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November 24, 2008
HOA Management, What Designation is Acceptable?
People gravitate to my site for all kinds of reasons. I get a lot of email questions about what it takes to be CID (common interest development) manager, and complaints about managers acting badly, or not knowing what they are doing (at least in the eyes of the beholder - the owner who sent the email). HOAs are CIDs in California by the way.
I have articles on my website about what is required, and there are two very active organizations that serve and train managers listed on my resource page (CACM AND CAI). I have developed a class that would satisfy the legal aspects of what is required to call oneself a "Common Interest Development Manager"; however,
(1) I have not had a lot of time to promote or even teach it and
(2) Attendees have to come to me with a group proposal to get me to take 8 hours off from my everyday lawyering to teach; and
(3) My class does not satisfy the overall 30 hours of course training needed for the right to call oneself a "CID Manager".
Here is the most recent email question presented to me:
"i recently decided to venture into HOA management and have my first client up and running. I found my way to your site and have been receiving your newsletters ever since. Very helpful!
I do have a question, though. I am a CPM, not a CCAM. Is the world going to require that I obtain the CCAM designation despite my having my CPM?"
My answer to this question is that while the world will not require that a manager has a CACM (or PCAM which is the highest CAI designation for professional managers), the "world" of HOA management is different than the "world" of property management (apartments, commercial buildings, and residential) in some very distinct, specific, and important ways.
The application of the entire DAVIS STIRLING COMMON INTEREST DEVELOPMENT ACT is one very big difference. The application of portions of the NONPROFIT MUTUAL BENEFIT CORPORATIONS ACT is another. The fact that an HOA is not generally a landlord (although there are a few cases that defy this premise) is another. The fact that HOAs are compared to municipalities in their governance is another.
I could go on and on. For a start, CPMs without training specific to HOA management might want to purchase "The Davis Stirling Act in Plain English", available on my website. A perusal of that 100+ page booklet will surely point out that specialized knowledge is critical in the industry of HOA management. One might read my blogs, and articles on the elections law, records inspection, assessments collection dilemmas and processes, and many other important topics to get a taste of just how complicated HOA law is. One should get on the E-news list, and review past E-news articles on the liability of HOA managers and other hot topics to be "enlightened" as to some of the most potentially serious subject matter that needs to be heeded, and last but certainly not least, one ought to sign up for some CACM or CAI classes to hone the knowledge base to logically include HOAs.
And HOA Boards, you should be asking questions about HOA specific knowledge and experience when interviewing management candidates. Otherwise, you could end up paying a "lotta" money and land in a "heap-a-trouble".
Posted by Beth Grimm at November 24, 2008 11:47 AM