[bam bamParticipant@bam-bamJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 9]

January 8, 2008 - 7:04 am

I only just read your post but we recently had some quotes done for  painting our block, and the painter had just finished a job  with these ceilings.

Bondcrete is apparently what you're after. Apply this first and then the paint will adhere to the surface.

good luck

[bam bamParticipant@bam-bamJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 9]

January 7, 2008 - 8:22 am

Hi Toco

About your floorboards – I'd definitely get permission. You're new in this block so you don't have a feel for what fellow owners 'can get away with'. If you put down solid floorboards without permission  and the owners corporation take action to have the situation remedied, what then? It will leave a crappy taste in everyone's mouths…

The big problem for new flat owners is often that they are unaware that you have far fewer rights and many more obligations, than if you had bought a house for your PPOR.

About the pool: if a few people aren't paying their fees then in a small block its pretty noticeable. Eventually the body corpporate will extract their money, but meanwhile there might be a shortcoming in the admin fund. This is exacerbated if the sinking fund is already pretty depleted. Maybe thats why the pool cover is still on? I'd ring the strata agent to find out  about this and the general state of the block's finances.

good luck

[bam bamParticipant@bam-bamJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 9]

November 10, 2007 - 9:35 am

if i were you i definitely would pursue this – despite the awkwardness. why u might ask ?
well, we had a similar problem 3 times in as many months. believe me this can easily add up to a couple of thousand in plumbing costs. in our case the old clay pipes had cracked ages ago and were constantly letting roots in, thereby resulting in the blockage. the first time the plumber put a camera in and then cleared the blockage. in the end we too drilled through concrete, replaced the pipes etc…  so take a deep breath and get ready to deal with your frugal executive committee.

(BTW this is only not a body corporate problem when there is a problem with the mains… then you just call up the water bopard and they come and fix it @ their expense).

[bam bamParticipant@bam-bamJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 9]

October 12, 2007 - 9:38 am

we are currently in a similar situation, but  knocking out the wall may not proceed as smoothly as you would like…

the guy upstairs did just that. he is being taken to court for removing the internal kitchen wall  and other unauthorised work. the whole thing is becoming very bloody. that said, if its supervised by a structural engineer who agrees that there will be no structural impact on the block, the owner's corporation can't deny approval for work to proceed.

as an aside, check that the floor to ceiling height is the same in the kitchen and the living room before you knock that wall out.

[bam bamParticipant@bam-bamJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 9]

July 31, 2007 - 8:06 am

personally i think a written  independent valuation involves more than the 'replacement value of your home'. Rather it is based on comparable sales and therefore should alert you to an agent who habitually 'overestimates' the sale value of your home by 20%. Nothing is worse than this as you will usually refuse good offers, and soon fall outside the golden 4 week period. OTOH in a rapidly rising market, the valuation may actually be conservative as prices are rising  so rapidly….

good luck with the sale.

[bam bamParticipant@bam-bamJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 9]

June 28, 2007 - 6:39 am

mkc

circumventing the agent has worked very favourably for me on one occasion and not at all on another.  the vendors solicitor is generally very obliging and just passes on your written offer.  the first time i did this i actualy bought the property on favourable terms but earned a lot of hostility from the agent. another time, the agent called me up, gave me a piece of his mind etc… but the owner listened to the agent. unfortunately for the owner, 3 months later when no more offers were coming in, he acepted a cheaper settlement. but maybe the terms were more to his liking??? i find that quite often vendors have unrealistic expectations in the early weeks…

i'm interested about the 2 properties u mentioned earlier ( on the market for 12 & 2 months respectively). if an owner won't meet the market & he's been waiting it out for 1 or 2 yrs, then he won't probably sell cheaply. find out what the owner wants. eg long settlements are favoured by those who may be waiting for their new house to be built etc.. but i wouldn't be offering above market value as jon suggested unless the suburb is in the early stages of a booming market or the property has  unique development potential etc…

[bam bamParticipant@bam-bamJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 9]

June 27, 2007 - 6:08 am

i also forgot to mention that there is a price for everything.

i would not go behind the agents back unless i'm almost certain that he won't pass on my offer because of the obvious bad will it creates… you'd want to hope u won't be dealing with him again anytime soon.

[bam bamParticipant@bam-bamJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 9]

June 26, 2007 - 11:58 am

i know its pretty low, but what i do is give the agent my offer  in writing, and send a copy to the vendor's solicitor.

i only do this if  i think i'm dealing with a dodgy agent…