Question 1

What is HOAfy?

Accepted Answer

HOAfy is an all-in-one HOA management platform that replaces spreadsheets, paper notices, and the patchwork of disconnected tools most associations rely on today. One system handles dues and payments, accounting, communications, violations, requests, documents, voting, and the homeowner portal — all under a single login.

Question 2

Who is HOAfy built for?

Accepted Answer

Self-managed HOAs and condo associations, volunteer boards, and small-to-mid-size property management companies. If your community has between 10 and a few thousand units, HOAfy is sized to fit. Property managers can run multiple communities from a single account.

Question 3

How is HOAfy different from PayHOA, Buildium, or AppFolio?

Accepted Answer

HOAfy is built specifically for community associations — not retro-fitted from rental property software. Pricing is transparent and per-community, every feature is included in every plan, and the product is designed so a volunteer board can run it without training. We also include unlimited users, unlimited storage, and unlimited email — no per-seat or per-message fees.

Question 4

Do I need a property manager to use HOAfy?

Accepted Answer

No. HOAfy is designed so a volunteer board can self-manage end-to-end. That said, if you do work with a property manager, they can be invited as a Property Manager role and handle day-to-day operations for you — including across multiple communities.

Question 5

Is there a free trial?

Accepted Answer

Yes — 30 days, no credit card required. Cancel anytime.

Question 6

How is HOAfy priced?

Accepted Answer

One flat per-community subscription, tiered by unit count, with annual billing as the default (save 10% vs monthly). Every feature is included at every tier — no add-ons, modules, or paywalls. Pricing starts at $36/month for communities with up to 30 units, and we're always cheaper than PayHOA at every community size. See the full pricing page for the complete tier table.

Question 7

Are there limits on storage, users, or messages?

Accepted Answer

No. Unlimited document storage, unlimited users, unlimited transactional and broadcast email — all included in the base plan.

Question 8

Can I pay annually?

Accepted Answer

Yes — save 10% with annual billing.

Question 9

Are there transaction fees?

Accepted Answer

Online payments are processed via Stripe at $0.50 per ACH transfer and 2.9% + $0.30 for credit/debit cards. Optional USPS letter mailing is $1.50 per piece. Surcharges can be configured to be absorbed by the association or passed through to the payer where state law allows.

Question 10

Can I cancel anytime?

Accepted Answer

Yes. No long-term contracts and no cancellation fees. You can export all your data at any time before, during, or after cancellation.

Question 11

How long does it take to launch?

Accepted Answer

Most associations are operational within a week. The onboarding wizard walks you through community setup, roster import, accounts configuration, and inviting board members and homeowners. We optimize for getting you to your first invoice run as fast as possible.

Question 12

Can I migrate from PayHOA, QuickBooks, or another system?

Accepted Answer

Yes. HOAfy supports CSV-based import for the unit roster, owners, opening account balances, and historical invoices. We also accept spreadsheet paste for quick edits during onboarding. The importer validates the data, lets you preview before commit, and produces an error CSV for any rows that need fixing.

Question 13

How do homeowners get access to the portal?

Accepted Answer

You can invite homeowners individually, in bulk from the roster, or via a public sign-up link tied to your community. Invitations are sent by email and carry a one-click magic-link login option for owners who don't want to remember a password.

Question 14

Can a unit have multiple owners?

Accepted Answer

Yes. HOAfy supports multi-owner units (joint ownership, trusts, LLCs) as a first-class concept — every owner sees the unit in their portal, can pay dues, vote, and receive communications according to their role.

Question 15

Do tenants and renters get access too?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Non-owner residents can be added with a Resident role — they see community announcements, public documents, the directory, and can submit requests, but they don't see financial information or cast votes.

Question 16

What payment methods can homeowners use?

Accepted Answer

ACH bank transfer and credit/debit card, both processed securely through Stripe. Apple Pay and Google Pay are supported on the payment portal. Boards can also enter manual payments (check, cash, lockbox) on behalf of owners.

Question 17

Does HOAfy support recurring dues and autopay?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Boards define recurring billing schedules (monthly, quarterly, annual, or custom cadences), and HOAfy generates the invoice batch automatically on the issue date. Homeowners can enroll in autopay from their portal and choose between paying each invoice on its due date or paying a fixed day every month.

Question 18

Can HOAfy assess late fees and fines automatically?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Late fees can be configured as flat, percentage, or compounding interest, and they post automatically once an invoice ages past the grace period. Violation fines flow into invoices the same way and link back to the source violation.

Question 19

Is the accounting system real GL accounting?

Accepted Answer

Yes. HOAfy includes full double-entry general-ledger accounting with a configurable chart of accounts, journal entries, bank reconciliation, budgets, and the standard reports your CPA expects (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow, AR Aging, GL Detail). Cash and accrual basis are both supported.

Question 20

Can I export data for my accountant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Reports export to PDF and CSV. Full GL detail can be exported in formats compatible with QuickBooks, Xero, and most CPA tools.

Question 21

What communication channels does HOAfy support?

Accepted Answer

Email and SMS broadcasts for mass communication, plus the in-app message board, community calendar, and (optionally) printed USPS mail. Voice broadcasts for emergency alerts are on the roadmap.

Question 22

Can I send to specific groups instead of the whole community?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Audiences are defined by saved queries — by role, by unit attribute, by tag, by delinquency state, by location, or any boolean combination. Audiences are previewed before send and re-resolved at send time so scheduled messages always reach the right people.

Question 23

Are emails branded for my association?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each association has its own sender identity (verified via SPF/DKIM/DMARC), branded header and footer, and template library. Mail-merge variables let you personalize subject lines and body content per recipient.

Question 24

Can homeowners opt out of communications?

Accepted Answer

Yes — promotional and newsletter messages always carry an unsubscribe link, as required by law. Transactional notices (invoices, violation notices, legal mailings) cannot be unsubscribed. Each homeowner can also set per-channel preferences (email / SMS / mail) on their profile.

Question 25

How does HOAfy handle violations?

Accepted Answer

Each violation moves through a configurable lifecycle (Notice → Cure Period → Hearing → Fine → Resolved) with auto-generated notice templates, photo evidence, and a fine schedule that posts to an invoice when triggered. Field inspections work on mobile, including offline, and sync when reconnected.

Question 26

Can homeowners submit ARC and maintenance requests online?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The board can build custom request forms (architectural review, maintenance, amenity reservations, etc.) with their own fields, fees, approval workflows, and SLA timers. Owners submit and track status from the portal.

Question 27

Does HOAfy support online voting and surveys?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Boards can create ballots and surveys with multiple question types, eligibility rules (owners-only, one-vote-per-unit), quorum tracking, and full audit trail of every cast vote. Results are tallied automatically and exported as PDF for the official record.

Question 28

What does the homeowner portal include?

Accepted Answer

Account balance and history, online payment, autopay enrollment, invoice and statement download, document library access, request submission and tracking, voting, violation history, the community calendar, and a self-service profile with contact-info updates and notification preferences.

Question 29

Can I store and share community documents?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The document library supports folders, role-based view permissions (public / owners-only / board-only / committee-only), versioning, and direct links from email broadcasts. Storage is unlimited.

Question 30

How is my data protected?

Accepted Answer

All data is encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+). Card and ACH data is never stored on HOAfy infrastructure — Stripe handles all payment data under PCI-DSS Level 1. Every API call is authorized server-side and association-scoped, so cross-community data access is impossible.

Question 31

Is multi-factor authentication available?

Accepted Answer

Yes. TOTP-based MFA can be enabled for any account and is recommended for board and manager roles. Passwordless magic-link login is available for homeowners who want a lower-friction option.

Question 32

Is there an audit log?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every create, update, and delete is recorded with actor, IP, timestamp, and a before/after diff. Sensitive reads (financial reports, member exports, document downloads) are logged too. The audit log is retained for 7 years to satisfy state HOA record-retention statutes.

Question 33

Where is HOAfy hosted?

Accepted Answer

HOAfy runs on AWS in US regions (us-east-1 primary). The platform uses managed services — Cognito for identity, DynamoDB for data, Lambda for compute, S3 for documents, CloudFront for content delivery. SOC 2 Type II certification is on our roadmap.

Question 34

Can I export all my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Roster, financials, documents, and audit log can all be exported in standard formats (CSV, PDF, ZIP). Your data is yours — no lock-in, ever.

Question 35

What roles does HOAfy support?

Accepted Answer

Out of the box: Owner (super-admin), Board President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Board Member, Property Manager, Committee Chair, Committee Member, Homeowner, Resident, and Vendor. Each role has tailored permissions reflecting standard HOA governance. Custom roles are on the roadmap.

Question 36

Can a person belong to multiple associations?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A single user account can hold different roles in different communities — common for property managers, regional directors, and owners with property in multiple HOAs. The portal lets you switch between communities with one click.

Question 37

Do vendors get access?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Vendors can be invited with a Vendor role that scopes access to their assigned work orders, invoices, and relevant communications — they cannot see financials or member data outside of what they're working on.

Question 38

How do I get support?

Accepted Answer

Email and in-app support are included for every plan. You can also reach us through the contact form. Onboarding assistance is included free for every new community.

Question 39

Can I request a feature?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely — the product is built with feedback from real boards. Use the contact form or in-app feedback to send a request. We publish our roadmap publicly and prioritize based on community impact.

Question 40

Does HOAfy have a mobile app?

Accepted Answer

The web app is fully responsive and works on any phone or tablet without an install. Native iOS and Android apps for field inspections and homeowner self-service are on the roadmap.

Question 41

Is HOAfy available outside the US?

Accepted Answer

Today HOAfy is optimized for US-based community associations (state-by-state compliance, USPS mail, US payment rails). The interface is available in English, Spanish, and German, and international expansion is part of the long-term roadmap.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Pricing & Billing

Onboarding & Setup

Payments & Accounting

Communications

Community Management

Security & Compliance

Roles & Access

Support & Roadmap

Still have questions?

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