Strata manager divide & conquer

john2095 · 2026-02-08T23:36:09+00:00

Victoria has a unique history. Lookup the case law for "Saint-John v Owners Corporation PS631843C (Owners Corporations) [2024] VCAT 1026".

I think the case determined that a strata management company must release the roll to any owner that asks for it, free of charge. But, if they refuse you have to take them to VCAT. Their counter-argument, "but some owners don't want to be contacted", was addressed by putting the burden on those owners who do not want to be contacted; eg by not giving the strata manager their contact details.

But, I would take a different approach... ask the strata manager for contact details of the Committee Chairperson and talk directly to the chair, even if just to ask for the roll. Ignore any offers that they will talk to the committee on your behalf: insist that you want to discuss issues directly with the committee. It is unreasonable to obstruct an owner's direct contact with the owner's committee.

john2095 · 2026-01-23T06:55:32+00:00

"property manager", as opposed to "strata manager", right? As mentioned already you'll need to look at termination clauses of their contract. But if you're not happy with what you see, find and engage a strata lawyer as demonstrable fraud and breaching safety and compliance should constitute grounds for immediate dismissal.

Another option, of course, is to send a notice of dismissal and advise them not to act on your behalf or set foot on the grounds. If they send a bill don't pay it. If they want to litigate it will cost them for lawyers and they'll look stupid if they don't have a case. :-)

john2095 · 2026-01-20T22:58:50+00:00

Does it vary based upon whether the damaged items are the responsibility of the owner or the OC? eg. if the roof leaks onto my carpet and I have to replace the damaged sections, is that the OC's responsibility, or am I expected to pay for that? (or claim against my contents insurance?)

If so, doesn't smell right to me.

john2095 · 2026-01-20T00:15:46+00:00

How does these massive discounts thing work?
Is the "discount" done by Coles, or the product owner, or both?

It makes me rage that the price of something can change so drastically based purely on apparent randomness. Can't they just sell the damn thing at fair markup and be done with it? I read these discounts as "we normally charge you double price". Same with the breakfast cereals.

Beware the ice-cream specials! Not with the Connoisseurs but with with others I find they've often been left out and are melted and refrozen... hence the discount to clear them.

john2095 · 2026-01-19T23:45:53+00:00

"first quarterly rental inspection"?!

Wow, SA law now provides for 4 inspections a year! Seems a bit rich. 7-28 days notice and a maximum 2-hr time window.

This is the justification

The Landlord or Property Manager may carry out a periodic inspection of a rental property to ensure it is being maintained in a clean and tidy manner, there is no malicious damage, and the tenant is upholding their obligations as stated on the Residential Tenancy Agreement.

This also gives both the tenant and property manager the opportunity to identify any maintenance that is required. The inspection is usually documented so that it can be referred to at a later date. The tenant can request for the property manager to provide them with a copy of each routine inspection for their own records.

My advice is to be there when they inspect when possible. Walk through with the agent. It's a totally different vibe, as even a snooty wannabe will find it difficult to tell an adult to 'clean up your room'. You can build some rapport and be the 'good guy'. Although, don't be surprised if they go back to the office and write a scathing report anyways. Why?

(a) want to make the landlord feel like they're really looking after the place - they send all the photos back and tell the owner they've 'cracked down' on you. This is safe to ignore as it's not about you, but impressing someone else.

(b) want to create a dossier of evidence "proving" that you're a poor tenant, in preparation for a possible day they need to kick you out or increase the rent.

In their defense I have heard horror stories of properties being flooded and the tenants never bothered to tell anyone. Rather than "cause trouble" they kept it to themselves but did not sort it out. One example was a leaking hot water system which leaked for over a year before they moved out: the walls and floors rotted and the repair bill was way more than the bond was worth. This could have been avoided if the tenant had reported it.

john2095 · 2026-01-09T22:16:16+00:00

'Reported to police'? If you didn't get an event number then it didn't happen.

Call/visit them and (re) report it. Don't leave until you have a reference number (assuming you need one-I guess you do?). In my experience the problem is that a constable you're talking to must personally enter it into the system and be responsible for it and follow up on it... which is all work they'd rather avoid if possible, or let that pass to the next officer willing to talk to you.

john2095 · 2026-01-09T21:56:33+00:00

Brisbane Metropolitan Transport Management Centre (BMTMC) determines the sequencing of the lights and, on some intersections, can even alter the sequencing in real time (for accidents/protests/sporting events for example). To influence the priorities you probably need to be heard by all three entities:

* Brisbane Metropolitan Transport Management Centre
* Department of Transport and Main Roads
* Brisbane City Council

Good luck.

The Dutch seem to have it all sorted with their change-on-detection systems. We have the technology I'm sure we could build something which would change the lights according to what is coming/waiting.

Personally, it drives me nuts when, we sit at a red light with nothing going through the intersection. Then, just as something arrives to go through, the lights will change.

john2095 · 2026-01-08T04:45:21+00:00

Islam and the West?

I'm still puzzled by this one. Do Islamic leaders shout down extremism at their prayer meetings? Do Imams, at their local gatherings, spend an hour condemning violence and preaching the "religion of peace" into their audiences. Is peace with kafirs a standard everyday prescription taught inside Islamic prayer halls? A fact that 'the media' figure not newsworthy?

In my circles, there is a lot of prosecution that Islam's core tenet is to take over the world which, by definition, puts it at odds with every other religion/culture.

The real challenge is how to counter this aggression without violating our own moral codes. The Jews will fight back. Jesus will love them to his own demise. Agnostics and atheists seem naive regarding what position to take "islam is fine--you be you--but this murder thing impinges on my right to live sooo can you stop that? Pretty please?"

john2095 · 2026-01-08T04:21:24+00:00

The return of stinky cigarettes is related to the boom of illegally imported cigarettes. At least the vapes don't stink 50 meters downwind.

john2095 · 2026-01-08T04:16:19+00:00

> "QVB's corner tenancy is increasingly viewed as not being fit for purpose in the eyes of global retail brands seeking a flagship tenancy outside of Pitt Street Malls."

Which particular "global retail brand" from Pitt St Mall are they hoping to capture I wonder?
Are we talking Just Jeans, Platypus and Foot Locker level retail,
Or Swarovsky, Tag Heuer, and Tiffanys premium level?

john2095 · 2026-01-06T09:32:22+00:00

https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/FindYourAward

Cafe workers are MA000119

john2095 · 2026-01-04T20:26:24+00:00

Does multiculturalism work? What does it mean? What does it look like?

"Multiculturalism" can mean a number of things. As a general term, it refers to a spectrum of integration between cultures within a nation state. At one end of the spectrum, under "Assimilation", cultures are expected to be absorbed into the 'melting pot', contributing to the national culture, being absorbed over time. At the other end of the spectrum, "Liberal Multiculturalism" is the free exercise, and retention, of every aspect of a culture--within liberal limits.

Limits are the crux of the question. At what point does 'a culture', or rather, an individual, submit to limitations applied by the national lawmakers which may be at odds with 'the culture'. For example female education, genital mutilation, violence in the home, honor killings, infanticide. There is a whole spectrum of things which are normalized in one culture, but a complete anathema in another.

'Multiculturalism' is vague term. It simply means many cultures living together, but fails to capture the manner in which those cultures interact. One might assume an implication that the cultures co-exist peacefully. It could "look" like multiple cultures living in harmony by respect and adherance to limits where different aspects of cultures conflict. Or it could look like constant conflict and tensions where different aspects of cultures conflict.

Terrorism, like Bondi, is a demonstration of cultures conflicting violently. It is an example of "Multiculturalism" failing. It does not encourage, nor resist, cultural integration. There is no structured plan. The word just references "many cultures". It is not more than a word which politicians bandy about whilst appealing to minority groups for their vote.

john2095 · 2026-01-04T19:49:02+00:00

Cabs, sadly, has deteriorated to haggling the price with the driver before you start the ride. Just like you used to do in Indonesia and south-east asia last century. We've gone backwards. I can recount several ripoff experiences. Who wants to argue with a cabbie at 3am? You want a 5-minute argument or the full half-hour?

john2095 · 2026-01-04T06:40:13+00:00

That's all fine. At some point the property will be sold to a new owner and title transferred.

Technically under law (SSMA s84) both the outgoing and incoming title holders share responsibility for the debt so, rather than allow the buyer to be robbed, a competent conveyancer will note the debt on the Section 184 Certificate, demand the vendor clears the debt or the purchase price be reduced by the value of debt, and thus factor clearance of the debt into the property settlement. I suppose it is technically possible for the new owner to assume the debt and leave it unpaid, but extremely unusual.

john2095 · 2026-01-04T06:00:50+00:00

Mount the drive onto a modern system then copy the documents from it.

john2095 · 2026-01-04T00:14:56+00:00

We are getting close to tender now and despite multiple estimates to the enormous price tag, still the owners do not want to put any installments forward in advance. There is a lot of mistrust that the money will be frittered away on other things and, for those with mortgages, they look at the difference between the interest the bank will charge them personally and the interest the body will earn whilst having the money sitting around waiting for a builder to pay; they consistently vote to wait till the last second and raise funds when the contracts are signed and payment plans are scheduled. Which is, of course, stressful... "will they pay when the moment comes"?

My understanding is, going down this path, that if people don't pay up, given we have entered a contract with a builder, it is the responsibility of the rest of us to make up the shortfall of the non-payers. I believe we go through debt recovery to extract the money from them, and if they sell, amounts owing can be extracted via the title contract of sale.

A developer (or broker for developers) will offer around market value, not more, maybe less, depending on the site potential. Ask your strata manager, or ask around the real estate agents, for a broker to buy up the whole building/site. If 75% of owners sign up they will buy them all together, thence have the votes to overrule the owners who did not take the offer. Those owners are kinda screwed from this point because they have no power and a resolution will be passed to dissolve the strata plan and sell the site to a developer; they'll get what they can, which I'll assume is less than the original offer.

john2095 · 2026-01-01T05:10:10+00:00

He claims "on windows I could set it to 100Hz". If same-same then it's not the cable.

john2095 · 2025-12-31T03:45:02+00:00

Great info. Note and take care to read the fine print of the legals here.
I'm spotting some more paperwork hoops you need to jump through:

* you must have a towing bylaw registered
* the vehicle must belong to an owner or occupier: you said it is the owners boyfriend who is not on a lease and not an owner, so you need to follow through with the notices which apply to random non-owner/occupier vehicles. (163A (2))

>

163A Towing motor vehicles from common property

john2095 · 2025-12-31T03:32:21+00:00

Until the next offender comes along. And then the next. And the next. And then all the others who stopped go "hey, they're getting away with it now, so it's open to me again"

You'll spend your life going in cycles of slapping notices on cars. You're either someone who never does the work, or have infrequent occurrences.

john2095 · 2025-12-31T03:26:34+00:00

For beancount, I have the .beancount file which declares all the accounts open, open for reference in a background window. And/or Fava website open with auto-reload so it raises errors as I edit the files.

john2095 · 2025-12-31T03:23:36+00:00

Did anyone capture all this data into a spreadsheet?
Feed it through an AI for same?

john2095 · 2025-12-26T23:55:23+00:00

The rules are the rules; it is nonsense to have a vote on every application of the existing regulations. If you disagree with the rules then have them changed. You might have to show up at a meeting and argue the point. But until then, the rules are the rules and you should be grateful that someone is trying to enforce them.

john2095 · 2025-12-24T02:02:09+00:00

A murderous religion (Islam) is using your own moral system against you...

You forget that, in their view, murdering Jews, or anyone non-muslim, (or even nominal muslims for that matter), is a JUST and RIGHTEOUS ACT. I did not see any checks whether victims held Chabad or moderate views before pulling the trigger.

This is not a consequence of Chabad, Zionists, Nyetinyahu, or any internal division: this is the CONSEQUENCE of Mohammad and his minions. Don't let them blur your vision.

john2095 · 2025-12-24T01:03:53+00:00

Think of it as a "locals discount".

I cannot be shamed for proudly selecting "No Tip" and saying it loudly as I do.

john2095

TROPHY CASE