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 […]
Body Corporate Management: Who’s In Charge?
Most lot owners experience of their body corporate management is levy notices, agendas and minutes in the mail. For others there may be some interaction with the onsite building manager. But who actually is in charge? It helps to think of a body corporate as a country, and a democratic one at that, ruled by […]
Exclusive Use Allocations
Sometimes parts of the body corporate common property are allocated to specific lot owners as exclusive use. If exclusive use allocations are made they must be recorded and then the allocation becomes, well, for the exclusive use of that lot owner. Basically an exclusive use area becomes an extension of the lot and the lot […]
Has There Been A Contribution Lot Entitlement Change?
When a body corporate is registered the schedule of interest and contribution lot entitlements are set out in the CMS. But who sets those lot entitlements? The first lot entitlements for any body corporate are set by the developer. Now days contribution lot entitlements are required to be equal, unless being equal would then result in inequity. But […]
My Body Corporate Doesn’t Have A Name
When you’re dealing with body corporates in Queensland one of the first thing that most people in the industry will ask is “What’s the name of your building or complex?”. That’s because, in Queensland, body corporate names are how schemes are indexed. But wait you say, my body corporate doesn’t have a name. Actually in Queensland all […]