The Essentials of Community Management

I'm in Natick, MA., preparing to teach the CAI course on The Essentials of Community Association Management tomorrow and Friday.  I don't teach this course as often as some others, but every time that I do teach it, I am impressed as to what a good overview of the industry that it provides.  I've taught board members, attorneys and many managers in the course, and I think it provides knowledge at all levels.  If you haven't taken the course, you should consider it.  It is also available as a home-study course, if you're not inclined to take the time to learn from one of CAI's distinguished national faculty members.

Mortgage Cram-Down Update

Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1106, allowing for bankruptcy court intervention in renegotiating the terms of certain mortgages. The bill does not directly refer to association's, but CAI's Public Affairs team was (and is) encouraging community association leaders to follow the legislation, and share your concerns about the potential of interference with community association assessments. Here's a snippet of the info sent from CAI this morning:

On Thursday, March 5, the House of Representatives passed HR 1106 with some technical amendments by a vote of 234 to 191. Although the concerns raised by CAI and others have not yet been fully resolved, your efforts in expressing concern have helped us get Congress’s attention, and members of the Judiciary Committee have committed to work with us to clarify and address these issues.

CAI continues to have concerns that the legislation will have a negative impact on associations in states with priority assessment liens, and that the grant of authority to bankruptcy courts, absent clearer direction and limitations, may be used to modify a homeowner’s assessment obligations to his/her community association. Again, thanks to your efforts, Congress is now aware of these issues and we will continue to work with legislators as the bill moves into the Senate.

Your efforts will help us ensure that this legislation will not have negative unintended consequences for common interest communities across the country and the residents who are current in their assessments. A well-crafted plan, that helps those in distress while protecting those who are current, will benefit us all.

I'll post updates here on this blog, and on the www.utahcondolaw.com parent page, and on our new collection site, www.caalrs.com