Condominiums, Townhomes and Homeowner Associations Training

CCHOAM™ Certificate for Property Managers
Volunteer Board Member Best Practices Training

 

One in five Americans live in Shared-Expense Housing: Condominiums, Townhomes or Homeowner Associations, and that number is growing!

Explore our two education training programs offered for those involved in the Shared-Expense Housing industry in order to overcome obstacles your property is already facing or gain an advantage to prevent problems in the future.

Chartered Condominium & Homeowners Association Manager (CCHOAM™) Certificate for Property Managers

WHO SHOULD ENROLL: Property managers, those who aspire to be Condo/HOA property managers and committed volunteer Condo/HOA board volunteers/leaders.

Curriculum:

  1. Intro to Condominium/HOA Property Management
  2. Mastery in Communications: The Foundation of Your Relationships
  3. Dealing with and Leading People: Difficult to Wonderful
  4. Legal Basics & Board Member Due Diligence & Collaboration
  5. Financial Planning to Sustain the Property and Promote Harmony

University Training and Credentials: Your Competitive Advantage

The Bellarmine University CCHOAM™ Certificate is a competitive advantage for you as a Manager because it provides rigorous training and University credentials which condo and HOA board members and owners can understand, respect and may justify higher financial compensation for a manager.

The five courses help you master and bridge the multiple “silos of knowledge” which are keys to success in creating and sustaining Associations.

What you will learn:

  • In Course One, Intro to Condo and HOA Management, you will learn about systems of personal organization and time management, your development as a leader and an influencer, plus construction, renovation, project management and vendor management.
  • In Course Two, Mastery in Communications: The Foundation of your Relationships, you will learn about increasing your emotional intelligence, building trust as a leader, sharpening your business writing skills, and methods to explain complex issues to win board and owner support.
  • In Course Three, Dealing with and Leading People: Difficult to Wonderful, you will learn about, and learn how to respond to the five categories of owners grouped from ‘Most Difficult’ ‘to ‘Agreeable and Leaders.’ You will study the most common personality disorders and how best to navigate people with those disorders. You will take a quick popular, University online Personality Profile to learn more about yourself and to give you insights into why people are the way that they are.
  • In Course Four, Legal Basics and Board Member Due Diligence and Collaboration, you will learn enough about the law to discuss the finer points of your issues with your local Condo/HOA attorney, key state condo and HOA laws for Kentucky and Indiana, fiduciary duty and the business judgment rule, the annual meeting, voting and elections. You will also learn about creating a framework for board members to work together and solve problems and legal advice for board actions ranging from caution about both overzealous enforcement or taking no action on major issues.
  • In Course Five, Financial Planning to Sustain the Property and Promote Harmony, you will learn about the basics of Association Financial Management and dealing with your financial vendors and stakeholders including the duties of the board treasurer, local insurance agents, the bookkeeper, the certified public accountant, the Association bankers and mortgage lenders, the reserve study provider, and the local realtor community.
  • Each of the five courses has 15 learning modules. You can view a list of the five courses and the 75 modules here.

Time Commitment:

Each course is estimated to take anywhere from 45 to 90 hours to complete. If a student can devote 5 to 8 hours per week, the certificate can be obtained in one year. The course work must be finished three years after starting the program.

Online Course Content:

Course content is a combination of reading material, videos and instructor videos. There are multiple choice questions and essay questions or both at the end of the 15 modules in each course. Most instructor video mini-lessons are 3 to 5 minutes each. See class video samples below:

Student interaction with Instructor

Each student has an introductory discussion with the instructor to discuss career objectives and current level of job experience. (This conversation could be via Zoom, email or a phone call depending on student preference.) The instructor also grades each student essay, which must have a grade of 6 out of a possible 10 to demonstrate student understanding of the material and move onto the next module. If the essay is graded below 6, notes for changes will come from the instructor, so the essay can be edited and resubmitted.

Students may take course work completely independently, or do their work independently, but with a cohort of fellow students. Every fifth module, students in the cohort will post an answer to an instructor question, and other students make their comments online.

Students who complete all five courses earn their CCHOAM™ designation and will receive a Certificate of Completion from Bellarmine University. Preview the certificate here.

INSTRUCTOR: Patrick Hohman has been a volunteer condo board member for more than 30 years. He has also served as an onsite manager at another condominium association. He has taught Condo/HOA volunteer board members at Bellarmine University since 2005. He is author of Condos, Townhomes and Homeowner Associations: How to make your investment safer. After the Surfside, Florida condo tower collapse on June 24, 2021, Hohman was asked to write an essay, Condo Board Leaders Can Help Prevent the Next Surfside Style Disaster, for condo board member advice for the Associated Press news service which was published in newspapers and other news outlets throughout the United States.

Registration information: To register, visit www.bellarmine.edu/ce/register and find the program under “CE Enrichment."

Registration is ongoing.

Tuition: $2,250 per student for the 5 course Certificate Program; $495 per student to take an individual course

Group Discount:

Required textbooks:

  • Hohman, Patrick (2009). Condos Townhomes and Home Owner Associations: How to make your investment safer ISBN: 978-0-9822345-0-1
  • Tracy, Bryan (2013). Time Management ISBN: 13: 978-0-8144-3343-0
  • Maxwell, John C. (1999).  The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader ISBN: 13: 978-0-7852-6796-6
  • Garner, Bryan A. (2012). HBR (Harvard Business Review) Guide to Better Business Writing, ISBN: 978: 1-4221-8403-5
  • Eddy, Bill, LCSW, Esq (2018). Identifying and Dealing with Narcissists, Sociopaths, and Other High-Conflict Personalities: 5 Types of People Who Can Ruin Your Life, ISBN: 978-0-14-313136-6

Condominium, Townhome and Patio Associations Volunteer Board Member Best Practices Training

Are you a new board member for your property? Have you been a board member for years but need help or a refresher? Review the ‘technical issue’ basics that you need to know to be a good board member for your property. Course content covers the same five course areas in the certificate program, planning, communication, leadership, finance and legal basics, but in a much abbreviated 6-hours of content. Managers and volunteer leaders may want to later add the more in-depth content and career certification of the certificate program. This 6-hour training is online and self-paced.

Student interaction with Instructor

Each student has an introductory discussion with the instructor to discuss the two most pressing problems that the volunteer board member is trying to solve at the Association. (This conversation could be via Zoom, email, or phone call, depending on student preference.)

Registration information: To register, visit www.bellarmine.edu/ce/register and find the program under “CE Enrichment.”

Registration is ongoing

Tuition: $99 per student

Group Discount:

Student evaluation comments for Board Member Training:

“Our board members attended the Bellarmine class and we use Patrick’s best practices book as our guideline. We have updated our property mechanically and physically, as well as accumulated more reserve savings than in our Association’s forty plus year history. The information provided was an is critical to our success.” – Daniel K., President, Shenandoah Condominium Units, Inc.

“Very good! Much useful information. Good for at least our board members to attend each year.”

“Beyond my expectations. Tremendous value, this should be required for board members.”

“Patrick is an excellent presenter and well prepared.”

“Patrick’s passion for this topic is wonderful.”