This Month
- Opinion
- Opinion
ATO warns property investors not to ‘double-dip’ on expenses
Rental property taxes can be tricky, and that’s before you add in the strata factor.
- Jimmy Thomson
May
- Opinion
- Smart Investor
Building commissioner’s parting warning for property developers
David Chandler’s legacy includes an army of inspectors able to identify the developers most likely to produce suspect buildings.
- Jimmy Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
There’s more trouble coming for apartment owners. Here’s why
The Netstrata insurance scandal rocked the strata management industry in NSW, but that’s just the beginning as an independent inquiry starts to dig deeper.
- Jimmy Thomson
February
- Opinion
- Opinion
What the new strata laws on apartments mean for you
NSW, Victoria and Queensland are reviewing their unit regulations, but it’s still up to owners to take action against dodgy contracts.
- Jimmy Thomson
January
- Opinion
- Opinion
Three things you should know before buying your coastal retreat
Investing in apartments near the beach has a sustained appeal for a variety of reasons – but be aware, life is different out there.
- Jimmy Thomson
Investors to miss out on Mascot Towers rescue plan
Most owners will get only modest compensation in the exit offering – but investors will get nothing except some tax deductions.
- Jimmy Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
How to avoid buying an apartment in a problem building
Owners of units in defect-ridden Mascot Towers have a chance to put their financial nightmare behind them – but it comes at a price.
- Jimmy Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
Time to curb the real costs of living in an apartment
There are things you can do to make strata life better – but they shouldn’t cost anything.
- Jimmy Thomson
December 2023
- Opinion
- Opinion
Three traps to avoid as more apartments come on stream
As state governments get to grips with the housing affordability crisis, this is what buyers and investors should be watching in the new year.
- Jimmy Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
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
- Opinion
- Opinion
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
- Opinion
- Opinion
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
- Opinion
- Opinion
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 2023
- Opinion
- Opinion
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
- Opinion
- Opinion
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
- Opinion
- Opinion
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 2023
- Opinion
- Opinion
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
- Opinion
- Strata
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
- Opinion
- Smart Investor
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
- Opinion
- Opinion
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
