Chatting with James Valentine on air the other day, I was suddenly aware of how immune (or is it inured?) one can become to the idiocies of strata living.James posed the perfectly reasonable question; if you can take a kettle or a car back to the seller if it proves to be faulty, how come you can't just hand back the keys to an off-the-plan apartment when it turns out not to be up to scratch?"The walls are cracking. Here's the keys and I'll have my deposit back too, thank-you very much."It's cra...
Feb 19, 2019•43 min
Talking apartments, Airbnb, pets, the Opal, defects, cladding and all things apartment related with Sydney MP Alex Greenwich ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcrib...
Feb 12, 2019•28 min
This week our podcast is given over to an extended chat with NSW Independent MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich.I've come across many politicians in this game. Most have been honest and decent (to a point) and a few have been self-interested and not so much corrupt as corrupted - mainly by party allegiance and personal ambition.But it's very rare to come across someone who is as clear-sighted, committed and empathic as Alex.Locally, he's known as the man who took over from Clover Moore when she was f...
Feb 12, 2019•28 min
JimmyT gets up at 4am to talk to ABC Radio presenter Rod Quinn (and other insomniacs) about strata living in Australia. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by...
Feb 06, 2019•51 min
In this week's podcast we have kind of hijacked the Rod Quinn "Talking Points" segment for his ABC Overnight show on radio last week - featuring Flat Chat's very own JimmyT talking strata with people from all over Australia,In may ways, this is a podcast within a podcast, in that we have grabbed the segment with Jimmy in it and slotted it into our format, but you will still hear all the ABC titles and credits so there's no mistaking that this is Rod's show.Oh, and did we mention that Jimmy got u...
Feb 05, 2019•51 min
Every so often, I get invited on to a radio or TV show to talk about apartments. This week I've been on Breakfast on ABC 702 with Josh Zepps, (usually hosted by Robbie Buck and Wendy Harmer) and then on Friday I got up at 4am to go on ABC's early morning show with Rod Quinn (which will be featured in next week's podcast).That was a challenge (apart from being two cups of coffee under par) because we had lots of callers from all over Australia. Next week, I will be on Triple-M in Adelaide to talk...
Jan 30, 2019•34 min
I am occasionally asked how come I ever got into writing about apartment living. After all, I'm a published author, have been a reasonabIy successful TV scriptwriter and occasionally still turn my hand to travel writing. Against any and all of those pursuits, writing about flats and by-laws, committees and Airbnb breaches might seem a little ... um ... prosaic.It's not, by the way - far from it. The French philosopher Albert Camus once wrote that everything he knew about life he learned from the...
Jan 16, 2019•26 min
If you think you've heard everything there is to know about the cracks crisis at the Opal Tower in Sydney, and the whole defects disaster in NSW and Australia as a whole, think again. So far, media coverage has barely scratched the surface.Meanwhile, politicians - in full election mode - are playing the blame game: it's the certifiers, it's the Labor party, all those years ago, it's the Liberals who've done nothing since. But as for looking at the real problems, which are systemic and endemic, d...
Jan 05, 2019•17 min
JimmyT and Sue Williams ask the questions everyone else is avoiding, and provide the answers people need to hear, about the Opal Tower in Sydney and the whole defects disaster in high-rise apartment blocks in Australia. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartm...
Jan 05, 2019•17 min
Despite having a great head for radio, I was enticed on to TV last Saturday (Dec 29) to talk building cracks with Professor Mark Hoffman (one of the engineers called in to examine the Opal) and host Basil Zempilas.It's only five minutes long but we managed to be reassuring and alarming at the same time.You can watch it here:https://episodes.castos.com/flatchatpod/Opal-crisis.wmv ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia....
Dec 30, 2018•5 min
Despite having a great head for radio, I was enticed on to TV last Saturday (Dec 29) to talk building cracks with Professor Mark Hoffman (one of the engineers called in to examine the Opal) and host Basil Zempilas.It's only five minutes long but we managed to be reassuring and alarming at the same time.You can watch it here:https://episodes.castos.com/flatchatpod/Opal-crisis.wmv ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia....
Dec 30, 2018•5 min
Wrestling with laptops and hotel wi-fi, we finally bring you the second-last Flat Chat wrap podcast of the year.Was it worth the effort? Only you can be the judge as we discuss levies, a lawyer's grab for disabled parking and Airbnb's backlash against politicians who support a register of holiday lets.https://episodes.castos.com/flatchatpod/Flat-Chat-Wrap-7.mp3 ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebo...
Dec 24, 2018•13 min
How to work out if your levies are too high, the sensible controls that have led Airbnb to threaten politicians' votes and nominations for our Heroes and Villains of Strata. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . Record...
Dec 24, 2018•13 min
Permissions for minor renovations, one owner in four blocking changes and ... of course ... Airbnb come to the fore as Jimmy joins James Valentine on his afternoon show on ABC Radio ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website ...
Dec 09, 2018•27 min
A decades-long parking battle ends up in the Appeals Court, trendy pet names, how to be a better Airbnb host, garage doors and more ... all in our Flat Chat Wrap podcast.Listen hereIf you haven’t already done so you can subscribe to this podcast, completely free, on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or your favourite podcatcher.If the link doesn’t take you straight there, just search for Flat Chat Wrap, click on subscribe, and you’ll get this podcast every week without even tryi...
Dec 01, 2018•15 min
Homeless people sleeping in common property and - a world away - what it's like to live in a 'build-to-rent' apartment in the USA. The Flat Chat Wrap takes an international twist. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . ...
Nov 22, 2018•14 min
Is this the best time to buy an new apartment or just the worst time to sell? And what you should look out for in offers that seem to be too good to be true. Can bad by-laws be used to bully owners? And what happened to the common property lawn being churned up by illegal parkers?Sue Williams joins JimmyT for a chinwag about the latest posts on the Flat Chat website.https://episodes.castos.com/flatchatpod/Flat-Chat-Wrap-3.mp3 ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all ...
Nov 07, 2018•18 min
Is this the best time to buy an new apartment or just the worst time to sell? And what you should look out for in offers that seem to be too good to be true. Can bad by-laws be used to bully owners? And what happened to the common property lawn being churned up by illegal parkers?Sue Williams joins JimmyT for a chinwag about the latest posts on the Flat Chat website. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on ...
Nov 07, 2018•18 min
The roundup this week includes a link to the latest Flat Chat Wrap podcast, which is turning out to be a lot more fun than we thought it would be.Basically someone looks at the latest stuff on the website and chats to JimmyT about it – for the past two weeks it’s been author, journalist, travel and property writer and Owners Corporation Network founder Sue Williams.Is it as much fun for you as it is for us? You can hear the podcast on THIS LINK and judge for yourselves.Meanwhile, we have been ge...
Oct 30, 2018•15 min
We're back with another Flat Chat Wrap. Sue Williams joins Jimmy Thomson for a chat about noise, electric cars, shoestring tourism (and its affect on communities) and how to get rid of a nuisance committee member. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment li...
Oct 30, 2018•15 min
We're back in the ABC studios to discuss 'no-pet' by-laws, among other things, and to take your calls.You can listen to the episode HERE. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Willia...
Oct 29, 2018•23 min
Jimmy joins James Valentine for a chat about Tribunal decisions to rescind by-laws that ban pets ... and take your calls ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed b...
Oct 29, 2018•23 min
The best of this week's Flat Chat is now available as a Podcast. Join JimmyT and journalist Sue Williams as they dissect the week's posts, questions, advice and answers. is a serious - if light-hearted look at the latest posts, questions, answers , advice and comments on Flat Chat.Forget the crazy tales from Dardanelle Towers, the funny voices (please!) and the jolly music. This is the start of something big.Please have a listen and let us know what you think - Flat Chat and The Wrap are for you...
Oct 23, 2018•14 min
A chat about all the most interesting, strangest and most controversial items on on Flat Chat this week. In Episode 1, Jimmy discusses pet bans, undoing bad by-laws, crazy neighbours and Airbnb laws with author and journalist Sue Williams. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer qu...
Oct 23, 2018•14 min
The global trade war hits Dardanelle Towers, and the committee members are looking for somewhere to hide. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai. Fin...
Oct 13, 2018•8 min
We recently discovered what seem to be reports from an apartment block with more than its fair share of idiosyncratic characters. Is this place real, or a figment of someone's imagination? Perhaps you know these people. Maybe it's your building. Maybe it’s you …Part 1: The Naked TruthPublic nudity was on the agenda at the Dardanelle Towers Executive Committee meeting last week.It started with a note from Mrs Alexander – somewhat unkindly known around the building as “the all-seeing eye” – who cl...
Sep 25, 2018•11 min
JimmyT goes on Channel 10's morning show to talk strata noise, parking, by-laws and Airbnb. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai. Find out more abo...
Sep 10, 2018•5 min
In JimmyT's (almost) regular spot on James Valentine's Afternoons on ABC 702, they field questions from listeners ... and have a quick chat about Jimmy's new book. ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . Recorded by Jimm...
Aug 09, 2018•25 min
My brief stint on Studio Ten was all about the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam, with occasional flashes of my new novel's cover.But the good news is that I hope to be back with them in a few weeks talking about apartments. Fingers crossed.If you want to more about the novel, Tunnel Vision, go to the Accidental Guru website. It's a comedy thriller so if you like crime fiction laced with humour, this could be for you.If you want to know more about my adventures in Vietnam (and elsewhere) go to my travel...
Aug 01, 2018•7 min
Jimmy treats James to his (unimpressive) Sean Connery impressions before the switchboard lights up with your calls ____________________________________________________ Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website. Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au. Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website . Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otte...
Jul 12, 2018•25 min
