Apartment Living

More than 200 things you should know - and the developers and real estate agents don't want you to know - about apartment living.

Australia is currently going through a major lifestyle shift. The land of the quarter acre block is increasingly becoming a nation of apartment-buyers, renters and dwellers.

Young couples and singles are buying apartments as a way of getting a toehold in the market. Empty-nesters are cashing in their suburban palace for an easier, lower-maintenance residence, closer to the action. But do they know what they're letting themselves in for?

Apartment living can be a dream come true or a nightmare from which there's no escape, depending on how well you're prepared before you sign the lease or hand over the mortgage cheque. Apartment Living is a must-have weapon in the war against greedy developers, shoddy builders, unscrupulous real estate agents, inept tradesmen, selfish neighbours and incompetent managers. It combines sound fact with anecdotal evidence - often amusing, occasionally horrifying - to help you become a savvy owner/occupier, investor or tenant. This could be the best real estate investment you've ever made.

About the Authors

Sue Williams is an award-winning journalist and columnist who’s written for all of Australia’s leading newspapers and magazines. She also appears regularly on TV and on radio, and has had her own TV segment on SBS TV’s popular Hotline program. Born in England, she has worked in print and TV in the UK and New Zealand, too.

Jimmy Thomson is a Scots-born author, scriptwriter and journalist now based in Sydney. As a journalist, Jimmy has worked in Scotland, London, Kenya and New Zealand as well as here in Australia. A scriptwriter for Australian TV, he has also worked in Hollywood and the UK. As an author, he’s gone from the battlefields of Vietnam to the mean streets of Sydney’s Kings Cross and (in spirit, at least) to the cricket ovals of the world. He writes a weekly column on apartment living for the Sydney Morning Herald and has a regular slot on ABC radio. His exposure of dodgy developers led to a change in strata law in NSW. At the other end of the spectrum, he’s interviewed Hollywood stars at the Cannes and Venice film festivals.