Virtual Attendants

We looked at the most common virtual attendant system (starts with an "E"). It looked like a great system, but you are leasing the equipment from them and it's not compatible with any other security system you might have. It was REALLY expensive and you are tied into their system. There are several other communities around here that use it and there are lots of complaints that it's broken quite a bit.

The system we use is manufactured by the company that starts with "L" that makes a lot of gate openers and garage door openers. We have unmanned gates, but each of the visitor gates has a kiosk where the visitor can call the owner and be let in. The kiosk also has a camera so you can see video of anyone who stops to call, put in a code or swipe a card. But the software for this system has a lot of other features and there's a great app where you can let anyone remotely into any of the gates and even pedestrian gates if they are locked. There is a feature that we don't use, but on the app each owner can set up a temp code for a delivery or a permanant code for a visitor.

One of the big objections from a couple of our board members for the virtual attendant system is that you have to put in your driver's license the first time to verify your identity, just like you do at a manned gate. They felt that was an invasion of privacy.