Category Archives: CMCA

Recertify online!

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For those of you who need to recertify your CMCA this Spring – We’ve extended the recertification deadline!  You will be getting an email today from info@nbccam.org.

To maintain your certification, you must be in good standing with your annual service fee payments, have accumulated a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education courses since you were last certified (April 1, 2010) and submit the recertification application by April 30, 2012.

Continuing education hours must relate to the management and operation of community associations or be of a professional development nature such as accounting, human resources, or office administration. Visit our site for more information on approved continuing education courses.

Steps to Recertify online:

Note: Have your 16 hours of continuing education proof handy because we’ll be asking you to enter it into the continuing education worksheet.  If you have an active AMS, PCAM, NAHC-RCM, FL CAM or NV CAM, grab your ID because we will be asking for the number.

  1. Copy and paste this link into your internet browser: https://www.nbccam.org/cmca/recertify.cfm
  2. Use the email address we sent this invitation to in order to log-in.  For your convenience, we have synchronized your log-in and password with the caionline.org site.
  • If you forgot your password, click the “Forgot your password” link to create a new one.
  • If you’ve never signed online, your password is your last name with the first letter capitalized.

3. Get started! Watch the progress bar at the top.

Our online recertification process is brand new.  If you have problems, please call the NBC-CAM staff at 703.970.9300.

Community Association Management SmartBrief

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Have you signed up for Community Association Management SmartBrief yet?  A few weeks ago, NBC-CAM launched a free, weekly e-mail newsbrief specifically designed for community association managers. Sign up here.

This complimentary resource is aimed at bringing you a quick, two-minute read that will help you keep up-to-date with the latest news and trends in our profession. SmartBrief will provide short summaries of the news articles that will be of interest to you as a community association manager. We know it will save you time, keep you informed and add to your success. I hope you will subscribe.

Last week’s issue had an interesting article from Inc.com about diffusing complaints: Listening, refusing to engage in a fight and being willing to take a complaint to a higher authority are among the first steps in dealing with an unhappy client, writes Matthew Swyers. Other tips: Put yourself in the person’s place and offer empathy, work to resolve the issue and conclude your actions with a summary e-mail. Sign up here to get the full story.

Community Association Management SmartBrief

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I am pleased to announce that NBC-CAM has partnered with SmartBrief to launch Community Association Management SmartBrief, a free, weekly e-mail newsbrief specifically designed for community association managers.

This complimentary resource is aimed at bringing you a quick, two-minute read that will help you keep up-to-date with the latest news and trends in our profession. SmartBrief will provide short summaries of the news articles that will be of interest to you as a community association manager.  We know it will save you time, keep you informed and add to your success. I hope you will subscribe.

Over the next few weeks, we will send you several issues of Community Association Management SmartBrief in the hopes that you will activate your free subscription.  You can also sign up here.

 

 

One of articles in last week’s SmartBrief that I found particularly useful was about a Microsoft Outlook feature to organize my unruly inbox.  I can’t always deal with e-mails as soon as they hit my inbox which is why I started using the “Delay Delivery” option.  Now I can specify when I want my messages to arrive.  If you don’t use Outlook, don’t worry – there are other providers of the same feature.  You can read the entire article at CBS MoneyWatch.

U.S. Community Association Data

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As you know, community associations have become increasingly popular because they help protect home values and help meet increased demand for privatization of services as public officials off-load services that were traditionally provided by government, e.g., trash pickup, snow removal, landscaping, street lighting and street and sidewalk maintenance.  Below are the most recent industry statistics.

Estimated number of association-governed communities and individual housing units and residents within those communities:

Year

Communities

Housing Units

Residents

1970

10,000

701,000

2.1 million

1980

36,000

3.6 million

9.6 million

1990

130,000

11.6 million

29.6 million

2000

222,500

17.8 million

45.2 million

2002

240,000

19.2 million

48.0 million

2004

260,000

20.8 million

51.8 million

2006

286,000

23.1 million

57.0 million

2008

300,800

24.1 million

59.5 million

2010

309,600

24.8 million

62.0 million

2011

314,200

25.1 million

62.3 million

Association-governed communities include homeowners associations, condominiums, cooperatives and other planned communities. Homeowners associations and other planned communities currently account for 52-55% of the totals above, condominiums for 38-42% and cooperatives for 5-7%.

Estimated number of community association managers:  60,000.

Estimated number of community association management companies: 10,000.

Almost two million people serve on community association governing boards, with almost 400,000 more involved as committee members. Assuming the typical board or committee member spends just one hour a week on association business—and for most it’s much more than that—these volunteer leaders dedicate more than 110 million hours of service to their communities every year. Combined, the estimated value of these community association governance services is about $450 million.

An estimated four out of five housing starts since 2000 have been in association-governed communities, including condominiums converted from existing rental units.

The value of the homes in all community associations is estimated at $4 trillion, approximately 20 percent of the value of allU.S.residential real estate.

Estimated annual operating revenue for U.S. community associations is close to $40 billion. Community and condominium association boards also maintain investment accounts of more than $35 billion for the long-term maintenance and replacement of common property, e.g., roads, swimming pools, structures and elevators.

The estimates provided above for associations are derived from U.S. Census publications, the American Housing Survey, IRS Statistics of Income Reports, consultation with CAI professional members and state-specific data from California and Florida and related trade organizations.

Check Out the CMCA Corner Blog!

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Hi, I’m Dawn Bauman, executive director of the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers.  Yes, it’s a mouthful. Please call us NBC-CAM.

A word about the CMCA:  We’re the only worldwide recognized certification for community association managers.  For the past 15 years, nearly 12,000 professional managers – or those who want to practice with more professionalism – have earned the CMCA. It’s a matter of:

  • Coursework in accounting, collections, contracting, ethics, facilities maintenance, finance, governance, insurance and risk management and the law.
  • Passing a rigorous examination.
  • Adherence to a code of professional ethics and continuing education in the field.

CMCA Corner is a blog devoted to helping CMCAs like you share stories, get information, find ideas, get to know each other and see the lighter side of your work.  Please start a new post or comment on another post; that’s how we will make this community successful.

I will cover topics related to all areas of community association management, governance, leadership and current events.  What’s more, I’ll introduce you to your fellow CMCAs, so you can see how the field attracts smart, hardworking good people.  It’s amazing to me that despite the job pressures, CMCAs are some of the warmest, sanest and most level-headed people I know. You’ll find out what your colleagues like to do for fun, and their favorite parts of their jobs.

I’m not a manager, but I work with respected professionals across the field. I know we can count on them to share their wisdom in this blog, too.

How to Follow CMCA Corner

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Check back regularly for new content.  CMCAcorner.com will be updated regularly with newsworthy stories, ideas from community association managers and information about the industry.  Post a comment or share a story.  Your experience and thoughts will make this community successful.

Add CMCAcorner.com to your Favorites or Bookmarks.  Add CMCAcorner.com to your internet browser favorites by clicking on the star icon or adding a bookmark.  Drag the CMCAcorner.com tab into your browser’s toolbar for one-click access to the blog.

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Stay connected by liking us on Facebook or Joining our LinkedIN Group.  Click the Facebook link on the left to check out our Facebook page and LinkedIN Group!  You can submit photos and stories about community association management to our wall.

 

What kind of mobile device do you use?

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NBC-CAM e-mails important reminders, e-news and CMCA updates to each of you.  If you’re like me, you read a lot of your emails on your phone.  We are optimizing our emails for better readability on your phone, but first we need to know what you’re using.  Please take this quick poll!  Your input is appreciated.