How Forster differs
Units and townhouses
At the 2021 Census, 17.9% of occupied homes in the suburb of Forster were flats or apartments and 15.1% semis, terraces or townhouses. Only 64.6% were separate houses, under the NSW figure of 65.6%.
One home in five empty on Census night
19.7% of private dwellings in the suburb were unoccupied on Census night, against 9.4% for NSW.
Owners outright
48.7% of occupied homes were owned outright, well above the NSW figure of 31.5%.
No frost on record
Forster-Tuncurry Marine Rescue recorded no days at or below 2°C between 1999 and 2020; its lowest reading was 1.0°C and its July mean minimum 8.7°C.
In a unit: whose pipe is it?
In a block of units, a leak or blockage may sit in a pipe that serves more than one home. Before you book anyone, ask your strata manager or owners corporation whether the pipe is shared, because that can change who arranges and pays for the repair. A plumber who works on leak detection can trace where water is coming from before anyone opens a wall.
Leaving a Forster home empty
Turn the water off at the stop tap
A split flexible hose or a running toilet can leak for days with nobody there.
Decide what to do with the hot water
Ask a plumber whether to switch it off while you're away and how to restart it safely.
Get someone to look in after storms
The Marine Rescue station's wettest day on record brought 252.0 mm. Blocked gutters and downpipes overflow fast in rain like that.
Sewer or on-site system
MidCoast Council says that if you can't get to its sewer system, you'll need an on-site system, and its treatment plants run under NSW Environment Protection Authority licences. If you have an aerated system, you're responsible for engaging a service agent for its routine servicing. The type of system a block needs depends partly on how sensitive the surrounding environment is. See septic systems.
Hot water, discounts and the NSW rules
A heat pump draws its heat from the air, and Forster's winters are mild. Swapping an electric or gas water heater for one can bring an Energy Savings Scheme discount, and STCs can cut the price too, as long as the model is on the register. NSW says its discount figures are indicative only and requires a minimum payment from you. Every replacement in NSW also needs a temperature control device. See NSW hot water discounts and heat pump hot water.
Contracting for plumbing in NSW needs a contractor licence whatever the job costs: check it on the Public Register via our NSW page. Other specialists: blocked drains, burst pipes, emergency plumbing.
What we would do
If your Forster place sits empty between visits, turn the water off at the stop tap every time you leave, and have someone check the gutters after big rain. In a unit, settle whose pipe it is with the strata manager before the plumber arrives. And look up the plumber's licence before you agree to anything.