|
Using the Internet by Michael Vandor, CCAM
Q.
Our community association is considering use of the Internet to enhance
communications with our members. What benefits can this technology
provide?
A.
The benefits can be substantial if enough of your homeowners are Internet
connected. With 100 million users and growing, the odds are that many of
them are.
A web site can offer a community
association a number of practical benefits, some of which are:
-
E-mail links and forms - E-mail
links to management and the Board facilitate fast, easy, inexpensive written
communication with your homeowners. Online forms can allow homeowners
to file a request for maintenance service-at any hour of the day, from
any Internet connected computer in the world.
-
Access to Common Forms - Commonly
used forms (such as architectural requests or proxies) can be placed on
a web site for immediate access and printing out by homeowners. This saves
the costs and delays in requesting these from management.
-
Searchable Document Archives
- Minutes or agendas from Board meetings can be placed on a server,
accumulating to form a useful database of association history that can
be made keyword searchable.
-
Immediate & Inexpensive
Notice - Items of importance can be posted to a web site promptly, informing
the members of election results, painting schedules or other information,
and saving Xerox and postage costs. By adding a mass e-mail list
program, your homeowners can register their e-mail addresses so you can
easily inform them of important matters - again, immediately and inexpensively.
Michael Vandor is a member
of the Community Associations Institute and owner of America's HOA Central.
Readers can get their condominium questions answered by calling the Community
Associations Institute at (619) 299-1376, e-mail at mvandor@hoacentral.com
or sending questions to:Condominiums, Homes, The San Diego Union-Tribune,
P.O. Box 191, San Diego, CA 92112-4106.
Back to S.D. Union Tribune Article List
|
