Body Corporates & Building Defects
In the June issue of Strata Voice there’s an interesting article “Is Strata Title Keeping Up With Higher Density” presenting research by City Futures Research Centre at the University of New South Wales. The research reveals 72% of those surveyed had experienced one or more building defect. That figure becomes 85% for buildings built since 2000. These […]
Body Corporate By Laws and Older Buildings
Body corporate by laws and older buildings can be complicated. Records get lost and house rules are adopted but never recorded making a murky environment for purchasers. If a portion of the common property has been set aside as exclusive use for a particular lot this allocation is recorded in the by laws. It’s particularly […]
Body Corporate Levies and Prompt Payment Discounts
Body corporate levies are different from other sorts of accounts; they attach to the lot rather than the lot owner. This is because a body corporate isn’t offering a service like a Strata Manager, or selling a product like Telstra. A body corporate is managing the affairs of a building for, and by, a group […]
A Quick Guide To Levies In Arrears
In any group of people required to contribute financially on a regular basis there is inevitably going to be someone who defaults. In body corporate lexicon a levy issue that has been defaulted on, ie an invoice that has not been paid by the due date, is considered “Levies in Arrears”. It’s a good idea […]
15 “Red Flags” In A Strata Search
I spend my days reading reports and trying to decipher what they mean, usually so I can report that information to others in a strata search. As a Strata Searcher you learn pretty early on that it’s best to be thorough in reporting. If you don’t you’ll end up going back to answer questions, or […]
Body Corporate Water and Rates
UPDATE: 13/4/2015 – see the end of the article. As with many things body corporate water rates are complicated. Whether your water bill comes from the Council or the body corporate will be determined by whether or not a water meter is installed. By contrast, your rates bill will definitely come from your local Council, but, […]
10 Simple Steps To Avoid Body Corporate Disputes
Body corporate disputes are the worst. It’s bad enough fighting with your neighbours but when they live across the hall it adds and extra little dimension of hell that makes life really uncomfortable. It’s impossible to avoid disputes entirely but there are some simple things each lot owner can do that will go a long way […]
How To Find Who Manages The Body Corporate Records?
Its very common in body corporates that there is NO representative of the body corporate available onsite. Which means, if you do need to speak to someone with the power to act on behalf of the scheme, finding out who that person is can turn into a drawn out treasure hunt. Whomever manages the body […]
What To Disclose When Selling A Unit
If there’s been a grisly murder or a suicide in an apartment, do you need to disclose that to potential purchasers? David Airey wrote on this subject in the Property Observer today talking about stigmatised history of a property. It’s kind of disturbing that this happens so often that there’s actually a name for it. When a […]
Body Corporate Spending Limits
Once the committee has been elected at the Annual General Meeting they then are solely responsible for making decisions on behalf of the body corporate. But that doesn’t mean that they can go off and do whatever they please, upgrade this, maintain that and basically spend money willy nilly. Quite the opposite in fact. In fact there are very […]