Strata unit owners urged don’t be a ‘foolie’ 

REAL ESTATE

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Strata unit owners are being told to prepare for Schoolies Week celebrations, which officially begin today. IMAGE: Nigel Hallett.

AS school leavers descend on coastal cities across Central and North Queensland from this weekend to celebrate the end of their high school years, apartment owners are being warned to prepare wisely for the week of partying.

While the Port Douglas region isn’t a traditional ‘schoolies’ location, the village town has a plethora of strata units many of which are owned by southern buyers.

Considered a rite-of-passage for many Australian students, Schoolies Week celebrations are notorious for ‘getting out of hand’ and damage to property.

Stories such as one apartment owner’s $40,000 damage bill on the Gold Coast will be weighing heavily on the minds of many strata owners in the lead up to the event.

“The simplest thing that owners can do is remove any items from the property that are very valuable or breakable,” said Archers the Strata Professionals partner Steven McCulloch.

“Of course, you can’t entirely accident-proof a property but removing items that could be easily knocked over or damaged, such as vases or glass coffee tables, is a good start.

“Another important step is laying out clear, non-negotiable ground rules with school leavers about their behaviour. “

“Most buildings also enforce their own rules during Schoolies for the safety of their guests, so owners should be getting in touch with their body corporate to work with them.”

Mr McCulloch said that disregarding the rules could have expensive consequences for school leavers because bonds might not be refunded if damage was done.

“While accidents do happen, the cost of repairing damage to the property or its contents after Schoolies Week will be taken out of the bond,” he said.

Schoolies celebrations formally commence today and continue with southern schoolies heading north the week after.


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