit it to a chocolate croissant with our morning coffee. Now, before we go any further with the self-congratulation, this week’s podcast, available here, is mostly about how you can turn an inaccessible old walk-up apartment block into a level-entry “gem”. And we hear from Karen Stiles of the Owners Corporation Network about plans for a new register of apartment blocks, including their main contact details. Hmmm.  All you secret, anonymous, uncontactable chairs and secretaries take note. But getting back to our 100 episodes, it’s interesting to note how much the pod has changed.  The major  developments have been the addition of Sue Williams to the regular pod crew, and the inclusion of weekly guests. Their topics have ranged from interior design to exterior paint jobs, and bathroom renovations to building defects.  We have one coming up next week on pets that animal lovers and haters alike won’t want to miss. The pod has gradually grown longer, musical “stings” have been added and the audience has expanded too.  This website says that if your podcast episodes get more than 123 listens in the first month of release, you are in the top 50 percent of world podcasts – something we achieve easily. But we could always use more listeners, so please tell your friends. And we’ve made mistakes along the way.  Just last week we talked about build-to-rent apartments for the second week in a row, and watched podders drift off in alarming numbers. Message received, loud and clear. And then there was the time I was riding my bike in Centennial Park, listening to the pod just to check it was all OK, and realised I hadn’t deleted some of the re-records and extra bits from the end. The upside is I did one of my fastest circuits ever as I raced back home to recut and re-post the offending episode. Somewhere in the midst of all this we produced a podcom – a podcast sitcom – called Hyperbole Towers which, as of today has been downloaded 679 times.  Big thanks to City of Sydney for providing most of the money for that venture, and to our friend Todd McKenney for playing the uncredited Ted McKonney, just for the fun of it. If you missed it, the online player is at the end of this article Among other changes,  we recently started providing a transcript. Those readers who don’t listen to podcasts seem to appreciate it (which is just as well because it can be a nightmare to produce). In case you were wondering, the podcast is recorded in our back bedroom (aka my office) every Sunday afternoon, when outside traffic noise is down, using a Blue Yeti microphone, Audacity free audio editing software, Zoom online calls for interviews, a folding table with a yoga mat on it to cut down the echo, and an online transcription service called Otter.ai, supplemented by the skills of a freelance editor, for the text version. When you put it all together, it’s quite an operation, but it’s OK once you get into a rhythm and we enjoy it. Hope you do too.  Here’s to the next 100. And here, in case you missed it, is the pilot episode of Hyperbole Towers.

There are two major strands to this week’s podcast. The first stems from a question raised in the Flat Chat Forum, about an apartment owner who wants to install a stairlift – one of those seats that trundles up a staircase – in a narrow common property stairwell. It's for his elderly mother, so you have some sympathy, as you'd have for the other owners who had to squeeze past the rail every day. Listen Here Now the plusses and (many) minuses of this proposal are thrashed out in the Forum but here in the podcast, we have come up with a cunning plan. Depending on the structure of the block, owners might be able to install a small passenger lift on the outside of the building for between $100k and $150k.  Ouch, I hear you say. $150k? But get this, the value of EACH apartment that benefitted from the lift might easily go up by about the same amount. So say you had six apartments (excluding the ground floor units) who each contributed $25k – about the cost of a bathroom renovation – you could raise the value of every upstairs flat by about four times that or more ... and make your lives a lot easier. Of course it would depend on the layout of the block –  the stairwell would need to have one external wall – and by-laws and what not.  But the point is, it’s do-able and the owner in the Forum story would be able to get him Mum up and down the stairs without any trouble at all. The other major part of the podcast is a chat with Karen Stiles, the Executive Officer of the Owners Corporation network. She is working with NSW Minister Victor Dominello to create a register of every strata scheme in NSW, including their major points of contact, whether it be the secretary, chair or strata manager. It's one of those ideas that's both radical and logical - probably the two main reasons why it hasn't been done before. There’s all that and more in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap. The transcript, in full Jimmy  00:00 This is a momentous occasion. Sue  00:02 Really? Jimmy 00:03 Believe it or not. This is the 100th podcast. Sue: 00.07 Wow. Jimmy 00:08 We have done 100 of these things. Sue  00:10 That's incredible. Congratulations, Jimmy. Jimmy  00:13 It means we've been doing it for almost two years. Sue 00:15 Wow. It's gone quickly, hasn't it? Jimmy 00:18 It has, and, and the numbers of people listening are slowly growing. Sue  00:23 Fantastic. Thank you very much listeners. Jimmy  00:25 Yes, thank you and to help us celebrate her 100th, pass it on to your friends. Get more people listening; that would be very cool. If you enjoy it, your friends will probably enjoy it too. This week, we have an intriguing story about somebody who wants to install a stair lift, where we suspect no stair lift should be installed. And we'll be talking to Karen Stiles, the executive officer of the Owners Corporation Network. I'm Jimmy Thomson. Sue 00:56 And I'm Sue Williams. Jimmy 00:57 And this is the 100th Flat Chat Wrap. [MUSIC] So here's the scenario that was posed on the forum. Older building, narrow stairs; an apartment on the third floor. The owner, he’s put up a bylaw to give him permission to install a chairlift; a stair lift. They call it stair lift, not a chairlift. That's what you use in ski resorts. It's not quite as elaborate as that. Sue  01:37 So that's up the fire escape, up the fire stairs? Jimmy  01:39 No, no, no, no, it's in the commonly used general staircase thing. I don't think there are fire stairs. Sue  01:47 Oh, okay. Well, there wouldn't be I suppose, would there. There’s just one, one staircase. There’s only fire stairs if you've got a lift. Jimmy  01:53 So he's got a situation where there's 16 apartments, or 18, 12 in one block, and six in his block, but it's all the same strata plan. And he's worried that the 12 people in the other block won't really care about what's happening in his part...

The big strata news of this week stopped us in our tracks. The NSW Court of Appeals has overturned a decision by the strata tribunal (NCAT) which, earlier this year, ruled that strata schemes could create "no pets" by-laws. Just to be clear, NCAT last year twice ruled that no-pet by-laws were illegal, then the NCAT Appeals Board overturned those decisions, then the Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, overturned the Appeals Board decision. So now, in short, NSW strata schemes can't ban pets. The podcast was all set, edited and ready to go when the news came in so we plugged the mike back in, cranked up the recording software and had a chat about what this means to pets and by-laws in general in NSW and elswhere in Australia. You can also read an extensive commentary and find a link to the full news story HERE. After that, we go back to our original podcast which is on totally different subjects - websites and web designers. This chat was partly inspired by revamps of two websites that are very close to us - the OCN's new look and Sue's own website. We chat to Owners Corporation Network's Executive Officer Karen Stiles about what they were hoping to achieve in the revamp of OCN's website - accessibility, authority and clarity seem to be major factors. And then Sue tells us about her new book Healing Lives which was the impetus for giving her own website a major do-over - click on the link and see for yourself. All this plus James Comey, Donald Trump and JimmyT's obsession with bathroom sinks in this week's podcast. Listen Here Listening is by far the best way to enjoy the pod, but if you aren’t a podder, or are hearing impaired, you can read the transcript of this episode a little further down this page. However, be warned, it was transcribed by a computer in America – “by-laws" become "BIOS" – then edited by an an over-caffeinated Celt. We caught most of what was lost in translation, but this is an informal chat – with tangent, upon aside, upon lateral thought – that makes a Donald Trump speech read like Shakespeare.  But it's fun. Enjoy! Flat Chat 95: Transcribed Jimmy  00:00 We were just about to lock off this podcast and put it to bed for the week, when an amazing piece of news came in, what was it, Sue? Sue  00:10 Well, the long running battle over pets and apartments, it had gone through NCAT a couple of times in New South Wales, and then it had gone to the New South Wales Court of Appeal. And everybody expected that the Court of Appeal would say that it's okay for buildings to ban pets if they want to ban pets with their by-laws. But an extraordinary ruling on Monday, the court ruled that a blanket ban on pets is unconscionable, oppressive and harsh. And therefore no building should be allowed to have a blanket ban on pets Jimmy  00:43 So does that mean that it's any apartment block anywhere in Australia you can now take your pet in? Sue  00:51 In New South Wales, New South Wales everywhere you can take a pet in, which is quite incredible has turned everything on its head. And it really has I mean, lots of people are pretty upset. Lots of people are really happy. And as the dust settles, we'll see what's going to happen in the future. But really, now there's only one level of appeal left, and that's to the High Court of Australia, in Canberra. Jimmy And that would be really expensive to lodge an appeal to them. Sue Absolutely. So one would kind of imagine that is possible. This final ruling is it, at least for the time being because as we're talking on this podcast about the strata review that's happening, the strata law, it could well be that people will now lobby the New South Wales parliament to introduce new legislation to allow bylaws to ban pets. And that's always a possibility as well, whether Parliament want to get involved. So you'd have to be a specific law saying the rules for pets are different.

This week's podcast is all about wheel-clamping, email privacy and the amazing legacy of the Sydney Olympics athletes' village. But one of the biggest pieces of news this week is about the podcast itself or, more to the point, these show notes. As we approach our 100th edition, and following numerous requests from readers who don't listen to podcasts, we have finally discovered a program that will use Artificial Intelligence to transcribe the audio into text. Now, AI can only do so much with variations of Australian, Scottish and English accents, so it does require a bit of work to knock it into shape. Then there are the interruptions, half-formed thoughts, digressions and repetitions - not to mention umms, aaahs and other verbal punctuations - that you don't realise form part of your everyday speech until you see them laid out before you on a page. We've done our best to filter out the intrusions but I hope you get the sense of the discussions and the flavour of the podcast in this lightly tweaked and fairly raw form. Meanwhile, for those of you who prefer to listen, here's this week's podcast, where Sue and I talk about her story on the 2000 Olympic athletes' village, now a very desirable suburb. Then we are joined by Karen Stiles, Executive Officer of the Owners Corporation Network, to discuss the push to keep apartment owners' email addresses secret, and demands for a return of wheel clamping for rogue parkers. Listen Here You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the "play" button below. If you haven’t already tried listening to a podcast, and you have speakers attached to your computer or earbuds attached to your smartphone, all you have to do is click on the link above. And if you like what you hear, you can subscribe to this podcast, absolutely free, on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or your favourite podcatcher. If the links provided don’t take you straight there, just search for Flat Chat Wrap, click on subscribe, and you’ll get this podcast every week without even trying. It’s free: no hooks, catches or sign-ups. Enjoy. Transcript: This podcast in print  Jimmy: Hard to believe it's been 20 years since the Sydney Olympics. Sue  Oh, wow. It sure is. I mean, it's interesting when we're getting this documentary now about Cathy Freeman.   Lots of posts about it. Eric the Eel? Yes. And um,   the memories come flooding back. But it does feel only about a couple years ago.     Jimmy: Then you realize there’s been three or four other Olympics since then. But I was reminded, funnily enough, and these days of COVID going to the station to get in a train and finding that a certain time of night when it's going to be busy, the make you go round in a one way system through in and out the stations when people aren't bumping into each other facing each other. And that reminded me of at the Olympic Stadium, where they had a one way system for people to walk around. And you could see the gate that you wanted to get into about about 20 yards away. But you had to walk another half a mile around the system to get to that gate, but it worked.   It worked tremendously well. So you're going to be talking in a minute about what happened to the buildings that they built for the athletes.   The Olympic Village. And we're going to be talking to  Karen: Stiles of OCN about email addresses and clamping illegally parked cars. I'm  Jimmy: Thomson.  Sue: And I'm  Sue Williams.  Jimmy: And this is the Flat Chat Wrap. Olympic village now sought-after suburb Jimmy:  Sue, you've done a story this week about the accommodation that was built for the Sydney Olympics. Sue:  Yes, I went out to Newington this week, for the first time ever. It was during the Olympics, I covered the Olympics, for the Sydney Morning Herald the Melbourne age out of Sydney Olympic Park and the big media center. But we were never allowed to go to the athletes village because obvi...

Michael is joined by Karen Stiles, Executive Officer of the Owners Corporation Network, a not-for-profit body representing apartment owners, who claims the federal government's $25,000 Home Builder grants would have been better spent fixing apartment buildings cloaked in flammable cladding which posed a risk to lives.   "Once again, strata owners have been left to fend for themselves," Ms Stiles said. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

We seem to be so caught up in the day-to-day of avoiding or dealing with the coronavirus, so it’s refreshing to know that some people are thinking of a future way beyond that. In this week’s podcast, Sue Williams revisits a story about an ambitious vision for a brand new city planned for the area near the new airport at Badgerys Creek. If the architects and planners have their way, it will be self-sustaining in energy and water and will even grow enough food to export to other areas. Is it a pipe dream?  The architects have been building communities in the deserts of the Gulf states so they know a bit about making the most of a hostile environment. But, asks Jimmy, how does that stack up against the cheap, cheerless and quick-fix options favoured by our politicians? Owners unite ... by Zoom Also in this podcast, we talk to Karen Stiles, the energetic executive officer of the Owners Corporation Network about how that key organisation is coping with the challenge of building a community of communities when coronavirus is trying to keep us all at home. The answer lies in technology, she says, and to prove it, they had a very successful seminar on how to keep the short-term letting wolves from the door, which OCN members (exclusively) can now download from their website. It was also Karen who inspired the name of this week’s podcast – wolves and mung beans, but you’ll have to listen to discover how (and we don't mean the coyotes in California that Sue mentions). But seriously, over the past 18 years OCN has grown into a significant and well-respected organisation which has won itself a seat at the table when policy-makers are deciding the shape of our futures in strata. You’ll realise why when Karen outlines her vision for the future of this organisation. Forced out Then, Jimmy relates the alarming tale of a woman who discovered there were 10 apartments in her building that had been let, short term, to people self-isolating after having been found to be at risk from coronavirus. Health experts advised her to get out of the apartment block for her own safety’s sake.  But it raises the question – who thinks the best way to isolate is to go into an apartment block where hundreds of people live (apart from the parasites and predators of the short-term letting industry)? And Sue’s “Hey Martha” is all about an old Temperance Hall, converted into luxury apartments … with a wine cellar. Listen here If you haven’t already done so you can subscribe to this podcast, completely free, on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or your favourite podcatcher. If the link doesn’t take you straight there, just search for Flat Chat Wrap, click on subscribe, and you’ll get this podcast every week without even trying. Oh, and give us a rating or review … it all helps to keep us going.

This week the Flat Chat Wrap podders look at the ridiculous cost of parking spaces, the new forms of flat-sharing and we finish off our chat with Jane Hearn about the proposed short-term letting register – and why Airbnb hates it so much. First up, JimmyT and Sue Williams talk about why parking spaces are no longer at such a premium (despite one that previously sold at auction for $260,000 coming up for sale). People who live near transport hubs don’t need cars as much as they used to and the flawed economics of paying for a lump of steel to sit in a car space all week, waiting for you to maybe go for a drive, just don’t add up, especially when there are car-sharing services like Go-Get literally on strata owners doorsteps. We also touch on parking space sharing and an innovative idea being trialled in multi-story car parks in Brisbane, where empty floors are turned into overnight shelters for homeless people, complete with showers, toilets, security and even hairdressers. And talking of homelessness, we kick the tyres of a couple of other innovative ideas – next generation boarding houses and co-living spaces. In both cases, these are blocks where studio units are smaller than normal – with tiny kettle and microwave spaces and small bathrooms – but that’s compensated by large shared kitchens and social areas and other facilities like gyms and swimming pools. As Sue reports, even luxury apartment developer Crown are looking at getting into co-living in a big way, with plans to add value to the communities with gym, cooking, yoga and music classes.  In fact, CEO Iwan Sunito thinks these classes are such a good idea he plans to look at extending them to his residential apartment blocks. One downside Sue discovered with the co-living and next-gen boarding houses already operating in Sydney is that many of the properties are already listed on holiday letting ewebsites like Airbnb. So much for easing the affordable housing crisis! And on the subject of Airbnb, in the second part of their conversation, Jimmy and Jane Hearn, vice-chair of the Owners Corporation Network, explore why the online letting agency is against the proposed register. We can guess why – a register would expose all the illicit lets, as has occurred elsewhere in the world, with Tokyo seeing a drop of 80 per cent in listings when a register was brought in there last year. But will it stick?  Not without serious penalties and measures to allow owners corporations to check on how the apartments in their buildings are being used, say our podders.  And that may be a bridge too far for our pro-Airbnb, anti-apartment resident politicians.  

This week the Flat Chat Wrap podders look at the ridiculous cost of parking spaces, the new forms of flat-sharing and we finish off our chat with Jane Hearn about the proposed short-term letting register – and why Airbnb hates it so much. First up, JimmyT and Sue Williams talk about why parking spaces are no longer at such a premium (despite one that previously sold at auction for $260,000 coming up for sale). People who live near transport hubs don’t need cars as much as they used to and the flawed economics of paying for a lump of steel to sit in a car space all week, waiting for you to maybe go for a drive at the weekend, just don’t add up, especially when there are car-sharing services like Go-Get literally on strata residents' doorsteps. We also touch on parking space sharing and an innovative idea being trialled in multi-story car parks in Brisbane, where empty floors are turned into overnight shelters for homeless people, complete with showers, toilets, security and even hairdressers. And talking of homelessness, we kick the tyres of a couple of other innovative ideas – next generation boarding houses and co-living spaces. In both cases, these are blocks where studio units are smaller than normal – with tiny kettle and microwave spaces and small bathrooms – but that’s compensated by large shared kitchens and social areas and other facilities like gyms and swimming pools. As Sue reports, even luxury apartment developer Crown are looking at getting into co-living in a big way, with plans to add value to the communities with gym, cooking, yoga and music classes.  In fact, CEO Iwan Sunito thinks these classes are such a good idea he plans to look at extending them to his residential apartment blocks. One downside Sue discovered with the co-living and next-gen boarding houses already operating in Sydney is that many of the properties are already listed on holiday letting websites like Airbnb. So much for easing the affordable housing crisis! And on the subject of Airbnb, in the second part of their conversation, Jimmy and Jane Hearn, vice-chair of the Owners Corporation Network, explore why the online letting agency is against the proposed register. We can guess why – a register would expose all the illicit lets, as has occurred elsewhere in the world, with Tokyo seeing a drop of 80 per cent in listings when a register was brought in there last year. But will it stick?  Not without serious penalties backed by measures to allow owners corporations to check on how the apartments in their buildings are being used, say our podders.  And that may be a bridge too far for our pro-Airbnb, anti-apartment resident politicians. You can listen to it right here: https://episodes.castos.com/flatchatpod/flat-chat-40-Parking-co-living-and-Airbnb.mp3 If you want to subscribe to the Flat Chat Wrap and get new episodes on your phone, tablet or computer as soon as they are posted (it’s completely free!), click on this link for iPHONE and IPAD and this one for Youtube. You can also subscribe on  Castbox (our favourite Podcatcher) or here on Spotify or wherever you download your podcasts.  And if you like our podcasts, please leave us a review and rating – it helps people to find us.

With defects on the minds of everyone in the apartment world, there’s a whole lot of finger pointing going on. Developers are saying engineers should be certified, strata owners say developers should be certified, and some people say anyone thinking of buying an apartment should be certified (but not in the same way). But it makes you wonder, when everything in our lives has some kind of rating, why don’t the people behind the biggest single purchases most of us will ever make have to compete for consumer credibility? You decide to go on holiday and before you’ve even checked the price of flights, you are scouring Tripadvisor to see how other travellers rate the hotels where you’re thinking of staying. You need a new kettle and you go to internet comparison sites looking for the fastest, quietest or funkiest appliances which, after all, are only required to boil water. Whitegoods have star ratings based on their energy usage (or lack thereof). Restaurants, airlines, consumer goods, cars, credit cards and insurance – they all get some sort of rating. So why not apartment blocks, developers and builders? Don't miss our podcast on this - Click Here Okay, for a start, would they accept the opinions of non-industry assessors?  And if not, how valuable would their self-assessment be? To answer to that, we should look at what star ratings do for that other essential – food. A few years ago the food industry effectively hijacked the consumer advice system intended to indicate the relative health values of foods. That would explain why a certain breakfast cereal, which would rate just over one star on a sensible system, currently gets four stars out of five. That’s also why packaging confusingly reveals what percentage of your estimated daily calorie intake a portion of the food represents, rather than clearly telling you how many calories, fat and sugar it contains. What does this have to do with apartment blocks?  If history is anything to go by, our state governments will develop amnesia about how we got into this mess –developers hiring their choice of certifiers who approved their substandard buildings – and let the industry set its own rules. Expect to hear shameless equivocation as the pollies explain how the people best placed to fix the problem are those who caused it. Okay, yes, there are plenty of good, honest developers who’d rather chew concrete than knowingly build substandard homes. But where have they been for the past 20 years while confidence in their industry has been eroded by cowboys and chancers? Talk about a conspiracy of silence! So here’s a plan for proper consumer protections: a star ratings system.  We start by wiping the slate clean, with every developer and builder getting three silver stars. However, every time they fail to rectify defects, and they lose in court or at a tribunal, they also lose a star. And every year that they survive without a significant legal challenge over defects, they gain one, graduating from silver to gold as their reputation for excellence and integrity is enhanced. Eventually, you will have a seven-tier star rating that ranges from no stars to three gold stars, which will become as valuable to developers and builders – and consumers – as chefs hats are to restaurants. I hear whispers that the Owners Corporation Network – the peak body for apartment owners – is considering introducing some kind of Choice-like ratings system. They’d better move fast before the industry’s own star scheme is wheeled in, carrying all the integrity, credibility and social value of a reality TV dating show. A version of this column first appeared in the Australian Financial Review.

Karen Stiles shares her first hand knowledge of strata ownership & her horror story of buying off the plan. Karen is now Executive Officer of Owners Corporation Network & she has brilliant insights into the hidden world of all things strata. She is extremely passionate about justice in the property world. Here's a few of the eye opening topics we covered: How everyone, besides the owners, know about building defects What a variation allowance is for builders How By-Laws can change on a whim & in seconds   Why you need a property lawyer over a standard conveyancer How bad can defects be & why owners hide them What is a Build & Design approach Got defects, sign this confidentiality agreement   Why there is no justice in the legal system. Karen's Details: Owners Corporation Network Ep 52 - Jenny TonnerDownload the Episode Transcript: www.theelephantintheroom.com.au/podcasts068 Work with Veronica? info@gooddeeds.com.au Work with Chris? hello@wealthful.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's hard to believe that we'll be voting on Saturday (March 23) for, possibly, the first new government in NSW in eight years. It's also hard to believe that we have a fixed term of four years here in NSW while the Federal Parliament has a maximum of only three years ... if they get that far. Three years is too short.  New Federal governments tend to spend the first year undoing the work of their predecessors, the second pursuing their own agenda and the third getting ready for the next election. On the other hand, four years seems a bit too long when the wrong people are in power.  Right now we face the prospect of a hung parliament with the odious Mark Latham potentially holding or at least contributing to the balance of power in the upper house through his candidature for Pauline Hanson's ("we're not very racist") One Nation. Four years of Latham? Somebody, somewhere is taking bets on how long it will be before he and Pauline fall out and he, like so many of her elected members, wanders off on his own. All of which has very little to do with apartment living.  I may be biased but I have to say that, apart from the Shooters, the Coalition seem to have the least interest in the lives of apartment residents ... and that may be being unfair to the Shooters. The enthusiasm with which they were ready to hand our homes over to unrestricted holiday lets was utterly shameful.   Immense gratitude and congratulations are owed to the Owners Corporation Network for making some MPs aware of what was about to happen to their strata-dwelling constituents, saving the day (to some extent) at literally the 11th hour. There's a lot of politics on Flat Chat at the moment - and there will be more, no doubt when the dust has settled on the Election. But if you are still undecided who to vote for, listen to our latest podcast for an instant guide.   https://episodes.castos.com/flatchatpod/Flat-Chat-Wrap-17-Election-.mp3

We were very lucky last weekend to catch up with Labor spokesperson for Better Regulation and Innovation Yasmin Catley who, current polls suggest, is a very real prospect of being NSW’s next Minister for Consumer Affairs (she will ditch the Ministry of Long Names title). Yasmin has been getting a lot of coverage in Flat Chat recently for one simple reason – she has been talking about strata and things she wants to do to make our lives better. Better Regulations Minister Matt Kean has, admittedly, been pre-occupied with the Opal building and the cladding issue (not that he’s doing much on that front except scaring people, according to this story). Mr Kean was also invited to chat with us on the podcast but we didn’t even get a response.  He’s a very busy man, not least because if the Liberals lose, his mentor, the premier, will probably be rolled and he’s her numbers man. For the record, I won’t be voting either Labor or Liberal in the NSW election and at various times I have promoted the efforts of Liberal Fair Trading Ministers Roberts, Dominello and Kean (although the latter turned out to be a huge disappointment when it came to Airbnb). But it’s refreshing to have someone who has a real chance of making a difference talking about issues that are important to us, the people who are living in apartments right now. Yes, building defects are important, but the changes proposed by the government will only affect blocks that haven’t even been started yet. Meanwhile they have let us down on Airbnb-style holiday lets, flammable cladding and making builders and developers responsible for defects that exist right now. In this week’s podcast, Ms Catley makes a very convincing argument as to why she would be a better champion for apartment residents – owners and tenants – than anyone in the current mob. She’s proposing a register for holiday lets, an opt-in option (with the default being no holiday lets) for Airbnb in apartment blocks, more protection for tenants, a strata commissioner and shifting strata to housing and and building and away from broken toys and dodgy mechanics.  In short, it’s more about people living is strata rather than profits for developers and investors. Also, we pick up the second half of our chat with Owners Corporation Network chair Phil Gall, when we get into Airbnb (again), why most politicians don’t get strata, Fair Trading (we disagree) and the future of OCN. I won’t say too much more.  Just listen to the podcast … it might make you think again about which way you are going to vote next week. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here. Enjoy. https://episodes.castos.com/flatchatpod/Flat-Chat-Wrap-16-Yasmin-.mp3

JimmyT talks to OCN chair Phil Gall about how the Owners Corporation Network gets stuff done despite bring underfunded ... and what their cladding seminar offers apartment owners

It used to be that when anyone talked about problems in strata, the perennial topics were the four Ps – pets, parking, parties (the noisy kind) and puffing (the smoke wafting from your neighbour’s balcony into your home). These days you are more likely to find yourself talking about Airbnb, inflammable cladding and building defects. Why?  For the simple reason that there’s a lot of them about. It still beggars belief that state governments are happy to hand their housing and planning policies over to a bunch of trendoids working in a hi-tech office in San Francisco. All those years of carefully evolved rules and regulations – the kind that stop your neighbour from turning their home into a business – get tossed out of the window. Why? Because some slick advertising and highly dubious business practises purport to free you to do as you wish with your property and make a lot of money. Of course, you haven’t been able to do whatever you wish with your property since the first village idiot stood for the first local council.  This is even more the case in strata, where a big chunk of your home environment is shared with other people who pay for their fair share of the upkeep. Then along comes Airbnb, presenting like a social service but behaving like the rapacious global mega-corporation that they are. If that weren’t bad enough, we have our buildings covered in flammable cladding – two microscopically thin sheets of aluminium over material that is basically a gel made of petrol. How are the two connected – have a look at the story on this page about the backpacker whose un-extinguished cigarette on the balcony of an illicit holiday let started the Lacrosse fire in Melbourne four years ago. These are the main discussion points in my podcast with Owners Corporation Network chair Phil Gall who, apart form anything else, explains why flammable cladding is even more dangerous that it seems. Next week, we tackle building defects and why apartment owners really need to stick together. But for now, here’s the first part of our chat. https://episodes.castos.com/flatchatpod/Flat-Chat-Wrap-15.mp3

This week our podcast is given over to an extended chat with NSW Independent MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich. I've come across many politicians in this game. Most have been honest and decent (to a point) and a few have been self-interested and not so much corrupt as corrupted - mainly by party allegiance and personal ambition. But it's very rare to come across someone who is as clear-sighted, committed and empathic as Alex. Locally, he's known as the man who took over from Clover Moore when she was forced to chose between being Mayor of Sydney and the city's MP in the NSW parliament. That he won the by-election comfortably was no surprise but he then increased his majority at the next state election, despite having a chunk of traditionally Liberal voters grafted on to his constituency. Nationally, he was the face of the same-sex marriage campaign while appearing on the SBS TV series Filthy Rich and Homeless. And as soon as the next state election campaign is done and dusted, he will take up cudgels for the voluntary euthanasia movement. Will all that on his plate, as well as being an active constituency MP, we were very lucky to get an hour of his time to talk about the things that matter to us here at Flat Chat. Why him?  Becasue his constituency has more high-rise apartments than any other in Australia. So this podcast is the first of two parts in which we discuss the strata issues of the day - Airbnb, cladding, defects  ... and pets. The highlight of the chat, for me, was his description of how a last-minute push by the Owners Corporation Network (and a few like-minded souls) alerted MPs in constituencies with large numbers of apartment blocks that they were about to be effectively handed over to Airbnb and other online letting agencies to be used for holiday lets, regardless of the devastating effects of strata communities. His description of the corridors of Parliament full of MPs asking each other what was going on and the last minute U-Turn by our Planning and Better Regulation Ministers makes our latest Flat Chat Wrap podcast worth a listen in itself. Enjoy. https://episodes.castos.com/flatchatpod/Flat-Chat-Wrap-11-Alex-1-.mp3

Stephen Goddard talks to Drive Tuesday about consumer protection, or lack thereof, for purchasers of off-the-plan dwellings. The Opal tower calamity has raised public awareness of the pitfalls of such purchases. Stephen is the chairperson of the Owners Corporation Network, the peak consumer representative body for the strata community. He says consumers have more protection […]

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. Basically someone looks at the latest stuff on the website and chats to JimmyT about it – for the past two weeks it’s been author, journalist, travel and property writer and Owners Corporation Network founder Sue Williams. Is it as much fun for you as it is for us? You can hear the podcast on THIS LINK and judge for yourselves. Meanwhile, we have been getting record numbers of readers on the website – which means even more question to the Flat Chat Forum than ever. For instance, what do you do when you have a developer who still holds 39 per cent of the vote is taking revenge on owners for exercising their legal rights (by following strata law) and then blocks all the motions put up by the owners to improve their scheme? It’s nasty, it’s spiteful and he’s making his enemies suffer.  But there’s still a lot they can do to put him back in his box. That’s HERE. Ooops! The secretary has admitted that they have dumped a car in visitor parking … but then does nothing about getting it moved. No point in even talking to the other committee member as they regularly park in visitor parking anyway. And this all comes out when other owners are taken to Fair Trading for parking on the lawns. Welcome to another day in strata paradise, HERE. Who’s responsible when a previous owner secretly installs a skylight in the roof without permission? The new owners wants to keep it but what happens if it leaks or need repair? That’s HERE. Our fire doors are always passed in the fire safety inspection but the deadbolt locks are marked for replacement – because they could slow residents’ exit if they were locked. We tell owners to keep them on the latch when they are home but make their flats more secure when they are out. Do we really need to replace them?  That’s HERE. Usually at this point we encourage you to keep tabs on the Flat Chat Forum, but just for a change, plug the earbuds in, sit back and relax with the Flat Chat Wrap podcast.

This week, I chat to Karen Stiles of the Owners Corporation Network, who has some practical tips for raising the standard of your strata committee when it comes to decision making and legislative compliance. We also cover some important legislative updates - including the state of the NSW government's intervention (or lack thereof) when it comes to... The post 113. How to deal with a self interested committee appeared first on Your Strata Property.

This week, I chat to Karen Stiles of the Owners Corporation Network, who has some practical tips for raising the standard of your strata committee when it comes to decision making and legislative compliance. We also cover some important legislative updates - including the state of the NSW government's intervention (or lack thereof) when it comes to... The post 113. How to deal with a self interested committee appeared first on Your Strata Property.