Forgive our Trespasses
(Please read author’s confession at the end of this piece) Did you know that every time you open your car door in most apartment car parks you are technically trespassing?…
Slums of the future
Flat Chat 97 – Slumming It By Jimmy Thomson There’s been a lot of talk about “slums of the future”, most recently by opponents of the decision by NSW planning…
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Instead of being more efficient than “normal” houses, as they should be, Sydney’s high-rise apartments apparently produce twice as much greenhouse gas through energy wastage. Our green credentials go up…
That old familiar sinking feeling
Jimmy Thomson The future is finally here for older apartment blocks. All owners corporations will soon have to work out a 10-year sinking fund plan, outlining what their maintenance needs…
Letter from Peter Berry
Jimmy I have read the comments you have sent me in response to your SMH item on illegal parking in strata schemes. They certainly typify the difficulties that can arise…
Letters to Peter Berry
These are the emails passed on to Peter Berry, Head of Policy Development at Fair Trading and to which he replied. There’s a link to his letter on the Flatchat…
Clean slate
Many older apartment buildings in Sydney were never intended to last as long as they have. So what do you do when your block has passed it’s use-by date? Q:…
Flood of complaint
It’s complicated enough to know who’s responsible when owners have problems but when it’s tenants, there’s a whole other level of confusion. Q: My friend Tim rents a ground-floor flat…
Sinking your teeth into the funds.
Now that all new and/or large apartment buildings have to have a sinking fund, the great unanswered (and largely unasked) question is, what happens to all the money while you’re…
Going up
When many of our older, smaller beach-side apartment blocks were built, their full potential was rarely realised. But styles and priorities change and opportunities arise. Q: I own both top…
Parking Mad
Flatchat has been in touch with the Office of fair Trading this week, following up some of the suggestions made and questions asked by readers late last year in our…
New Laws
Having only this past week been involved in an arm-wrestle with the Office of Fair Trading’s Education and Information department over the content of a new book I’m writing (out…