HOA Texting Services

PaulP7 (Kentucky)
Posts: 2

Posted:

Does anyone know of, or use, an affordable text messaging service for HOA's and neighborhood associations? I have come across a few services but they seem to be fairly expensive and I am looking for an affordable option. Thanks.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

perhaps twitter

What is it you expect to text?

Personally, I hate getting unsolicited texts and would never provide my cell number to my Association.

PaulP7 (Kentucky)
Posts: 2

Posted:

Well they wouldn't be unsolicited....they would be required to opt-in. Some people would rather get text than email about neighborhood events.

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

One easy fix: Have members who wish to opt-in send their names (so you know who you are dealing with) via text to whatever email account you are now using for HOA business. This will give you the email addresses associated with those phones. In your email you can set up a group for those who have opted in and then send the text to the group; your message will be delivered to those phones as text messages. Best part is that you already have all the hardware and software you need.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By PaulP7 on 11/13/2015 2:41 AM
Does anyone know of, or use, an affordable text messaging service for HOA's and neighborhood associations? I have come across a few services but they seem to be fairly expensive and I am looking for an affordable option. Thanks.

Any email program. FREE. Every cell phone has an email address.

See here for a reference.
http://www.emailtextmessages.com/

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

Being required to opt-in makes it a non-opt-in system almost by definition.

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By GenoS on 11/13/2015 2:04 PM
Being required to opt-in makes it a non-opt-in system almost by definition.

Such a system would require opting in for two reasons: You need to know whether the member's phone number is a cell phone capable of receiving text and you need to know that the member wishes to receive text messages. (I have a cell phone that can receive text messages but I prefer not to be contacted that way.)

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

Yeah I think I read it wrong. The "opt" part means "optional", but you'd still have the option not to participate at all.

AllisonD (Florida)
Posts: 449

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By PaulP7 on 11/13/2015 2:41 AM
Does anyone know of, or use, an affordable text messaging service for HOA's and neighborhood associations? I have come across a few services but they seem to be fairly expensive and I am looking for an affordable option. Thanks.

I use a service called One Call Now (onecallnow.com). It will allow you to upload your resident list via Excel, easy to update and add tenants etc. You can use the phone app (I find easier than my PC) to record voice messages and they will be sent out, or it will do texts and emails. So good for emergency situations and hurricanes where you need to get info out to everyone quickly. You can also schedule messages, so I recorded a message "Hello Residents, this is a reminder to pay your quarterly dues" and I have it set to send quarterly, brilliant! I think its about $5 per home. I would bet there are other similar services but this is the one I use and I am happy with it.

PitA
Posts: 1,416

Posted:

It will allow you to upload your resident list .......

Resident should be MEMBER.

ANYONE other than an actual owner/member is (legally) a tenant (whether rent paying or not).

If, repeat IF, you wish to communicate with NON MEMBERS is up to your HOA BOD.

Words have meanings, different words have different meanings.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By LarryB13 on 11/13/2015 3:25 PM

Posted By GenoS on 11/13/2015 2:04 PM
Being required to opt-in makes it a non-opt-in system almost by definition.

Such a system would require opting in for two reasons: You need to know whether the member's phone number is a cell phone capable of receiving text and you need to know that the member wishes to receive text messages. (I have a cell phone that can receive text messages but I prefer not to be contacted that way.)

I also have a cell phone that can receive messages and prefer not to be contacted that way. Some cell phone users have to pay extra for every text sent and received.

AllisonD (Florida)
Posts: 449

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By PitA on 11/15/2015 9:21 AM

It will allow you to upload your resident list .......

Resident should be MEMBER.

ANYONE other than an actual owner/member is (legally) a tenant (whether rent paying or not).

If, repeat IF, you wish to communicate with NON MEMBERS is up to your HOA BOD.

Words have meanings, different words have different meanings.

Both owners and tenants must sign an agreement to opt in to the calls, its part of the purchase and rental application. The calls, our website and email are ways we communicate and save us time and money. The residents appreciate the effort and know the time it takes for us board members to do these things versus paying extra for the management company to do these things. There is a feature that separates owners and tenants so I can send an owner specific message (don't forget to pay dues) or a message to all the residents (beware of the alligator in our lake).

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By AllisonD on 11/15/2015 5:10 PM
Both owners and tenants must sign an agreement to opt in to the calls, its part of the purchase and rental application. The calls, our website and email are ways we communicate and save us time and money. The residents appreciate the effort and know the time it takes for us board members to do these things versus paying extra for the management company to do these things. There is a feature that separates owners and tenants so I can send an owner specific message (don't forget to pay dues) or a message to all the residents (beware of the alligator in our lake).

I wouldn't opt in. While I can appreciate it's a time saver for some, the convenience isn't worth the risk to have my personal information such as name, address, phone number and email address, floating around the web out of my control.

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By GenoS on 11/16/2015 12:00 PM

I wouldn't opt in. While I can appreciate it's a time saver for some, the convenience isn't worth the risk to have my personal information such as name, address, phone number and email address, floating around the web out of my control.

Good point, Geno. It's one thing for your HOA to have this info on their computer and quite another to supply it to a third-party vendor without the member's express knowledge and consent.

Your name and address are already public information thanks to the county assessor. In AZ several counties began making recorded documents available online. I was appalled to find my SSN on the recorded contract for the purchase of my property. I looked up records for a few others and was surprised to find SSN's and telephone numbers on deeds of trust. (State law now prohibits that information from being displayed online but it is available if you search in-person.)

AllisonD (Florida)
Posts: 449

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By GenoS on 11/16/2015 12:00 PM

Posted By AllisonD on 11/15/2015 5:10 PM
Both owners and tenants must sign an agreement to opt in to the calls, its part of the purchase and rental application. The calls, our website and email are ways we communicate and save us time and money. The residents appreciate the effort and know the time it takes for us board members to do these things versus paying extra for the management company to do these things. There is a feature that separates owners and tenants so I can send an owner specific message (don't forget to pay dues) or a message to all the residents (beware of the alligator in our lake).

I wouldn't opt in. While I can appreciate it's a time saver for some, the convenience isn't worth the risk to have my personal information such as name, address, phone number and email address, floating around the web out of my control.

This is a private password protected program. Unless you are a police officer, there are a number of ways for folks to get your phone number, if they wanted to; in Florida everything is public record. I can go on the property appraiser website and get your name and address, tax assessor and clerk have additional info. That being said, there is an opt out feature. You would prefer to miss the call about the alligator and put your dog or child at peril, so be it.

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By AllisonD on 11/17/2015 6:35 PM
This is a private password protected program. Unless you are a police officer, there are a number of ways for folks to get your phone number, if they wanted to; in Florida everything is public record. I can go on the property appraiser website and get your name and address, tax assessor and clerk have additional info. That being said, there is an opt out feature. You would prefer to miss the call about the alligator and put your dog or child at peril, so be it.

All very true, but my password was supposed to be private in Target's system last year and Chase bank's this year. The county appraiser doesn't publish my phone number or email address. I realize many people today don't give a hoot about their personal privacy online, but I'm not one of them and I see no good reason to make every detail about my personal life available online. Call me old fashioned, but I remember when phone booths were a thing before everyone up and decided they needed to let the world know what they ate for lunch yesterday.

There's a key difference between opt-in and opt-out. It also doesn't give me the warm fuzzies when people can't define which one is which. I think it would be more likely that my info would end up in the hands of marketeers and salespeople looking to sell me stuff I don't want than alert me to any situation requiring immediate attention in the name of safety.

As long as there was a way to keep my personal data out of such a system I would be OK with it. As long as people can freely choose then that's fine.

JohnnyC2 (Georgia)
Posts: 13

Posted:

I am currently looking into utilizing services like http://www.onecallnow.com or http://www.omnilert.com/ they are pay per user type systems that are a little more expensive http://alertfirst.com/ is credit based and a little less expensive.