FLAT CHAT WRAP

For years I have been struck by the irony of the connection between communication and community falling asunder at the doors of apartment blocks. If there was anywhere that not only needed an internal communications system – and probably contained higher than average numbers of people able to grasp the fundamentals – it would be modern apartment blocks. People have experimented with Facebook pages...

For years I have been struck by the irony of the connection (or lack thereof) between communication and community and how it seems to fall asunder at the doors of apartment blocks. If there was anywhere that not only needed an internal communications system – and probably contained higher than average numbers of people able to grasp the fundamentals – it would be modern apartment blocks. People ha...

We write and talk a lot about property developers in Flat Chat – not often in positive terms – but we rarely get the chance to hear their side of the story, at least, untainted by promotional spin for some new project or another. So it was a pleasure to sit down recently with Chris Johnson, CEO of the Urban Taskforce, and get his views on what is happening in the world of apartment development for...

Are you a locust or a bee?  Those are the divisions appearing between residents in Australia as many of us move from the more acquisitive, self-centred lifestyle typified by the McMansion in the suburbs, to a more communal, sharing way of life that you increasingly find in apartments. In this week's podcast we talk to Chris Johnson, CEO of the Urban Taskforce, who predicts a more communal way...

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...

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...

Just when you thought it was safe to dip your toe into the Airbnb discussion, it turns out the proposed new laws are not what they seem. The 180-day cap on whole-home lets  can be extended by your local council, there’s a mysterious 21-night option that doesn’t count against the cap and Airbnb is gearing up to fight really tough fire safety regulations (which are fine by Stayz, by the way). This w...

Just when you thought it was safe to dip your toe into the Airbnb discussion, it turns out the new laws are not what they seem. The 180-day cap on whole-home lets can be extended by your local council, there’s a mysterious 21-night option that doesn’t count against the cap and Airbnb is gearing up to fight really tough fire safety regulations (which are fine by Stayz, by the way).In this week’s po...

This week the Flat Chat Wrap podcast is all about conflict and various forms of resolution … including revolution. First Sue Williams and I take a look at we take a look at mediation and what it actually means. In NSW and Queensland, mediation is an obligatory precursor to asking for an adjudication at your state tribunal. In Victoria it kind of is too, but isn’t really.  It’s called conciliation...

This week the Flat Chat Wrap podcast is all about conflict and various forms of resolution … including revolution. First Sue Williams and I take a look at we take a look at mediation and what it actually means. In NSW and Queensland, mediation is an obligatory precursor to asking for an adjudication at your state tribunal. In Victoria it kind of is too, but isn’t really.  It’s called conciliation...

It’s a real mixed bag in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap podcast – finance, Airbnb and sneaky sex. Sue Williams and I start our dissection of the week’s strata news by looking at the suggestion that people suffering under building defects might get low-interest or even no-interest loans from the government. We reckon it’s better than nothing but it’s not enough.  Anyone who has ever suffered through th...

It’s a real mixed bag in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap podcast – finance, Airbnb and sneaky sex. Sue Williams and I start our dissection of the week’s strata news by looking at the suggestion that people suffering under building defects might get low-interest or even no-interest loans from the government. We reckon it’s better than nothing but it’s not enough.  Anyone who has ever suffered through th...

It would be fair to say that Flat Chat’s approach to apartment living and strata law over the years has been robustly non-academic.  We use often cite anonymous sources and unverified reports to build a picture of all that is wrong with strata living (and many things that are right).Academic researchers, by contrast, meticulously record numerous interviews, often with clearly identified and author...

It would be fair to say that Flat Chat’s approach to apartment living and strata law over the years has been robustly non-academic.  We use often cite anonymous sources, anecdotal 'evidence' and unverified reports to build a picture of all that is wrong with strata living (and many things that are right).Academic researchers, by contrast, meticulously record numerous interviews, often wi...

 If you live in apartments for long enough it’s almost impossible not to catch a glimpse into other people’s lives. Most of us look away, hoping that the same courtesy will be afforded to us by anyone inadvertently seeing more than they should. But sometimes curiosity gets the better of us and an innocent, accidental glance turns into a look that lingers longer that it ought. OK that's unders...

If you live in apartments for long enough, at some point you're bound to catch a glimpse into other people’s lives. Most of us look away, hoping that the same courtesy will be afforded to us by anyone inadvertently seeing more than they should. But sometimes curiosity gets the better of us and an innocent, accidental glance turns into a look that lingers longer that it ought. But then there’s...

There’s so much doom and gloom around strata at the moment you feel you’re missing out if your apartment block isn’t on fire, falling down or both. So we’ve decided to lighten the load in this week’s podcast with a look at TV shows that were set in apartment blocks, especially Australian shows. And for that, there is no better person to sit at the Flat Chat microphone than producer, critic, writer...

There’s so much doom and gloom around strata at the moment you feel you’re missing out if your apartment block isn’t on fire, falling down or both. So we’ve decided to lighten the load in this week’s podcast with a look at TV shows and movies that were set in apartment blocks, especially Australian shows. And for that, there is no better person to sit at the Flat Chat microphone than producer, cri...

How would you feel if you suddenly had 50 to 100 strangers walking through your lobby every day, clogging up the lifts just when you are trying to get to work or when you come home? These are the fears raised by residents of two neighbouring buildings on Sydney’s North Shore (and discussed in our podcast) where the very loosely defined approval for commercial development inside a residential build...

How would you feel if you suddenly had 50 to 100 strangers walking through your lobby every day, clogging up the lifts just when you are trying to get to work or when you come home? These are the fears raised by residents of two neighbouring buildings on Sydney’s North Shore (and discussed in our podcast) where the very loosely defined approval for commercial development inside a residential build...

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, wh...

In this week's Podcast, Jimmy Thomson and Sue Williams discuss why it is that we can get ratings and comparisons for just about everything we buy ... except the largest purchase most of us will ever make.  And they float the idea of people being given (and losing) a licence to live in strata. We have a friend called Royce who wouldn’t buy so much as a toothbrush without checking online to see...

We have a friend called Royce who wouldn’t buy so much as a toothbrush without checking online to see if it was the best design (at the best price) for his specific dental needs. He is so notorious for his exhaustive product checking that our group of friends refers to the process as “Roycing”.For instance, you say you’re thinking of buying a particular brand of new TV and someone says “Oh, have y...

In this week’s episode of the Flat Chat Wrap we look at the revelation that the Opal and Mascot towers “disasters” are just the tip of a very large apartment block defects  iceberg. Jimmy Thomson and Sue Williams have been writing about apartment block defects – and other, happier apartment-related issues – for more than 15 years. In this episode of the Flat Chat Wrap, Sue recalls the time more th...

In this week’s episode of the Flat Chat Wrap we look at the claims that the Opal and Mascot towers “disasters” are just the tip of a very large apartment block defects iceberg. This comes as no surprise to JimmyT and Sue Williams, who have been writing about apartment block defects – and other, happier apartment-related issues – for almost two decades, meeting a response that ranged from complete...