Finding The Best Software For Your HOA or Condo: 3 Takeaways From Our

3 Takeaways from our webinar on finding the best software for your HOA or Condo

Finding the best software for your HOA or condo can be quite challenging. It takes a lot of time, work and should be approved by all users of the product. Luckily our webinar is here to help find solutions to these problems.   

In the webinar we had Leila Scola, head of marketing and customer’s success at Vinteum, as well as Pat Crosscombe, founder and CEO of BoardSpace, go into the main ways to find the ideal software for your HOA or condo as well as avoiding pitfalls when choosing the best solution for you. Here are the main takeaways: 

Takeaway #1 – Planning is key  

“If you fail to plan you plan to fail”. The first thing your board should do is analyze the problem in your association and how you want it to be solved. Following that, testing the product, as well as signing up for free trials and demos are essential steps to make sure the software meets your needs. Lastly, implementing a new tool is a huge change and must be approved and tested by the board and residents. 

By doing this, you’re preventing yourself from facing issues regarding residents and workers satisfaction, as well as making sure everyone knows how to use the software in question. 

Takeaway #2 – Don’t go for free tools just because they’re free

Free doesn’t actually mean free. Softwares for your HOA or condo that doesn’t require payment can have several drawbacks. Some of these tools aren’t designed for your association, their functions are limited, and support isn’t great. While they can help at first, you’ll likely find yourselves working with a multitude of different platforms that will make organization much more difficult in the long term. 

With paid softwares, they will have all the tools you need in one place. That way you don’t need to keep track of various emails, and it is all organized in a single location making it much easier to find and organize. 

Takeaway #3 – Know what software you’re buying

Everyone makes mistakes, but when these mistakes involve money and time, it can lead to various problems. The board needs to be strategic and set out clear priorities. They must also consider how much they want to spend and how much of that will solve their problem. 

Doing deep and clear research is essential when implementing such a big change in your community. Software for your HOA or condo can be beautiful, user friendly, and within budget, but if it doesn’t meet your association’s needs or solve your major problems, then it isn’t worth investing in it. At the end of the day, you want your software to fit you, you shouldn’t have to fit the software. 

According to a poll conducted during the webinar, the attendants responded:

• 40% did not fall into the pitfalls discussed
• 20% had fallen into these pitfalls even though they had planned 
• 40% bought free software 

All in all, planning, setting goals, and knowing what you want to achieve with software for your HOA or Condo is essential to avoid bigger problems. It’s always important to study and analyze the product before buying and to make sure it’s within budget. 

Benefits of using the right software for your HOA or Condo

There are many benefits software for your HOA or Condo can bring to a community association. It increases transparency between the board and homeowners, ensures easier board transitions, saves everyone time, improves communication and can help increase property values. 

1. Increased transparency: Small and large communities need transparency. In fact a law passed in Florida requires Condos with 25 units or more to have a community website to help improve transparency. By sharing governing documents, rules, and having a clear communication with residents, an association can increase their transparency. This in turn improves resident satisfaction.
2. Easier transitions: There is constant change in associations, as members leave and join  the board. This handover becomes much easier with software for your HOA or condo. Also, when new residents come in and they need information, having all the information they need in one place that is easy to find and access is hugely beneficial. It makes the move easier, and increases the feeling that they’ve made a good decision.  
3. Saves time: With a software that encompasses all of the main tasks an HOA needs to fulfill, such as reading emails, organizing documents, and communicating with residents and staff, it becomes much easier to keep track and organize everything you need. This is because, as mentioned previously, everything is in one place meaning you don’t have to repeat work and spend time with manual tasks.
4. Better communication: Communication is something that everyone, not only associations, strive for, and software can help with that. While lack of communication is a problem many HOA’s struggle with, overcommunication is also a problem associations can fall into. Sending a lot of emails to a resident won’t be beneficial as they will be overwhelmed with the amount of information being sent. Fortunately, software for your HOA or Condo can help make the way you reach clients more versatile. Communication needs to be effective and reach a wide variety of people through different mediums such as emails, texts, newsletters, and calls .    
5. Improved property values: With more effective communication, board members spend less time trying to organize tasks, and they can spend more time making decisions. As they have their historical data, they know what has gone on in the past, and will make more informed choices which leads to higher property values.

Final Points  

You can fall into many traps when buying software for your HOA or condo. Not planning and communicating to everyone about what you are buying will lead to a lot of problems and complaints. Additionally it’s important to know what software you’re investing in, and not go with the first one or the one that seems cheaper – it has to suffice your association’s needs. 

All things considered, every association should follow the steps required to not fall into any mishaps. They should start by identifying the problem, planning and organizing how the issue will be addressed, not being afraid of investing, and after all of that, finally enjoy working and living in your great community with all of the benefits that a software can provide.