Condo Media - May 2015 - 24

ConferenceREWIND
The seminar is also a fine spot to
learn a new community association
joke, like this:
A man falls ill and goes to see his doctor. The doctor runs a battery of tests on
the man and determines that his condition is terminal.
"I'm sorry," says the doctor, "you only
have one year to live."
The man is horriﬁed. "Doctor, that's
terrible news! There must be something I
can do to prolong my time."
The doctor pauses in thought. "Well,
there is one thing ..."
"What is it?!" the man asks.
"Buy a condominium and join the
board," the doctor replies evenly.
"I don't understand Doc. Will that
make me live longer?"
"No," replies the doctor, "but it will be
the longest year of your life."

recovery for unit owners, and developer insurance isn't the only place to
look. Errors and omissions insurance
policies for design professionals may
also bear fruit.

Now for some of the more serious
highlights from the seminar:

'Bored' Meetings? Not with Jim
Slaughter. While a lecture on parliamentary procedure may seem less
enjoyable than a trip to the dentist,
Jim Slaughter's easy southern manner and knack for presenting made
for an engaging session. Slaughter focused on effective ways to implement
parliamentary rules without getting
bogged down in the minutiae. He
discussed the importance of a good
agenda and the utility of proxies, and
offered advice on what to do when
you don't get a quorum.
I strongly recommend a visit to his
website, www.jimslaughter.com, for
a wealth of information, including
charts and handouts to help you run
(in his words) a "darn good" meeting.

Construction Defect Recovery
Post-Recession. One unfortunate
outcome of the Great Recession has
been a rise in construction defect
claims. Whether developers leave
projects incomplete, cut corners, file
bankruptcy, or simply disappear, the
impact takes a toll on owners. The old
maxim that you can't get blood from a
stone rings true. Insolvent declarants
(often special purpose entities) may
not be worth chasing. However, that
doesn't mean that an association will
be left holding the bag. Insurance is
often a potential source of financial

Air What? I'd never heard of Airbnb
before last summer when one of our
associations discovered that a unit
owner was operating a nightly B&B.
For those of you who aren't aware,
Airbnb bills itself as "a trusted
community marketplace for people
to list, discover, and book unique
accommodations around the world."
Anyone can list their condominium
unit for rent on an extremely shortterm basis (often a single night) and
be matched with willing guests. In
my client's case, we were fortunate
enough to achieve swift compli-

Insurance is often a potential source
of ﬁnancial recovery for unit owners,
and developer insurance isn't the only
place to look. Errors and omissions
insurance policies for design
professionals may also bear fruit.
24

CONDOMEDIA
http://www.jimslaughter.com
Condo Media - May 2015

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