{"id":105,"date":"2011-05-11T10:44:43","date_gmt":"2011-05-11T10:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/\/?p=105"},"modified":"2018-04-27T15:14:56","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T19:14:56","slug":"get-on-board-communication-between-hoa-boards-and-residents-has-never-been-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/downtown-living\/get-on-board-communication-between-hoa-boards-and-residents-has-never-been-easier","title":{"rendered":"Get on board!  Communication between HOA boards and residents has never been easier!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"full-image-float-left ssNonEditable\"><img style=\"width: 250px;\" src=\"\/storage\/HOAneighborhood.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1305110877225\" alt=\"\" \/><\/span>Does your neighborhood have a good system for communicating?\u00a0 Are you able to quickly get answers to neighborhood questions?\u00a0 If not, read on.<\/p>\n<p>Today, simple web based tools allow neighborhood organizations the opportunity to\u00a0 set up online discussion forums and electronic bulletin boards to foster communication with and among residents.\u00a0 And best of all, many of these systems are completely free to set up and operate!<\/p>\n<p>While you may not run into your neighbors enough to be on a first name basis, you\u2019ve probably at times wanted to share information with others who obviously have common concerns and experiences.\u00a0 Living in the same environment, you can obviously learn some useful things about maintenance issues or maybe just an answer to the question, \u201cWhat was that strange noise last night\u201d?\u00a0 And the need for a conversation only increases if you live in a multi-unit building, where you share common space and services.\u00a0 But all too often the communication doesn\u2019t happen, either because residents don\u2019t see each other or don\u2019t feel they know each other well enough to have these conversations.<\/p>\n<p>HOAs or neighborhood organizations of course have a responsibility to communicate to their residents about things they \u201cneed to know\u201d about regulations and common services.\u00a0 But the HOA may not want to spend the time or money to develop an online or telecommunications system that they think nobody will use.\u00a0 So they continue to rely on snail mail or announcements slipped under the door for only the most critical of information.<\/p>\n<p>If your neighborhood organization hasn\u2019t yet taken advantage to these tools, I recommend using Google Groups working in tandem with Google Sites.\u00a0 I\u2019m not a technical wiz or expert, but I was able to set up this system on behalf of my HOA, so I figure pretty much anyone can do it.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The system is easy to set up and use.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>HOAs post information and residents post questions or comments by sending an email to a specific (Group) address.<\/li>\n<li>Posts and replies are automatically sent to member addresses via email.<\/li>\n<li>A website containing information (regulations, by-laws, how-to\u2019s, etc.) can be posted by the HOA, searchable using keywords.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Residents control how information is delivered.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You can control how email messages are delivered, either distributed as posted or as a digest (multiple posts together).<\/li>\n<li>If you don\u2019t wish to use email, you can post and access information through the Group Homepage.<\/li>\n<li>You can unsubscribe yourself from the discussion forum and\/or website at anytime.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Emails and posted information is kept private.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Group members\u2019 emails are known only to the Group Administrator and are not visible or shared.\u00a0 Note: Members may wish to set up a separate G-mail account for this purpose.<\/li>\n<li>Members can update their email address without having to notify anyone.<\/li>\n<li>The website can be kept private, accessible only by invitation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Neighbors may not meet at the town square any more, or even strike up conversations in the elevator, but that doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t still share common interests and concerns.<\/p>\n<p>My own HOA started using this system and it seems to work well.\u00a0 But if you have suggestions on other systems that you have found to work effectively within your neighborhood or condo\/apartment building, we\u2019d like to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span><span class=\"full-image-float-left ssNonEditable\"><span><img style=\"width: 250px;\" src=\"\/storage\/HOAneighborhood.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1305110877225\" alt=\"\" \/><\/span><\/span>Does your neighborhood have a good system for communicating?&nbsp; Are you able to quickly get answers to neighborhood questions?&nbsp; If not, read on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Today, simple web based tools allow neighborhood organizations the opportunity to&nbsp; set up online discussion forums and electronic bulletin boards to foster communication with and among residents.&nbsp; And best of all, many of these systems are completely free to set up and operate!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2834,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions\/2834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}