We wish you a wonderful Easter long weekend. Take it easy with those chocolate eggs! Our office will be closed from Thursday 2nd April and reopen on Tuesday 7th April. Should there be an emergency during this period please refer to the emergency trade list located on the notice board within your building. A general emergency…
We have written a new article explaining how you become and remain a Licensed Strata Manager, and why it is important to use the services of a fully qualified professional. We also cover how you can check whether your Strata Managing Agent is licensed by the Department of Fair Trading (NSW) and a member of…
The SCA has written a number of useful guides, which may be of interest to you. They cover the following topics: Meetings Builders Negligence- Owners Corporation Loses all Rights Dumped items or rubbish or furniture Goods and Services Tax Sinking Fund Plans What can owners corporations require when owners renovate apartments What do…
We have just published a new article in which we provide some more details around strata levies (or strata fees) and strata management fees. There are a number of ways in which a building can be ‘creative’ in reducing the levies it needs to raise. This article highlights the need to do your homework before…
The NSW Department of Fair Trading announced that the NSW Home Building Amendment Act and Regulations will commence in two stages. Most changes commence on 15 January 2015. Further amendments concerning contract requirements will commence on 1 March 2015. For details on which changes are implemented, and when these will be implemented, please hit this link from the DFT.
The executive committee has a significant amount of power in the day to day affairs of the scheme, so needless to say, you don’t want to find out you got the nomination process wrong. Knowing if your nomination will be valid involves considering the following questions: Who can make a nomination? Who can they…
Noise is one of the most common cause of complaints within residential strata buildings. Complaints may involve noise from hard floors and lack of appropriate floor coverings, mechanical noise from air-conditioning equipment, motor vehicles and alarms, noise from renovation works, noise from activities such as parties and music and noise from barking dogs and other…
Purchasers of lots in a new strata plan find themselves members of a new owners corporation, which has a lot of work to do during the lead up to its first annual general meeting. That meeting must take place within two months of the expiry of the “initial period”, i.e. the period within which one…
I came across this article in SMH’s Domain. It makes some suggestions on how you could lower the strata levies for your building. Perhaps it is of interest. Hit this link for the full article.
The Minister for Fair Trading this morning announced that the Home Building Amendment Act 2014 is now expected to commence in mid-January 2015. Up until today it was expected to commence on 1 December 2014. For more details please click here for a full news release by our friends at Kerin Benson Lawyers. This is where…
We are both proud and excited to announce that due to our remarkable growth, Premium Strata has moved into a new office! We will be remaining in the same building on Kippax Street, but have secured a larger office one floor down that offers more space and improved meeting room facilities for all our clients….
Our friends at Bannermans Lawyers made this really useful infographic which explains the difference between Common Property and Lot Property. Please click the image to the right for a large version of the image. It is very helpful in understanding which damage or repairs are covered by the building insurance and for which issues you…
You may have heard of the following terms mentioned in your regular strata related dealings: Strata Schemes, Strata Plan and Strata Title. You probably understand that these are all related, but how exactly, that remains a bit of a mystery. In this article we will try and demystify this terminology for you. Continue reading here…
The City Futures Research Centre at the University of New South Wales invites owners and tenants of strata lots to share their attitudes and expectations on the redevelopment of strata schemes. The aim of the study is to find out what your hopes, concerns and priorities would be if the strata scheme that you live…
It is easy to get confused with all the jargon flying around! To help explain the difference between a Strata Manager, a Building Manager/Caretaker and a Property Manager we have written an article under our FAQ section. You can read the full article here. It is the first in a series we’ll be posting so…
The City Of Sydney is organising a number of free workshops covering various strata topics, such as Pets in strata buildings, the Executive Committee, the Sinking Funds and the importance of Meeting Minutes. Each workshop runs from 6pm to 8pm and is limited to 50 people. Registration is a must, and can be done here!…
The keeping of pets in strata buildings often generate strong reactions from owners. Many buildings have adopted bylaws stating that the keeping of pets of any kind are not permitted. A pet can be defined as “a domesticated animal kept, looked after and fed for pleasure rather than utility”. However, what if the animals in…
Look out for the June edition of the Smart Property Investment magazine. Our very own Inger Brettle is quoted in an article titled ’10 Tips for Strata Buying Success’ (p.32)! See attached copy, or http://www.spionline.com.au