Do you know if our HOA contributes to the Community Associations Institute (CAI)? If you're unsure, I encourage you to check the HOA's budget or ask. It's common for HOAs to contribute, with most homeowners being unaware of it.
It's worth noting that CAI is viewed by many outside the industry as a trade organization for management companies and association lawyers. While CAI claims to represent HOAs and homeowners, many challenge this. According to Independent American Communities, HOA residents' interest often clash with this trade group.
The primary funding for CAI comes from its members, which include property management companies and association lawyers. CAI mobilizes its membership when legislative issues arise, but information about their lobbying activities is often restricted to members only. This raises the question: What information are they keeping from homeowners?
For further insights, I recommend looking into a 2016 article published by the Kansas City Star, where critics and a former CAI Trustee member shared their perspectives on this issue. Here is some of what they said:
Although the organization says it works to promote harmony in HOAs, it actually sides almost exclusively with HOA boards, critics say.
"I don't care where you go, if you have legislation that even hints of any sort of regulatory oversight," Horton said, "they're there with their war chest and all their attorneys, and they'll fight it to the death."
"Their goal is to improve conditions for the trade and make more money for their member-- the attorneys and the managers," said Shu Bartholomew, host of "On the Commons," a weekly radio show in Virginia that addresses HOA issues.
The CAI disputes that it opposed tougher regulations and fails to protect homeowners.
Read more here: https://independentamericancommunities.com/2019/01/13/hoa-residents-interests-often-clash-with-trade-group/
