Strata Problems vs Good Investment ??

In 1980, I bought a strata titled townhouse for myself to live in when I was a bachelor. If anyone has ever owned a strata titled townhouse, then I feel sorry for you. It’s like living in a commune. The only difference is that when you live in a strata titled townhouse everyone has the right to vote on “whatever needs to be done” in the complex. The words “whatever needs to be done” vary significantly with who is the current presiding officer, secretary, treasurer etc and whether they are an owner/occupier or owner/investor – if you know what I mean. Also, although everyone is meant to be equal in a strata corporation – some are definitely more equaler than others. This equation is also made more complex if you have the further missfortune of having a STRATA MANAGER control your affairs. I use the words “MANAGE” and “control” very, very loosely in this context because there is a common misconception out there that they actually “manage” and “control” corporations and an even better one is that if they’re allowed to get an extra cut out of maintenance contracts then they’ll actually “manage” and “control” things even better.

NOT TRUE

They apply the same ammount of effort to their job (i.e. making one phone call to a maintenance person) if their getting a kick-back or not. It’s even worse than that because there is a clear conflict of interest in this situation i.e. – Whose the client – the maintenance person (the one who gives the kick-back) or the corporation (the owners). Who is the strata manager going to support if the maintenance work isn’t satisfactorally carried? Which client?

Needless to say – over many years, I’ve had many arguments with many people within our strata complex, to the point were I’ve been ostracized for expressing some common sense and tring to stick up for my rights.

In any case (and moving along), I inherited some money when one of my relatives died and I’m left with a quandry. I’m now married and have moved into a new “torrens” titled house (the only way to go) but am wondering what I should do with the townhouse. Should I –

(1) keep the townhouse, rent it out and refinance the property to buy more properties
In doing this, I will have made good use of the money I spent on the costs associated with originally purchasing the property but still suffer the frustration of owning a strata titled townhouse. Also, there’s a common saying out there – NEVER SELL) OR
(2) Sell it, and purchase only torrens titled properties
The only problem with this option is that the townhouse is worth about $300,000 and is in a good suburb, only 5km away from the city.

Please give me some advice on what I should do because at the moment I’m just treading water.

Regards – moolah