Condo Media - July 2012 - 43

Education and Training
CAI provides three levels of professional education for community managers, as well as a variety of tools and resources for the association board members and other homeowner leaders who play roles in the governance and management of their associations. “The education of managers and homeowner leaders is our primary reason for being,” says CAI Chief Executive Officer Tom Skiba, CAE. “Community association management is an increasingly complex business — and associations are businesses — so it’s more essential than ever that managers and homeowner leaders learn from the most respected experts in the field. That’s what we offer in our classroom and online courses, at national and local chapter events, in our publications and on our websites.” Skiba urges managers to take full advantage of CAI’s professional development program. “It’s the single most important thing managers can do for their client associations and their own careers,” he says. “Homeowners in every community deserve a professional manager who is trained, educated and always current on key issues and best practices that affect the well-being of the communities they serve.” Skiba adds that homeowners need to “step up and play a constructive and positive role” in their associations. “You get out of your communities what you put into them,” he says. “There’s no substitute for active and constructive homeowner involvement, and no better way to build a strong sense of community.”

ations, 34 percent say there is nothing bad. That is followed by restrictions on exterior improvements (15 percent), dealing with neighbors (10 percent) and paying assessments (nine percent). Association homeowners pay assessments for services and amenities provided by the association. Services can include landscaping, building maintenance, garbage pickup, snow removal and street lighting. Amenities can include pools, clubhouses, playgrounds and association-sponsored functions.

Learn more about this research and the Foundation for Community Association Research at www.cairf.org. With more than 31,000 members dedicated to building better communities, CAI works in partnership with chapters, including the CAI New England Chapter, providing information, education and resources to community associations and the professionals who work with them. For more information about upcoming local chapter and national programs and events visit www.caine.org. CM

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Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate Lending joe.cavallini@dedhamsavings.com

JOE CAVALLINI

Best and Worst
Asked to name the best aspects of living in an association, residents most often cite neighborhood attractiveness (24 percent), less maintenance for individual homeowners (17 percent), community safety (13 percent) and property values (12 percent). Asked to name the worst aspects of their associ-

CONDO MEDIA • JULY 2012

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Condo Media - July 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - July 2012