Who’s minding your block’s big-bucks budgets?
As rising costs of living and mortgage interest rates both bite at our heels, it seems levy (or fee) payments are often among the first financial commitments to suffer when…
finance
‘Free money’ for blocks with budget shortfalls
Strata schemes are being offered what could be, if they choose, “free money” to fill the holes in their budgets created by owners defaulting on their levies. And assistance is…
Podcast 94: Tax shock and giving loans some credit
It’s a bit of a Budget special on Flat Chat this week, if only because we are talking about money. Specifically we are discussing the personal taxes that you probably…
Loan or levies – why can’t we use both when finances are forced?
While 2020 is likely to snare yet more strata owners in the must-pay trap of defects rectifications, there is a giant hole in most states’ strata laws that make it…
‘Forced sale’ laws breathe new life into old blocks
Last year’s slump in apartment sales may have saved some of Sydney’s older apartment blocks from demolition and replacement by something shiny and new … and apartment owners are looking…
From the Forum – Flap over funny finances
Most of the arguments in strata come down to money. Even disputes over visitor parking end up with “I own a share of this and visitors haven’t paid a cent…
Delayed defects bond not all it’s cracked up to be
The delayed 2 percent defects bond maybe not such a good idea after all, says Lannock Finance boss Paul Morton The NSW Government’s deferral of the 2 per cent strata defects…
New laws on strata levies and capital works
The new NSW strata legislation requires owners to ‘actively consider’ how they want their future maintenance and capital works to be funded. Flat Chat sponsors Lannock Finance explain why setting…
New hope for old strata schemes
Can we build some granny flats at the back of our apartment block? It’s a valid question from one of our Flatchatters that will become much more pertinent at the…
Why your sinking fund costs you money
It used to be that, if you hadn’t squirreled away sufficient cash in your sinking fund, special levies were the only way of raising finance for big projects. But Lannock…