surveillance cameras outside condos

Lisa,
You will find comparing cameras is like comparing bed mattresses. They all have different names and similar pricing. They are almost exclusively made in China these days. I would just try to get the most MPs you can afford and go with Color night vision. Night time is when most of the bad stuff happens. Hopefully you have decent lighting in the areas for the cameras.

I recommend that your board not go cheap on this purchase. It is one of the few things that will work 24/7/365 days a year. They usually have about a 7 to 10 year life expectancy and will help if anything ever happens that you need positive proof.

This is for the association. And if its fixed its in my condo what happens if I leave board or sell condo. It would be a nightmare. So I want to get WIFII.. We dont have an office. Hoping some association out there has a camera system that is working great that is WIFII too. and can share what they are using.

If you don't have an office (or can't create an office) in common area, you should not (repeat NOT) have this system in your personal unit. It opens up way too many potential issues for you personally.

Additionally, prior to installing any system, the Board needs to adopt a policy about the recordings (as the recordings become part of the Association records and open for review by members). Things to have in the policy:

Who has access
how members can review
how long recordings will be kept
how requests from outside agencies (police, fire, legal) will be handled
Is the system monitored or not
Who monitors
how is monitoring tracked

Also, check to see if your allowed to record audio in your State (as it varies by State).
You may need to prevent any audio recording capability in your system if the State requires you to be part of the conversation.

Some reference material:

Surveillance Cameras within your AssociationThe potential benefits of HOA surveillance cameras and guidelines for their use from a law firm

Condo Surveillance and the Law from a new england law firm

3 Things to Include in Your HOA's Onsite-Camera Policy from HOA leader

Rulesand Regulations Governing Surveillance Camera Data and Use Within [NAME]Condominium

Keep in mind that all you really need is a shelf in a secured closet to house the equipment in (providing there is some ventilation). A whole room is not required.

Additionally, consider purchasing a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for the system. This way, if there is a power outage, some or all of the system may continue to work.

no electrical closets ?

no fire suppression sprinkler room ?

no lighting near said dumpsters ?

no lit CBU mailbox area ?

etc.

(wall mounted receiver 'box')

no to all except yes there is a nice bright outside lantern light and a flood light by the dumpster area. We are samll with three buildings in a horseshoe. there are no community common area room or building.

Welp based on that scenario you've basically knocked most products out of contention for your solution.

You have a constant power source so you will need a camera that connects via the cellular network and uploads data to the cloud.

Like others I would immediately rule out any scenario where the DVR equipment and/or Internet access point resides within anyone's home.

Hire a legitimate company that specializes in property security and partner/hire them. None of this consumer equipment business is sufficient and actually makes an HOA board look more voyeuristic than committed to security.