The Difference Between Property Management and a Community Association Management

With so many similarities between a Property Management license and a Community Association Management license, it can be hard to determine which is more beneficial for the career path you have in mind. Although some duties of a property manager and community manager will sometimes crossover with each other, the general responsibilities and expectations can vary drastically. Check out the two major differences between these two careers:

State Requirements

A Community Association Management license requires 60 hours of educational courses while Property Management permits require only 24 hours. However, students must also have an active real estate license in order to activate their property management permit which has 90 hours of educational requirements. Additionally, CAMs are required to complete a minimum of 18 hours in approved continuing education (CE) courses every 2 years. Property Management permit holders complete a minimum of 3 hours in CE courses.

Responsibilities

As previously mentioned, many of the basic obligations of property and community managers are very similar but they differ greatly in overarching responsibility. Property managers are more involved in the day-to-day operation of each individual unit: moving tenants in/out, managing item repairs, collecting rent, or determining charges for damaged property. Community managers are usually responsible for the community as a whole as opposed to the individual tenants. They may be expected to create budgets for specific property expenses or managing the performance of managers.

Interested in earning your property management or Community Association Management license? Chat with us online or call us at 702.313.7000.