Community Associations Institute (CAI) brought its internationally respected Professional Management Development Program (PMDP) and best practices to real estate professionals in India, Bahrain, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in early December.
CAI hosted The Essentials of Community Association Management (M-100) course in Bengaluru, India, on Dec. 4 in conjunction with the International Real Estate Community Management Summit (IRECMS). The M-100, the leading international training program for community association managers and volunteer homeowner leaders elected to serve on their community association board, was taught by CAI instructor Jeevan D'Mello, CMCA, AMS, LSM, PCAM, chief executive officer of Zenesis Corporation in Dubai and an expert in Middle East community management, and Thomas M. Skiba, CAE, CAI's chief executive officer.
As part of the two-week education tour, Skiba, and D'Mello also served as presenters at the Bahrain International Property Exhibition and Forum, the country's largest real estate advisory conference supporting property developers, engineers, and other housing leaders. There, they acknowledged the growing community association housing model in the Middle East. Skiba, D'Mello, and Pepe Gutiérrez, CMCA, chief executive officer of MegaFincas Alicante in Spain, discussed the impact of owners associations on the Middle East housing market and laid out vital steps on how managers can ensure investment protection for their communities. During the visit, CAI leaders met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain's Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
On Dec. 12, Skiba will be joined by CAI President-Elect Ursula K. Burgess, an attorney and shareholder at Rees Broome in Tysons Corner, Va., and a fellow in CAI's College of Community Association Lawyers, and John Hammersmith, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, chief executive officer of Hammersmith management in Colorado and a CAI past president, at the annual Middle East Association Managers Conference (MEAMCON) in Dubai. MEAMCON is the first conference and exposition designed for professionals leading the region's community associations.
“CAI is proud to be a strategic global partner with countries that support and exhibit a commitment to strengthening the community association housing model," says Skiba. “For more than 45 years, CAI has served as the leading authority in community association management and governance. Renowned for our professional educational services, CAI's work sets the international standards and best practices for all those living, working, and serving community associations. We are honored and excited to share CAI's mission of making community associations preferred places to call home with these international partners."
CAI signed an agreement in 2012 with the government-sponsored Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI) to customize the Institute's PMDP program. Since then, CAI instructors have taught more than 30 PMDP courses, including the M-100 and the 200-level courses required to achieve CAI's prestigious Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) designation.
Dubai hosted the second PCAM Case Study ever held outside of the U.S. on Dec. 9-10. Managers must pass this challenging two-day property review to achieve the PCAM designation, which is the highest professional recognition available to professionals who specialize in community association management.
The Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Agency estimates that the city has approximately 472,000 housing units, including high-rise apartment towers and villas, or single-family homes.
About Community Associations Institute
Since 1973, Community Associations Institute (CAI) has been the leading provider of resources and information for homeowners, volunteer board leaders, professional managers, and business professionals in the nearly 350,000 homeowners associations, condominiums, and housing cooperatives in the United States and millions of communities worldwide. With nearly 45,000 members, CAI works in partnership with 36 legislative action committees and 64 affiliated chapters within the U.S., Canada, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates as well as with housing leaders in several other countries, including Australia, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. A global nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization, CAI is the foremost authority in community association management, governance, education, and advocacy. Our mission is to inspire professionalism, effective leadership, and responsible citizenship—ideals reflected in community associations that are preferred places to call home. Visit us at www.caionline.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook @caisocial.
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