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Today

How to party without being an animal

These are the five things that will drive your neighbours nuts – this is what you can do to avoid them.

  • Jimmy Thomson

This Month

Good news for apartments as defects crackdown bites

Buyer confidence is low, but help is on the way after the release of three reports.

  • Jimmy Thomson
A government buy-out may be the only solution to the Mascot Towers mess.

The latest twist in Mascot Towers saga means more heartbreak

There’s one last option for unit owners caught in the Mascot Towers mess. It may be that a government buy-out and repair program is the only viable answer.

  • Jimmy Thomson
Apartment block owners were asked to approve a $50,000-plus budget item for maintenance even though the lifts were still under warranty.

Up the garden path with dodgy developers

What’s missing from the new strata laws is any reference to the scandal of embedded networks or, indeed, any duty of care by strata managers.

  • Jimmy Thomson

November

What constitutes a visitor? Is it someone who drops in for an hour for a cup of tea or a romantic partner who stays all weekend?

Visitor parking is driving apartment owners mad

What defines a “visitor”? Is it someone who drops in for an hour for a cup of tea or the romantic partner of a resident who stays all weekend?

  • Jimmy Thomson
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This is the one thing you shouldn’t miss when you buy a new apartment

The initial AGM of a new block may feel like another meeting that you could happily skip, but your new neighbours really need you to be there.

  • Jimmy Thomson

Hell on wheels as e-bikes face bans from apartments

Charging lithium-ion batteries inside unit blocks is rapidly becoming a burning issue for strata committees – and firefighters.

  • Jimmy Thomson

October

How to check if your apartment developer is telling fibs

NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler’s ratings are so valuable that some companies are falsely saying they’ve got them when they haven’t even been tested.

  • Jimmy Thomson
Prepare to be persuaded, cajoled and even bullied into collectively accepting contracts for which there are no competitive quotes.

A showdown with strata shonks is coming for this columnist

At the first AGM of a new apartment block, owners are expected to approve all sorts of contracts. But what if they are being misinformed, misled and ripped off?

  • Jimmy Thomson
Apartment owners would elect a committee at the initial AGM which would then scrutinise the contracts on the table and take advice on them.

Pet owners are winners in strata law overhaul

When NSW apartment blocks were dragged whining and yelping into the pet ownership age, some smarty-pants strata schemes came up with ways to deter fur-babies.

  • Jimmy Thomson

How a mortgage mess nearly cost me my new apartment

An old debt that was paid off but never cleared came back to haunt me.

  • Jimmy Thomson

September

A tax on short-term holiday rentals could immediately put tens of thousands of homes back into the residential mix.

Airbnb tax could be a win for everyone – except the hosts

With an Airbnb tax planned in Victoria and a 60-night cap approved in NSW, the free rein for short-term holiday rentals is finally coming to an end.

  • Jimmy Thomson
Apartment owners would elect a committee at the initial AGM which would then scrutinise the contracts on the table and take advice on them.

This property sector could be the ultimate hassle-free investment

The build-to-rent sector could provide the opportunity to invest in housing without the usual hassles associated with being a landlord.

  • Jimmy Thomson

Three ways to prepare your unit block for an emergency

With extremes of weather, bushfires and strained infrastructure on the way, is your building ready for a crisis to become a catastrophe?

  • Jimmy Thomson

The low-rise housing solution local councils seem to hate

These blocks offer community living, well-designed interiors and level access – but the Nimbys say no.

  • Jimmy Thomson
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August

Lock boxes for short-term rentals on Spencer Street in Melbourne.

Expect Melbourne City’s $350 ‘Airbnb fee’ to spread

Predictably, the short-term rental lobby predicts any clampdown will cost jobs and that ‘mum and dad’ property investors will suffer.

  • Jimmy Thomson
Apartment owners would elect a committee at the initial AGM which would then scrutinise the contracts on the table and take advice on them.

Big changes in store for apartment laws

Major updates to NSW strata are being proposed with working groups having recommended some bold regulatory reforms for the sector.

  • Jimmy Thomson
Home and contents cover is the very least you should have as a resident and certainly as an investor.

‘Catastrophic’ insurance rises set to strike unit owners

Natural disasters are driving up insurance costs but unlike people with houses, apartment owners can’t opt out.

  • Jimmy Thomson

The one thing you need to know before you buy in Queensland

The Sunshine State is set to double its apartment count, but professionals fear that may lock in its corrupted management rights contracts.

  • Jimmy Thomson

How to stop dodgy maintenance contracts in your new apartment block

It’s down to owners to challenge expensive “embedded networks” at the first AGM as governments slow-walk strata law changes.

  • Jimmy Thomson

The Australian Financial Review Magazine

BOSS Financial Review

Paul Flynn grew up in a “good Catholic family of six girls and three boys.

Life & Leisure

It’s time to sparkle this New Year’s Eve! As to what to wear, read on.

Rich List

Rich Lister Sam Kennard took over the self-storage business when he was just 24.