Communications
Email and SMS broadcasts, homeowner opt-in, and carrier compliance for text messaging.
What communication channels does HOAfy support?
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.
Can I send to specific groups instead of the whole community?
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.
Are emails branded for my association?
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.
How do SMS broadcasts work in HOAfy?
Boards compose a text message the same way they compose an email broadcast — pick an audience, write the message, and send now or schedule it. Messages go out from your association's own registered sending number, and every send is logged with delivery status per recipient.
Do homeowners have to opt in before receiving SMS broadcasts?
Yes. U.S. carrier rules require explicit opt-in for text messaging. Homeowners turn on SMS from their portal's Communication Preferences and separately acknowledge the SMS disclosure — HOAfy never texts a resident who hasn't opted in.
Is there a carrier registration requirement for SMS?
Yes. Before any association can send SMS broadcasts, HOAfy registers its use case with U.S. wireless carriers through the standard A2P 10DLC process (a verified business profile, brand, and messaging campaign). This is what allows messages to reach carriers reliably instead of being filtered as spam. See HOAfy's Privacy Policy for how SMS opt-in information is handled — every association's own community website also publishes its own Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions page describing its specific SMS program.
Can homeowners opt out of SMS broadcasts?
Yes. Residents can reply STOP to any HOAfy text at any time to immediately opt out, or reply HELP for support — both keywords are handled automatically per carrier requirements. They can also toggle SMS off directly from their portal's Communication Preferences. Transactional notices required by the governing documents (e.g. legal violation notices) follow separate rules and are called out on a per-message basis.
Are there limits or extra fees for SMS broadcasts?
Each plan includes a monthly outbound SMS allowance: 120 segments for 1–30 units, 240 for 31–60, 400 for 61–100, 800 for 101–200, 1,200 for 201–300, 1,600 for 301–400, and 2,000 for 401–500. Communities above 500 units receive 4 segments per unit. One segment is one carrier billing unit sent to one recipient, so longer or Unicode texts may consume multiple segments per recipient. SMS sending pauses when the monthly allowance is used. See the pricing page for full details.
Still have questions?
Our team is happy to walk you through HOAfy and answer anything we missed.