The following is a list of the technology discussed during my presentation to the ECHO Association (Educational Community for the HOA Homeowners) in June 2020 . The audience was the Board of Directors for Community Associations in California.

The presentation included three main sections:

1. Trends and Impact of the Coronavirus on HOA Boards

2. New Technology for Board Members & Community

3. Hot Technology Tips for Working at Home

1.Trends and Impact of the Coronavirus on HOA Boards

The Coronavirus pandemic has been changing the way we all work and enjoy our social lives. We are learning a lot about working from home, alone or with the whole family. Below are the results from a new study showing some of the challenges of working from home. Can you relate to any of these findings?

Updating and Communicating Your Coronavirus Plans

Most of the population continue to worry about going out to businesses, schools, restaurants, bars, shops, events, public transportation, etc.

Health experts from around the world agree that the following six activities are required to make people be and feel safe. Do you have a published plan for your Board and Homeowner community activity? Does your community management firm update and share their plan with the Board on a regular basis?

The State of California Covid-19 information can be found at: https://covid19.ca.gov/
California Industry guidelines and checklists can be found at: https://covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/

2.New Technology for Board Members & the Community

Video Meetings, Audio Meetings, Webinars, Training & Phone Calls  

As a result of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, people are quickly learning how to attend virtual conferences, meetings, webinars and fun events using the latest cloud-based video technology. Our property started conducting virtual Board Meetings (using Zoom) over the last few months and they are working well. There are dozens of options available. Here are five of our favorite top-rated video services:

• Zoom.us - Most popular with the media. Easy to use and learn. ECHO provides Zoom help to Board Members who want to convert to virtual Board Meetings. There is also a free Zoom version. Two people can have unlimited conversations. Three users and more, can talk for 40 minutes and then the meeting automatically ends. You can reconnect to the meeting and talk another 40 minutes. Prices start at $15 per month for 100 people on one video meeting.

• Google Meet - Great new solution from Google if you all use Google Office and other products - Still improving.

• Microsoft Teams Great solution if all of your users have Microsoft Office products. It’s now free and included in Microsoft 365. Note: Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 and has made limited improvements. If you use and like Skype that’s great. You should keep using it. However, we stopped recommending Skype five years ago for most people.

• Apple Facetime - Great easy video solution if everyone uses Apple products. Up to 32 users can be on one video call.

• WhatsApp - Very popular texting, chat, video, audio app that works on both Apple and Android products. They allow 8 video calls in one meeting. Its very easy to use and works all over the world.

HOA Management Systems using Cloud & Mobile Technology

The Property or Community Management industry is 5-10 years behind most other industries in technology. The majority of the companies are using legacy technology. As as result, it’s hard for them to provide world-class Board and Homeowner experiences and excellent employee experiences for their own staff. Over the last few years there are new Cloud and Mobile solutions available that can be implemented quickly. They can dramatically improve the job of the Board Member and reduce the stress and efforts of Homeowners.

When is the last time your Board surveyed your homeowners and determined if your current community management company is providing the best services and infrastructure for you? If there are issues, you should try to work with your existing company to upgrade their infrastructure with the latest cloud and mobile services for your community. We find that it’s always easier to continue your partnership rather than completely switch companies.

The following are just some of the standard features that are available with modern cloud and mobile solutions.

Two Top Companies that provide new cloud and mobile solutions for Communities

CINC Systems is an all-in-one cloud-based platform for Association Management. Banking, Management, Work Order Management and Accounting, all on the web and mobile. We recently reviewed their systems and discovered the major improvements that were made over the last few years to help Board Members, Homeowners and Property (or Community) Management Companies.

Appfolio - Next generation property management software designed for residential, commercial, homeowner & condo association, student housing, and mixed portfolio property managers with growing, complex businesses. You can manage your business at scale with AppFolio's fully mobile, intuitive solution, which includes complete accounting & management functionality, instant access to customizable reports & owner statements, marketing tools, online leasing, tenant screening, and online rent collection and payments.

Other Cloud and Mobile Technology that can help your Board and Community

If you’re part of a smaller community, and do not have access to the latest integrated Community Management Systems, there are a number of low-cost and free cloud systems that could help make your Board job easier and provide better homeowner service.

Customer Service - Freshdesk has a free basic version for tracking and reporting work orders and tickets

Marketing Automation - Mailchimp is free for the first 2,000 contacts and is great for eNewsletters

Survey Software - Surveymonkey has a free basic plan to get started surveying Homeowners and other Board Members

eSignatures - Docusign is one of the leaders and costs $10-$15 per month per user

Phone System (old PBX) - Zoom Phone also provides a complete business phone system in the cloud and mobile. They have a free version that lets unlimited 2-person talking and 40 minutes for group phone meetings up to 100 users

Websites - Wordpress or Wix to build an easy Do-It-Yourself (DIY) website for your community

Cloud Document Storage - Store, share, and collaborate on files and folders from any mobile device, tablet, or computer
Box, Dropbox, Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive

Backup Systems - Backblaze or Carbonite top low-cost cloud backup systems

USB remote backup drives - Costco or Amazon

Cyber Security - ExpressVPN - Top-Rated VPN (virtual private network) cybersecurity app to protect your WiFi on public networks, like airports and public transportation etc

Microsoft Office 365 including Microsoft Teams

Google Office Suite including Google Meet

Password Managers LastPass or 1Password

Data Encryption - Business Daily News article explains the basics on encryption

Broadcast Texting - EZTexting , Textedly or Simple Texting can be used to send out text broadcasts to Homeowners or to Board members

Package Lockers need to be added to traditional Mailboxes

Last Fall, we wrote an article for ECHO eNewsletter on the growing problem with package delivery thefts and the rise of porch pirate criminals. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus has exacerbated the problem. eCommerce grew from 15% of all retail sales to 25% during the 2nd quarter of 2020 during the pandemic lockdown. This created an explosion of new package deliveries to front doors or building lobbies.

The criminals have been paying attention to this trend. Now the number of porch pirate package robberies have dramatically increased and are projected to just keep going up each year.

Unfortunately, most building have 150+ year old designed post office mailboxes that are used for mail. There is a solution that works really well for packages. New package lockers that come in a variety of sizes are similar to the ones you see from Amazon in Whole Foods and other locations. The last few years, they have become available to install on your property.

More Information on the Amazon Hub for Package delivery in communities.

60-second video demo on how digital package lockers can work for your complex (LuxerOne)

Mailbox Trivia: When was the first home mailbox used in the USA?

While mailboxes first appeared in the United Kingdom during the 1850s, it took another decade for the United States to adopt them. In 1863, the U.S. Post Office Department launched the Free City Delivery mail service, which allowed residents to receive mail at their home address. This prompted many Americans to install a mailbox in front of their home so that they could receive mail without having to visit their local post office. Source: mailboxdesigns

Video Security

Homeowner Communities are increasing the use of video to improve security. Some of the top reasons include:

• Package thieves

• Storage closet robberies

• Vehicle break-ins

• Homeless takeover and use of locked community facilities

• Home burglaries

• Unauthorized pool parties late at night

• Property vandals including graffiti artists

Larger communities have the resources to fund high-level video security systems with real-time monitoring. These systems require professional equipment and installers to create a safe environment, protect privacy and secure high quality video storage. You need to complete the following steps to find and implement a video security system: Form a committee to research vendors, conduct walkthroughs, get pricing estimates, review final proposals from multiple vendors, make the selection, acquire financing (over 5 years), present the recommendations to the Board and Homeowners, monitor the installation, conduct a review of the process and present the final results to the Board and Homeowners.

Smaller communities can now afford new lower cost and easy-to-install video security. These systems can be used to set up video security for your own property and then share the video with the police when a crime occurs by your home. Many homeowners start by installing just a video doorbell. Others prefer to implement a basic alarm system that you can add video cameras as needed.

The two top ranked DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Home Alarm Vendors are:

Ring Alarm - add-on cameras start at $60

SimpliSafe - add-on cameras start at $90

Two Top-Rated Video Camera Only Systems include:

Blink Video Systems - known for their battery-operated (with a 2-yr life) video cameras - FYI… New $29 indoor video cam is now available.

Wyze Security - known for their highly-rated $25 video camera with free cloud storage. Unfortunately, keep in mind that their support is just OK if something goes wrong.

Peephole Cam - Smart video doorbell, HD video, 2-way talk and easy installation

If you have a peephole in your door, you can now replace it with a video doorbell and peephole combination. This is a very quick easy way to add video security to a front door in a condominium, apartment or house. Click for more information on the Peephole Cam by Ring

3.Hot Technology Tips for Working at Home

When working from home, here are four “must do” technology best practices.

Ergonomic Workstation Setup

It’s so important to have a well designed ergonomic workstation. Wirecutters, our favorite product review company, shows you how to sit and work at your desk (see graphic below).

We hope you can take at least one or two good ideas from our above presentation materials:

1. Trends and Impact of the Coronavirus on HOA Boards

2. New Technology for Board Members & Community

3. Hot Technology Tips for Working at Home

Please contact us if you have any other questions, need some help with technology or staying productive during this unique moment in time for all our lives. Note: If you buy something from a link, we may earn a small commission. We donate those moneys to give back to our community.