SMS Group Text for HOA Communication to Owners

I have been trying to research utilizing SMS text messaging for an additional form of communication, especially when it needs to be conducted quickly, to our owners (we have 527 doors, so the number of opt-ins could be as high as 1,000). However, it appears that all the services are very expensive. Has anybody had any luck finding something for their community at a low, or even no, cost?

BTW - cost is zero.

You will need to know the phone number and the carrier service (att, tmobile, verizon, etc.) that their cell phone uses.

Tim: Excellent suggestion! What a great piece of advice!

I have also found these 2 articles that really help with the process:

https://20somethingfinance.com/how-to-send-text-messages-sms-via-email-for-free/
https://avtech.com/articles/138/list-of-email-to-sms-addresses/

I have tested it and it does not show other people's information in the text received (just the sender's information, which we will use a generic email like [email protected]).

Also, I recommend that the Secretary (or whoever) maintains a spreadsheet with first name, last name, neighborhood association (if applicable) and other categories you may want to filter and send texts to selective groups, cell number and cell carrier. That way, when sending a message, you can just filter for the names you want and then copy paste the addresses in to the "to" section of the email you are going to send.

It's a down and dirty system (not all the bells and whistles from the many group texting businesses), but it will get the job done and IT'S FREE! Great for a non-profit organization like a homeowners association!

Thanks again!

how has text messaging owners working for your HOA so far? Thinking of doing the same thing.

There's very little that's free these days, so you may have to bite the bullet and pay something. That said, if it's only used in emergencies, I would think you wouldn't use it very much anyway.

For the folks without internet access or smartphones for text messages, some property management companies have an automated phone system that'll send out these types of messages, but because of the telemarketing fraudsters, that can get intercepted as well. Ask your manager about that anyway - in the end, you may have to offer people several options (email blast, automated message, or text message), with everyone having an opt-out option.

If they don't want any contact whatsoever, they'll have to figure out the best way to get the information, maybe call the property manager themselves and get a message tailored to their community (that'll also cost money, but oh, well.)