The Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) introduced the Accredited Management Organization (AMO®) in 1945, but the first AMO firms were certified 75 years ago this month, in March 1946. Today, more than 500 firms hold this accreditation, putting them at the top of the list for reputation, fiscal stability, exceptional management, and ethical conduct.
The AMO was officially introduced on September 6, 1945 as a way to maintain professional best practices in real estate management at the company level. Creating a business certification was seen as a way to enhance perception of property management companies, and also elevate the employees of those firms by establishing clear guidelines on professional management and ethical best practices.
The first AMOs included 162 companies from across 31 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Over the years, the AMO has been expanded, updated, and refined to continue to represent the standard of professional excellence in property management.
“For 75 years, IREM’s recognized the commitment to ethical business practices, financial responsibility, and professional management demonstrated by an elite group of real estate management companies,” said 2021 IREM President Chip Watts, CPM®, CCIM, and President of Watts Realty Company, AMO®, in Birmingham, AL. “Achieving AMO certification subjects a firm to intense scrutiny, but rewards them by opening doors to new business opportunities, and the recognition that comes with being the best in our business.”
Now, the AMO is held by companies across the globe including firms in Japan, Canada, and China. To learn more about becoming an AMO firm visit irem.org.
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