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Strata News | Tower Body Corporate
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Welcome to the September Edition of Tower News
Pick a strata issue, any issue, and nine times out of ten the problem can be solved with better communication. Better communication means better understanding and when there’s better understanding life tends to click into place.
Still, getting to that point where everyone is on the same page is easier said than done. In this month’s newsletter we take a look at how online meetings are helping owners talk to each other in new ways and how your plan can take advantage of virtual communication.
Elsewhere find out
- where we are up to with the QBCC Combustible Cladding deadline,
- how much is just right when it comes to sinking fund balances,
- plus much more.
And, Tower Body Corporate says hi to a new team member.
Don’t forget to contact us if you have a strata question or you want any topics covered in the newsletter. Follow the social links at the bottom of the newsletter or mail us at info@towerbodycorporate.com.au.
Kind Regards,
The Tower Body Corporate Team
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Combustible cladding and Strata Buildings in Qld: Where are we now?
Tower Body Corporate
The QBCC deadline for part 3b is 3 May 2021. This deadline requires the building to have obtained the cladding risk assessment as well as some additional reporting requirements.
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Getting Started with Virtual Meetings in Body Corporates
Will Marquand,
Tower Body Corporate
Online meetings won’t replace what has gone before but they add a new dimension and that can only be a good thing. Is it time for your strata plan to give one a try?
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Tackling Apathy
Tammy Lynch,
Tower Body Corporate
Apathy in bodies corporate is not a new phenomenon. We discuss why this is dangerous for your strata scheme and provide some tips on how to overcome the problem and become an inclusive and well run body corporate.
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Q&A Is there enough money in our sinking fund?
Tammy Lynch, Tower Body Corporate
Question: Is $57,000 a good amount to have in a sinking fund for 6 units including 2 ground floor units with courtyards in Brisbane?
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Meet The Team: We Welcome Will Marquand
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 Will Marquand joins the Tower team from October. He’s relocating to the Gold Coast from Sydney but we won’t hold that against him. Let’s say hi.
Will, what’s your background in strata?
I’ve been in the industry for five years now and done a bit of everything in that time from small residential lots to major new city high rises and large commercial sites.
What brought you into the strata industry?
Like most people in the field, I didn’t plan to work in strata. Before this, I was a journalist and a teacher and I was lucky to have a chance meeting with someone who ran a strata company to get my foot in the door.
When I went for my first interview I really didn’t know much about the job but I could tell it was an industry that was set for growth and decided to take the plunge. People tend to think of my previous roles as being different to strata but for me, the core skills I used in those positions are the same as I use now – that is, the ability to communicate with others and help them understand complex information. If I can help owners make decisions they feel happy with then I think I’ve done a good job.
What makes a strata plan run well?
Clear and effective decision making. There’s a lot of confusion in strata about how plans are run and that leads to the frustration many people feel with the process. However, the strata process can be pretty simple if people communicate with each other and use the tools available to them.
People often think that the strata manager is in control of the process but really that’s not the case. Our key role is to provide owners with the information they need to make decisions and then facilitate those choices. When owners understand the framework they tend to make good decisions.
What brings you to the Gold Coast?
I’m British, so is it too obvious to say the weather?
Is there a big difference between how strata operates in Queensland and NSW?
Both states are trying to get to a position where strata owners can more effectively run their buildings. It’s hard to achieve because changes in society and the way we live tend to move more quickly than changes in legislation.
NSW had a major change in strata legislation in 2015 and that helped the industry modernise and professionalise. That’s the strata management I was trained in and I think it’s a real positive for the industry. However, it’s also becoming increasingly litigious and that just means higher costs and slower results. I’m hoping people on the Gold Coast still have the relaxed attitude they are famous for.
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Latest News
Property Observer
The inner-city Brisbane unit market, already hit hard by unit oversupply, continues to remain a huge danger zone for investors since the advent of COVID-19.
The Urban Developer
Queensland commercial tenants impacted by the pandemic are set to get further relief, with the state government extending the ban on evictions until the end of the year.
Garry Lu, Boss Hunting
Koichi Takada Architects has given the world an early visual teaser of Urban Forest in Brisbane – a proposed high-rise apartment that will attempt to become the world’s “greenest” residential building.
Ben Seccombe and Ben Stanford, Mahoneys
When there are differing views in a strata scheme (whether about the standard of caretaking, management, decisions made by the committee, or just disputes between different lot owners) it can often devolve into one side taking their dispute too far and making false or damaging statements about the other. That is where the law of defamation can step in to help.
Jason Murphy, news.com.au
A certain section of the housing market is in free fall and it means everyone – from buyers to renters, investors and tradies – is in for a shock. Here’s why.
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