Property

"Cash is King" is an expression I have often thrown around in relation to property matters. No doubt I picked it up from an early mentor of mine who also fancied the mantra. However catchy a line it may be, the principal behind it is by no means universal. When it comes to funding major works within a strata building,...

Allhomes have just released to agents their latest Allhomes Property Market Index. I found the following items of particular interest. Looking at the sales market, median house prices have continued to rise across both Canberra and Greater Queanbeyan. The median house price in the ACT is now $638,000, Townhouses $435,000 and Units & Apartments $381,000. There were a total on...

Author Amit Kalantri once mused, "An assembly is extra slow in taking actions". As a career strata manager myself, I have to confess that I don't entirely disagree. Of course, meetings are necessary for the successful management of an Owners Corporation. There just isn't any way of getting around it. However, it is important to ensure that the juice is...

Many readers of this column may be aware that for the last few years I have held the position of President of Strata Community Australia in the ACT. Towards the end of November just past I made the decision to step aside in order to concentrate on other priorities. Reflecting on my years as president over the past couple of...

If you are anything like me, you appreciate a good yarn about funny / interesting work place incidents. Some industries bear more fruit when it comes to tall tales than others. Strata management is fertile ground in this department. A colleague of mine from Victoria, Stephen Raff (CEO of Ace Body Corporate Management) has recently published a book on this...

On Friday the 7th of October 2016 Strata Community Australia (ACT) held its third annual awards night at the National Museum of Australia. As President I had the honour of addressing the crowd with a few thoughts on the preceding year. Reflecting on the past twelve months was a timely exercise for me personally following a hectic period at the...

Over the past couple of years I have delivered a series of education courses through Wisdom Learning on the subject of Strata Management. In addition to a Certificate II course which is delivered over an extended period of many months, we have also provided full day "CPD" courses aimed at real estate professionals who are not directly working in Strata,...

As the nation's capital lurches its way towards the end of another cold winter, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief that the sun will soon reappear. As a self-confessed sun seeker, I find it difficult to find anything much positive to say about the chilly weather. One exception, however, is the pleasure of escaping from the cold...

Why choose Maloney's After 20 years in property management I would like to point out why I think we lead the way in property management. 1. We are a company big enough to be systemised, organised, structured and well resourced, however, small enough to care about our clients 2.Our website has a major focus on property management and is a...

It is sometimes said that the law is an ass. In the case of strata legislation the most pervasive issue is usually lack of rigor and prescription around how an Owners Corporation should go about its affairs. Pleasingly in the ACT we have seen great improvement on that front since our jurisdiction upgraded its strata laws in recent years. Although...

All of us have been brought up with the goal and hope of buying our own home. We have this discussion in the office on a regular basis, when, where and how to go about it. Naturally opinions vary as personal bias comes out. The first part of the process is to look at your 5-10 year plan. This affects...

Six months ago I began writing this column on strata management in B2B Magazine. I had just commenced as Managing Director of Vantage Strata and was six months into my role as President of Strata Community Australia (ACT). I said that my mission was to 'do nothing short of rewriting the book on strata and building management in Canberra'. We...

Planning for the future is an important part of our lives, part of which includes your future housing needs. Where do you want to live and what facilities will you require? So bearing this in mind should I buy an investment property now that I can move into? Naturally being able to make decisions for your future needs as soon...

I have said in the past that strata is often considered the ugly second cousin of the property services industry. In the past a strata manager has not commanded the same degree of authority as perhaps a facilities manager or a real estate salesperson. Pigeonholed as being a "necessary evil" many people who have worked in the strata industry for...

Firstly let me state very clearly that I am not a part of any political party. I was in real estate last time Paul Keating stopped negative gearing in the late 80's and that was such a disaster it was cancelled in less than 12 months. It ended because investors stopped buying residential property and rents went up alarmingly as...

A number of years ago, while completing my Diploma of Property Services, the class that I was attending had a brilliant mantra on the whiteboard which has always stuck with me. The saying was written in the form of a question and answer as follows; Question: What if we train our staff and they leave? Answer: What if we don't,...