Missing Money: HOA Managers Accused of Embezzling Funds
Sixty percent of all people in the Las Vegas Valley live under the rules of some sort of homeowner's association. The mini-governments watch over developments, collect fees and fines from people who break the rules. But as News 3 Investigator Darcy Spears found, the associations can't always be counted on to manage that money properly. You might call the subject of our story a property "mis"manager. He's been hired by many associations over the past 14 years, but has essentially operated under the radar screen. He's had some blips here and there, but nothing that sounded the alarm until now. And that may be the root of the problem. Picture this, a property manager is accused of stealing about $100,000 from a homeowner's association...


-----------------
Of course, I have no idea whether this is true of this manager, but the story illustrates the basic public policy problem. Community association management is a profession that is (a) new, and therefore lacking in clearly established professional norms; (b) easy to enter, (c) largely unregulated, and (d) loaded with opportunities to handle other people's money. Add that up and you have the potential for abuse. CAI tries to get managers to join and get certified through extensive training, but it seems to me there has to be mandatory state licensing in order to force all people doing CA management to comply with training requirements.