What if these Trikes Took over Your City?

Everyone’s riding bikes these days and they’re changing the cityscape everywhere.  So, that it's now full of all types of cyclists and bikes: from mountain bikes, to step throughs, italian road racers and ultra cool fixed gear bikes.  They're mostly ridden for practical, environmental and style reasons. 

But, like most things, there’s always thrill seekers who take things a bit further.  Like Devin and these tricycle riders in Utah.  They race down winding roads on thier modified trikes at speeds of up to 55 mph using their shoes as brakes.

It looks like a lot of fun.

But, imagine if your found them racing down hills in your city or suburb?

Francesco …

If Not You … Then Who?

Being a strata committee member at your strata building is pretty thankless and we’ve all got a lot better things to do.

It’s a volunteer role to meet after work and during your personal time, to check on a range of administrative things, to try and manage limited money against endless expenses, to learn about the detail of strata title and other laws that affect the building, to hear everyone else’s complaints and to adjudicate and lead on unpopular issues. 

So, it’s no surprise most people never participate and, when they do, often leave after a short time swearing never to do it again.

But, if you’re not going to do it … then who will? 

In many cases committees include people who are less qualified than you, who have personal biases that are different to yours and who may be advancing personal interests over building interests.  And in some cases no-one bothers.

Here’s a good article from the Palm Springs Sun Sentinel called Get on board, volunteer to serve your condo or HOA about exactly that issue and why you should participate.

So, why not get onto your strata committee now and make a difference.

Francesco …

Building Private Cities is Strata on a Grand Scale

I’ve been reading a post called Cities as Hotels by Alex Tabarrok in Current Affairs, Economics, Political Science where he describes a new phenomenon of corporations building huge property developments in Africa, India and China.

In the post he discusses Gurgaon in India which has grown to house 1.5 million in 30 years, Tatu City, the $5 billion center that Renaissance Partners, the investment unit of Moscow-based Renaissance Group, is building from scratch outside the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, and the plans by Renaissance Partners to build a 6,400 acre city in the Democratic Republic of Congo and similar projects in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Rwanda.

Apparently, 6,400 acres is a small city (it’s about the size of Apple’s home of Cupertino CA) but enough that developers want to build public services such as city-wide sewage, parks, roads, an electric plant and grid and so forth.

And Alex says that private cities are happening now because Africa, India, and China are urbanising more rapidly than has ever occurred in human history. For instance, in Africa, the number of urban dwellers are projected to increase by nearly 400 million, in India at least 250 million will move to cities and in China more than 400 million will move to cities in just the next 20 years.

So, this rapid urbanization is an opportunity to remake cities anew.

And, of course, they will be structured and administered as some kind of strata or community title scheme. 

So, are you ready for strata on a grand scale?

Francesco …

Exporting NSW Strata Laws

Ever thought strata title could be an export commodity?

Well New South Wales has been exporting it’s strata laws for the last 50 years.

After introducing the Conveyancing (Strata Titles) Act in 1961 (which was was described in its introduction as "an Act to facilitate the subdivision of land in strata nd the disposition of titles thereto" it’s been copied over and over again.

First, other Australian states copied the new strata laws.  Beginning with Tasmania in 1962 (with changes to the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1884), Queensland in 1965 (with the Building Units Act 1965), Western Australia in 1967 (with the Strata Titles ct 1966), Victoria in 1967 (with the Strata Titles Act 1967), South Australian also in 1967 (with art XIXB of the Real Property Act 1886), the Australian Capital Territory in 1970 (with the Unit Titles Ordinance 1970) and Northern Territory in 175 with the Unit Titles Act 1975). 



Then the international spread of the NSW strata laws meant that they’ve been adopted and/or copied in Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Fiji, Philippines, Cayman Islands, India and Hong Kong through the 1970s and 1980s. And in the last 10 years Australian strata laws have been used as models for equivalent new laws in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates. 



Since 1961 the NSW strata laws have had two major revisions.  In 1974 when the Strata Titles Act 1973 started and in 1997 when the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 began.  And, between those years the strata laws have had minor change over 30 times.

That's a pretty impressive first 50 years for an Australian legal innovation.  Let’s hope our current strata title leaders and innovators can keep up the good work.

Francesco ...

NSW Stamp Duty Changes

From 1 January 2012 NSW First Home Plus exemptions and concessions will be replaced by the First Home - New Home Scheme.

Under the New Home Scheme agreements for sale under $500,000 will be eligible for stamp duty concessions or exemptions if it is for a new home or vacant land intended to be used as the site for a new home.  This changes things from now when the concessions and exemptions apply to all properties.

The details are in the Duties Amendment (First Home - New Home) Bill 2011

So, why not buy a new NSW home or apartment in 2012 and get some free stamp duty in NSW?

Francesco …

High Density Cities are Getting Greener

I promote high density real estate as a worthwhile thing for many reasons.

But it’s becoming increasingly clear that apart from all the other good reasons for higher densities, it’s good for the environment.

Here’s an excellent article by Michael Totty called How to Build a Greener City in the Wall Street Journal about some of the latest things being done to improve the environmental effects of built up cities.

It discusses some of the newest strategies like district heating, micro wind turbines, pumped hydro storage, micro hydropower, encouraging walking and biking, personal rapid transit, pneumatic garbage collection, converting waste to resources and green roofs.  When you read about them they make such good sense that it’s hard to understand why everyone’s not working to implement them right now.

Let’s see where things move in our cities to make high density living living better for everyone.

Francesco …

Now I'm twittering about strata too ...

The way people communicate their messages has changed a lot in a very short time .... Brochures became Websites, Websites became Blogs, Blogs became Facebook and Facebook has become Twitter.

It had to happen eventually in strata too ... or at least with my blog.  Which is now linked to twitter.


You can now follow me and my strata posting/tweeting and other stuff on Twitter.  How exciting!


I can be found @f_andreone and @stratainfo


So, why not join Twitter, follow my tweets and make your own real time comments on the things that matter to you (and me).

Francesco ...

Sunset over Melbourne

Let's end this week with sunset in Melbourne's CBD.


This video was made in December 2009 by Givemeabrain and the YouTube link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9G_lrv4d_8 





Enjoy !






Francesco

Lot Owners Forum at NSW Strata Conference

This year the NSW Strata Conference (being held by Strata Community Australia (NSW) - formerly the Institute of Strata Title Management) includes a Lot Owners Forum.

It’s being held on Saturday, 8 October 2011 from 9.30am at the Southee Pavilion at Sydney Showground, Olympic Park, Homebush Bay.

This year the Forum grows from a half to a full day event including morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea and entry to the trade exhibition.  The presentations cover Executive Committee Politics, Meetings, CTTT Cases, Defects and Renovations.

You can register here.

So, if you’re a lot owner or committee member, why not join everyone else in a few Saturday’s time?

Francesco …

Another NSW Strata Corporation Defect Claim is Out of Time

Here’s another sad story of strata corporation ultimately losing a significant part of its defect claim after 6 years of litigation in the NSW Supreme Court.

Strata Scheme 64970 is an eight storey building on the NSW Central Coast that was completed in 2001.

By early 2002 there were leaks from windows whenever it rained and the stell roof structure was rusting.   In 2005 the strata corporation started legal action against the builder Austruc Constructions and on 8 February 2008 the strata corporation also started action against the architect, Cyril Smith & Associates.

By the end of 2009 the strata corporation had obtained a judgment against Austruc Constructions for $1,250,000 (but it had become insolvent and gone into liquidation), a judgment against Cyril Smith & Associates for $170,000 and an order that Cyril Smith & Associates contribute $297,000 of the $1.25 million Austruc Constructions had to pay.

But, Cyril Smith & Associates appealed those orders arguing that the strata corporation’ claim against it was out of time because it was started more than 6 years after it suffered the loss in this case.

In simple terms the dispute in this case was whether in a building defect claim the loss is suffered when the strata corporation knows of the defect or when it properly investigates it and know who is responsible for it (and why)?  The date when it suffers the loss is the time when it’s right to sue arises and last for 6 years.

The NSW Court of Appeal looked at previous important cases and the what actually happened at Strata Scheme 64970 to decide that the strata corporation was  too late when it started action against Cyril Smith & Associates.

In doing so, the Court made the following important statements.

• The law as stated by the NSW Court of Appeal in Scarcella v Lettice [2000] and the High Court in Sutherland Shire Council v Heyman [1985] that a loss arises ‘when the defects become manifest or are otherwise discoverable” was correct.
• There is an important difference between the visible signs that indicate a defect and the cause of the defect which affects building defect cases.
• It’s also possible that sometimes a defect may become known before there is any physical damage (such as defective footing discovered by inspections but before cracks appear) and at other times the damage will occur before it is know that it is the result of the latent defect.
• In the second case the time when loss is suffered (in the legal sense) is when the link between the damage and the cause is known or could have been discovered.
• In this case one defect was the windows themselves as they were now watertight, (rather than their design, installation or inspection) so it was important to find out when that fact was known.  The other defect was the rusting roof steel so it was important to decide when that was also known.
• Once these things were know (regardless of whether or not the strata corporation knew who was responsible for them) time to start legal action began.
• The evidence was clear that during 2001 the building caretaker had noted and report rusting of the steel roof frame and that during later 2001, and by the latest on 6 February 2002, the building caretaker had noted and report water entry through the windows whenever it rained and that the windows themselves were defective.

So, the Court of Appeal decided that the relevant knowledge and the loss occurred more than 6 years before legal action against Cyril Smith & Associates was started. 

As a result, the Court overturned the judgment against it for $170,000 and the order that it contribute $297,000 of the $1.25 million Austruc Constructions had to pay.  Since the $170,000 had already been paid, it also ordered the strata corporation to repay it and made a costs order against it.

It’s a tough decision for this strata corporation since it clearly had significant defects, spent a lot of time and money running it’s cases, ended up with a judgment against a liquidated builder and has lost the benefit of the architect paying at least a third of that amount.  And, to make it worse in relation to the windows the strata corporation was only 2 days out of time.

But, the case is also a sobering message to other strata corporations about how time to take legal action can start when it becomes aware of leaks, rust and other defects (even through a caretaker) whether or not it knows exactly why those things are defective and who’s responsible.

I’m sure this case will be used by many defendants in defect claims to try to avoid legal liability and could also expose caretakers, managers and committee members who fail to report, advise and act in time to secondary liability for missing legal time limits.

The case is Cyril Smith & Associates Pty Limited v The Owners – Strata Plan No 64970 [2011] NSWCA 181 decided on 6 July 2011 if your want to read the decision for yourself.

Francesco …

High Density Means High Employment

I’ve just read a great editorial by Ryan Avent in the New York Times called ‘One Path to Better Jobs: More Density in Cities’

Ryan defines the things that make a city a city and a not-city a not-city is the fact that a city is dense and a not-city isn’t.  And, he argues that when it comes to economic growth and the creation of jobs, the denser the city the better and that density brings many benefits.

Economists studying cities routinely find that after controlling for other variables, workers in denser places earn higher wages and are more productive. Some studies suggest that doubling density raises productivity from between 6 and 28 percent and other economists have concluded that more than half the variation in output per worker across the United States can be explained by density alone.

I’ve always thought that higher density (compared to suburban sprawl) is good for the economic viability of cities and here’s some more support for that proposition.  So, there’s another reason why strata and community title development, ownership and living is a good thing.

Ryan Avent is also the author of the Kindle Single “The Gated City” from which his editorial was adapted.

Francesco …. 

A Property Lawyer’s View of Strata Title

Strata title is a form of real property so you’d think that it fits conventional notions of property law.  But it doesn’t. And, as strata title law continues to develop and get developed by the people using it, it diverges more and more from conventional property law.

But is this right?  Should it be more like property law?  Or should it be unique?

At the Griffith University 2011 Conference on strata and community title Cathy Sherry presented a paper on a few aspects of this vexed property law question. 

Called ‘A bigger strata footprint: are we aware of the implications?’ the paper argues that strata title divergences from orthodox property law have the potential to cause serious economic and social harm and identifies two of the ways in which strata and community title differ from orthodox property law.

First, strata and community title fragment titles, creating a quasi-feudal form of ownership where too many people have powers of veto over land and where acquisition of title automatically imposes a range of positive and negative obligations on owners.

Second, strata by-laws go beyond the ordinary principle of land regulation to prevent harm to others, controlling private, self- regarding acts.

It’s a well argued and compelling discussion of the issue that I recommend to anyone with a serious interest in the broader socio-political implications of strata title property.

Cathy Sherry is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at UNSW.

Francesco …

Tips for Better Strata Buying

Here's a great article from South Africa about a Checklist for Buying Sectional Title (thier version of strata title) from the Property24 website.


The article quotes Catherine Cockcroft, sales manager of levy funding company Propell about the things they consider when funding a sectional title building and suggests they are the same things buyers should look at (but don't).  And, it concludes that the quality of management makes all the difference: covering budgeting accuracy, governance, and levy arrears.


The message is simple and applies to strata corporations all over the world.


After all, if strata corporations don't budget enough money to cover everything that needs doing, the people running strata corporations make poor decisions and owners don't pay the money they're required, then it's inevitable that problems will emerge, grow and start to cripple strata corporations, managers and owners.


So, why doesn't this happen all the time?  And, why isn't it easier to see how strata corporations rate on these criteria?


The sooner some benchmarks are determined (based on empiric research), published and performance measured against them, the sooner owners will want and get better outcomes.  




Francesco ...

Urbanisation: The Movie

Everyone’s trying to understand urban communities and work out how to make them better.  But, its an inexact and confusing science (or art).  And, its often inaccessible to many people.

So why not make a movie?

Well that’s what Gary Hustwit has done with Urbanized.  A new film exploring urban planning from a global perspective, by showcasing the best of urban design and planning in cities around the globe and exploring the theme of the power of community in shaping cities.

Sometimes communities are credited with the creation of interesting projects, and in other cases, with protesting large unwanted ones.

So, if you liked the book (and theory) of better urban design and outcomes, why not see the movie too.

Gary Hustwit is a documentary filmmaker based in New York City and London. He is a former vice president at Salon.com and co­founder of the independent film production company Plexifilm. His documentary features are Helvetica (07), Objectified (09) and Urbanized (11)

Francesco …

Miami Manager’s Half Million Dollar Fraud

The Miami Herald has reported a sorry story of fraud by Lourdes Rodriguez, 48, the former general manager of the Atlantic II.

She’s been charged with grand theft and organized fraud by Aventura police who have accused him of taking nearly $500,000 from the condo association. 

In February 2010 auditors alerted the association that Rodriguez had been receiving a salary higher than approved which led to a specialist accounting firm analyzing the condominium association’s account. They discovered about $506,956 taken from the association between January 2007 to February 2010.

Rodriguez blamed her actions on a gambling addiction in an e-mail to residents and vowed to repay the association 'no matter how long it may take.'

The association has recouped about $400,000 from its insurance company.

It’s a real concern for all strata corporations since it’s so easy for dishonest people to access money and only careful financial controls (including regular detailed audits and checking) can discover and deal with it.

Francesco …

NSW Strata Convention 2011

Strata Community Australia (NSW) is holding it’s annual strata conference next month.

This year it’s called ‘Strive for Strata Excellence’ and will be held from Thursday, 6 October to Saturday, 8 October 2011 at Sydney Olympic Park.  SCA NSW says it’s the education and social highlight for the industry each year with speakers from business and industry on optimising your business performance, maximising growth opportunities, increasing client satisfaction and embracing the community.

You can find out more and register here.  And, there’s also sponsorship opportunities.

See you at Olympic Park in October.

Francesco …

Griffith Uni Gets 250 Aussie Strata Thinkers Together

Strata stakeholders get together pretty often (at meetings, seminars, forums, etc) but when they come from all over Australia, covering every stakeholder group to talk and think about the future (and not what happened in the past) it’s worth paying attention.

Well, last week, 250 strata people are doing just that at the Griffith University Strata & Community Title in Australia 2011 Conference in Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Attendees covered owners, committees, managers, developers, government, lawyers, accountants, financiers, insurers, contractors and more.  There were even some international attendees.

And they heard from 70 presenters and discussed policy, practice, development, conflict, legal and economic issues affecting the strata title sector in Australia.  You can find out more about the Conference here.

I’ll post about some of the more intriguing presentations over the next month in case you missed it.

Francesco ….

Twin Towers of Light in NYC

I can't let such an important anniversary as 10 years after the attack on NYC's Twin Towers on 9 September 2001 go by without a comment.


And, despite all the horror, tragedy and destruction that it caused, it's good to see Americans rebuilding themselves and that part of their city.  So, here's an amazing and moving display that's been lighting up the New York skyline for the last 2 nights.


Called the World Trade Center Twin Towers Tribute In Light, the light beams are made up of 88 light bulbs that are 7,000 watts each, which when illuminated are visible up to 60 miles away. 


They echo the original buildings and do a lot more; helping us all get past the terrible memories we have.




Francesco ...

Sydney Strata is Going Greener

The City of Sydney is launching its Smart Green Apartments program on 20 September 2011.

Smart Green Apartments is about getting a more sustainable apartment building sector by inspiring, driving and supporting cost-effective and efficient buildings, minimising environmental impacts and improving liveability in strata communities.

The launch will be at the Barnet Long Room Customs House, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay between 6:30pm - 8:30pm on 20 September 2011.  And, you can register here.

You can find out more about the Smart Green Apartment program by Melinda Cook (Sustainability Engagement Coordinator) on 02 9246 7826 or smartapartments@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.

So, why not join the green strata movement and come along to the launch.

Francesco …