Do You Know What The CAI Can Do For You?

Community Association Managers must be knowledgeable in a myriad of topics and issues. In a single day, they touch items ranging from pet owner violations to million dollar capital projects. After appropriate training and experience, managers are effective partners with communities, helping maintain assets and increase property values.

The State of Georgia requires Association Managers to be licensed through the Georgia Real Estate Commission.  Mandatory licensing provides increased protection to communities from negligent practices, and allows a much better option to thrive versus a self-managed community run by those with limited knowledge about Association issues.  Managers must attend a 3-day course taught by homeowner association attorneys.  This is followed by both a class test and then a State test.

Related to this, the Community Associations Institute (CAI) is a valuable resource and has proved to be an important organization for homeowner associations and industry affiliates.

Byron Hanke, an eventual founder of CAI, authored the first systemic study of planned communities entitled, The Homes Association Handbook. This book called for the creation of a national organization to provide education and act as a clearinghouse of ideas and practices for the community association housing market (https://www.caionline.org/AboutCAI/Pages/History.aspx ).

In 1965 a model planned- unit development statute was drafted, and in 1973 the CAI was organized through the joint efforts of the Urban Land Institute and the National Association of Home Builders, the U.S. League of Savings and Loan Associations, the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 23 builder/developers and a number of leading community association professionals (https://www.caionline.org/AboutCAI/Pages/History.aspx ).

 

Forty-two years later, CAI continues the mission of building better communities. There are 60 local chapters, including one in the Atlanta metro area, established in 1981. Its Board of Directors is comprised of community association professionals, volunteers, homeowners and business partners.

The local chapter acts as a source of knowledge for all members, with driven professionals and homeowners.  There are rewarding networking and career opportunities which directly impact the success of our region, as well as on the national and international levels.  Its active sub committees have created an organization filled with endless insight, happy homeowners, productive community associations, better communities and hardworking professionals who believe in the organization and what it means to them, personally, professionally, and ethically.

Managers have the opportunity to gain credentials through continued education through CAI. To learn more visit  https://www.caionline.org/LearningCenter/Credentials/Pages/default.aspx .

Whether you need a new resolution for your association, new board member training, or a new manager for the community, look to CAI to provide ethics, industry best practices, knowledge and education for community associations.