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A homeowner association (HOA) is an organization that governs a housing community, collects dues, and sets rules for its residents.
Depending on the neighborhood, it might: maintain common areas such as lobbies or street corners, remove snow from common roads and parking lots, look after local parks, and staff pools and gyms.
But some also test the very limits of your patience and sometimes even sanity, like issuing a warning because your garden gnome is two inches too tall or a fine because your mailbox is the wrong shade of beige.
So, Reddit user ScallionWarm7975 asked others on the platform to share their absolute worst HOA experiences and the fallout that followed. Turns out, there's no shortage of those!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I had a larger corner lot with a gravel front yard (SW desert).
I would spend time every weekend pulling any new weeds that I saw.
I'd still get a letter every couple of weeks saying I had weeds in my yard. One of the HOA board members lived across the street from me. I'd go outside after receiving the letter and search and search for my alleged weeds.
He'd come outside with his wife and stare at me. Both were in their late 70's.
I just got to the point where I'd just go outside and pretend to pull weeds while they watched me.
I regularly went hiking in the desert and went to parks a lot. I started collecting seeds from wild weeds and would drop them in his yard every time I'd walk my dog past his yard. It quickly became covered in weeds.
I made a few complaints about the weeds in his yard to the HOA.
My letters about weeds stopped.
Regina Holt 8 months ago (edited)
Brilliant! I would have gotten them start to get letters about weeds.
Crystalwitch60 8 months ago
😂😂😂😂😂karma well played plus helping the wildlife we all so desperately need lol priceless 😂
Renaissance man 7 months ago
I don't pull weeds at all. Every week I'll walk around my yard with total ground clear. It will k**l anything. I just k**l any new little green things that are starting to pop up.
Ivona 7 months ago (edited)
Several years ago, the HOA insisted that we provide access to our fenced backyard so that the lawn care people can come in and clean the weeds. The backyards aren't visible from the street. We provided access, the lawn care people came in and destroyed 4 beautiful flowering mature plants which were clearly not weeds.
We got in touch with the author of the post, and they said the idea for it came out of a desire to check whether their experience was out of the ordinary or not. (In case you missed it, scroll back up to the image in the introduction to this list.)
"I wanted to know if my experience was the only one of this kind," ScallionWarm7975 told Bored Panda. Well, after they received a few hundred replies of similar nature, I think it's safe to say it wasn't!
RELATED:
#2
My coworker lives in a condo complex. She lives in an end unit, that is a 2 story townhome. She decided to remodel her condo with professional contractors. She changed the layout of the kitchen and moved the outside sliding glass door to her side yard about 6 feet to accommodate her upgrades. The outside of the building where the door was, was re-stuccoed and painted and you could not tell this had been changed. They did a great job.
Her HOA found out she moved the door and told her she had to move it back.
She started a lawsuit against the HOA and it was taking months. Then she had an idea. The election for HOA president was coming up ... She got herself on the ballot.
She introduced herself to all her neighbors, and brought up several instances where condo owners were punished for dumb reasons. It seems her neighbors were fed up with the nonsense too.
She is now the HOA president, and no longer has to undo her construction.
Kit Black 8 months ago
On this one, i'm on the hoa's side - it's not a house, it's a condominium. It's part of an apartment building. You should definitely have to notify the HOA to do construction on an exterior wall. This is literally one of the few legit things a HOA is responsible for being on top of...
Tams21 8 months ago
I agree. Even in Germany, if you buy an apartment the exterior of the building (even of your apartment) technically belongs to everyone and you need permission to do anything.
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Michael Largey 8 months ago
Gee, getting yourself elected president to avoid the consequences of your breaking the rules? Hard to imagine.
Linn 7 months ago
So apparently, you’ve been lucky and never run into a situation like this! It does happen and needs to be addressed! 🤷♀️🤔
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BrunoVI 8 months ago
In fairness, doing this without condo board approval is insane. With a condo, it's said you own from the paint in. The board will replace roofs, decks, stoops, stairs, shingles, fences, shutters, exterior appliances, sidewalks, fences, etc., all out of a common budget and all streamlined by hiring one contractor to do it all at once. Mine (somewhat unusually) even had shared plumbing and HVAC. Significantly changing any of these means costs skyrocket for everyone else.
Linn 7 months ago
No!! Not at all! Condo Associations can be just as bad as an HOA!! These people need to get a real life!!! 🤷♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤭👍
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Papa 8 months ago
As I understand it she altered the exterior wall of a shared building. I'm not surprised there were consequences.
Load More Replies... #3
My adopted mom died suddenly & tragically. 4 days after she died I was at the house in the garage searching for her will. 2 HOA ladies, dressed in their Sunday finest come up to grief stricken me and say “I am so sorry for your loss, we all loved her. Please let us know how we can help. By the way- the fence is stained with the wrong color & you need to take care of that ASAP- the fine is $200 per day for non-compliance”.
I signed each of them up for every wacko email and phone solicitation list I could find.
hardrad2009 8 months ago
My cocktail for such occasions are Scientology and JW mailing lists. They never leave you alone.
Mason Kronol 8 months ago
Well, not exactly. Raised by a former JW. They came to the door when I was recovering from foot surgery and my husband answered. I have a loud voice and unleashed a trail of F-bombs from the other room and other nasty things about how my childhood was not good...my husband meanwhile was apologizing to them which i cussed him out for doing. He said they had a kid with them, so that plssed me off even more so I screamed about how they were screwing up his life too!. No JW's have been back. One mailed me a letter during the pandemic. She shouldn't have. she got a letter in return because even though the return address was the local Kingdom hall her name was real and easy to find her address online. Have not been contacted since😁 (They have books/note cards with people they have contacted so I'm sure I'm in it. probably digital by now)
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Michael Largey 8 months ago
"Thanks, but at the moment I don't own this house. Currently it is the property of my mother's estate. Here's the phone number of the estate's attorney. Please do all communications through him."
Crystalwitch60 8 months ago
Inhuman Karen’s !! n love the mega petty revenge heheh , so sorry for your loss 💔
Seadog 7 months ago
9-1-1- what is your emergency? Yes, 2 people are trespassing on my property and threatening me with extortion and I'm in fear for my life. Send an officer right away, or the coroner, makes no difference to me. (goes especially well if the operator can hear the sound of a round being racked in the chamber)
A YouGov survey from 2023 echoes this sentiment.
It found that 18% of Americans, including 27% of homeowners, currently reside in a community governed by an HOA, however, most (61%) would prefer to live in a place without one.
Just 35% of the people currently living in an HOA-governed neighborhood say they prefer to live in one, while 49% say they would prefer not to.
#4
Live next to HOA constantly get letters about how my property is deplorable and bla bla bla. I have a farm. I run a sawmill also. So, I finally get fed up with them. As they start coming on property, they are trying to take pictures. Had them trespassed after confronting them and asking them to leave they did not. I had drawn my firearm as they continued towards me screaming. BIOSECURITY is a real thing. Needless to say around 70+ Tons of manure now sits within feet of that property line. Keeps the high dollar snobs that hate me away. Oh and I have implemented maintenance Monday. At 10pm I start all equipment to check and service it as needed. I am zoned Ag. Have a Farm number. They have kinda started backing down. I also installed air cannons for pest deterrent. It's amazing to hear them go off in the middle of the night. Yes I am very petty. No I will never live in an hoa.
WindySwede 8 months ago
fafo! nimby regarding farms? "We like to eat food, just not in our backyard! "
Lady Eowyn 8 months ago
What idiot buys property next to a working farm and doesn't expect sound/smell/less than "perfect" landscaping? Get real, people. Like people moving into homes built under a flight path then complaining to the airport and demanding flight paths be changed. I didn't make this up, it was in Maryland or Virginia near D.C., decades ago.
Pencil 8 months ago
In NYC a developer converted an old warehouse into luxury apartments. The building was right over a *massive* rail yard. [MTA and Amtrak] Sure enough, tenants complained about the train noises and tried to file suit to get them removed. Idiots.
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Brian Droste 8 months ago
If they are coming on your property without your permission, that is trespassing. You can call the police and have them arrested.
Mason Kronol 8 months ago
I miss the sound of air cannons! Such a normal thing to hear on my grandparent's farm, well, all the other farms around too!
#5
My HOA sent me a letter telling me that I needed to have a background check on the person living in my condo with me.
I was single and living by myself. My current boyfriend brought me a mattress that he had in his guest room. He was turning into a workout area and didn't need the mattress anymore. He drove it over to my place and helped get it into my condo. I'm sure it didn't help that he drove a bright red Hummer. There were no boxes of stuff, just a mattress.
A week later the letter arrived. I called the condo association and asked why I had received this letter. I was told that someone had called and said I had someone move in. No one called me to ask. My next-door neighbor is on the condo board.
I went to the next condo association meeting and chewed them out. Asked them why we were paying for the association if they weren't going to do their due diligence. I know it's not much, but it made me feel better.
Susan Ostling 7 months ago
Watch out for something called a metro district they ARE an hoa
Load More Replies...More Americans believe HOAs have a very or somewhat negative effect on the communities they govern (45%) than a very or somewhat positive effect (21%). Another 21% believe the effect is neutral.
People who live in HOA-governed communities have a more optimistic outlook: 47% say HOAs' effect is positive, 27% say it is negative, and 21% say it is neutral.
#6
I left my car in my driveway overnight. I had Covid and it came on very suddenly. I had to stop and take a break going from my bed into the bathroom, so I certainly didn’t feel up to moving the car into the garage. I got written up.
ETA: I sold the house but the neighbor came over to let the new owners know that they weren’t allowed to park in the driveway while they were unpacking a car as they were moving in.
The lady across the street also came storming over and got angry with my real estate agent because she felt that my listing price was too high. You could give me a free mansion in an HOA and I’d still turn it down.
Kit Black 8 months ago
The lady across the street was your real problem - she wanted you to put that house on the market so that she could put a friend or a relative in it - how dare you want market price?!? 🤣🤣🤣
Seadog 7 months ago
An HOA is a small group of people that want to control the entire neighborhood but don't have the money to buy it. Anyone that allows an HOA to set up shop in their area is insane.
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Laura Gillette 8 months ago
Can't park your car in your OWN DRIVEWAY?? Am I the only one who lives in a neighborhood with a SANE HOA? Ours our actually nice... mostly they just plan the neighborhood events.
Bi.Felicia 8 months ago
Such bs, how can you fine someone for parking in their own driveway?!? It's kinda like excise taxes, imo. How can the town/city that you live in, not only charge you for property taxes but then you're also charged for parking your car in your own driveway? I personally feel as though the cities are double dipping, by already taxing your property and then charging excise on top of it. 🤦🏻♀️
JB 8 months ago (edited)
It’s not the town/city charging the fines. HOAs are private entities, mostly managed by unpaid homeowners who live in the homes covered by the complex. Typically, they take responsibility to ensure that there is a cohesive look to the area and that no owners drag down the neighborhood value by having their place be an eyesore. The trouble is only petty, judgmental folks who hanker after power tend to be interested in serving on the association.
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Crystalwitch60 8 months ago
Erm you can’t park a car ON YOUR OWN BLOODY DRIVE 🤦♀️Karen grow up n get over yourself lmao wtf are driveways for if not to park your bloody car on 😂
tameson 8 months ago
When you move into a HOA you agree to the rules. Those rules might include things like not parking your car in the driveway. If you violate the rules they can fine you.
Load More Replies... #7
My condo's defacto HOA had banned pets in apartments since day one. My nosey neighbour reported me for having a dog because she could hear barking the previous evening.
I don't have a dog, my nephew and I were watching Marley and Me.
Regina Holt 8 months ago
I would play YouTube videos of dogs barking, non-stop, when you go out, increase the volume.
Billo66 8 months ago
Alexa will bark like any dog you wish. I would say Alexa, guard dog. lol it will growl and bark loudly till you tell it to stop. Extra points for running it through a subwoofer.
Seadog 7 months ago
Sub, yes. Pick the right sound and you won't really hear it but the neighbors will lose their mind. (You might have to put paper towels between the dishes and anything else that would rattle)
Load More Replies... Snazzy Smurf 8 months ago
Lol. If you are going to complain about someone having pets, at least make sure it is in the flesh and not on TV.
John Dilligaf 7 months ago
you could play cat sounds too. You haven't lived until you've heard an amorous tomcat calling for his lady-love at 2AM, or an in-heat queen replying to him. Ask me how I know.
Upstaged75 7 months ago (edited)
LOL, my kittens just got spayed last month, but right beforehand one of them started to go in to heat. She's a tiny thing but holy f**k did she scream like a banshee all night. I was so happy to drop her off for that vet appointment! :)
Load More Replies... Christina A Davis 7 months ago
What the h*ll! Were they standing on your porch listening??!!!!
HOA dissatisfaction stems from overregulation: 72% of the people living under an HOA they disapprove of say the rules and regulations set by their HOA are too restrictive.
While as many of Americans support HOAs setting rules for noise levels (64%), trash and recycling bins (50%), and parking (46%), more oppose than support HOA rules for yard signs, fences, landscaping, pet ownership, exterior paint colors, home renovations, and holiday decorations.
#8
Not My Story.
A friend of mine rents a condo in an HOA community. From her bedroom window, she can view a vast open, undeveloped piece of land outside the community's jurisdiction. It's important to note that one has to go through the HOA community to access it. It attracts the homeless. Occasionally, there are disturbances among their community, and the police have to calm things down.
One night, she hears a scream, "I'm bleeding , help!" She looks, and all hell has broken loose. She calls 911. Dispatch sends the police, EMTs, ambulance, and fire. (there may have been a bonfire)
The HOA FINES HER $250 for calling 911. They said her call caused a disturbance with all the lights and sirens and with the emergency vehicles parking in the neighborhood.
She and her awesome landlord appealed it and won. But, it took over 8 months to resolve.
Glix Drap 8 months ago
Oh look, a naughty word that BP doesn't censor. Must use it more often. TBH it looks like HOAs are just a complete bunch of (picks word carefully to avoid censorship) tossers.
Load More Replies... Upstaged75 7 months ago
This is the craziest one so far! The only thing we've ever gotten notices about at my condo are asking people not to put plastic bags or raw food (yes some idiot did that!) in the recycling bins or huge pieces of furniture in the dumpster. Which are totally valid requests IMO.
Marlene Ricker 7 months ago
That is just unbelievable!! How could they fine her for calling 911. A little power has gone to their heads big time!
#9
My neighborhood is a small cuál de sac community that was originally built by this one older couple that had hoped their kids and families would move into the other houses they’d built, but that never happened and all their kids live out of state. For years they were the head of the HOA for this little community. Then the wife of the couple started going around complaining about BS and claiming that we were violating this HOA rule or that regulation etc. I didn’t really give a d**n until I get a fine for letting my dog sunbathe on my front porch without a leash, with a note stating that she’s too big and violates the HOA bylaws and I have to get rid of her (dog is 40 lbs wet).
So at the next HOA meeting I requested a full copy of the HOA guidelines and rules to ensure compliance. Talked with everyone else in the block about the lady too. Came to the next meeting and I had about 4 pages of violations for her home based upon the rules and another 3 pages of “false violations” she’d tried to enforce. The meeting ended up with a vote of no confidence and we ended up voting to dissolve the HOA.
Now the lady goes around complaining about this and that but we all tell her she’s the reason there’s no HOA and she’s the only one that ever complains. Best part is when the couple living next to her asked her if she’s ever considered that her behavior is precisely why none of her kids moved back home after college. The look of defeat on her face let us know that she was fully aware that was the case.
Regina Holt 8 months ago
I would have liked to see that look of defeat. I had also made the connection about their kids not being there.
The Redditor who initiated the discussion believes that so many HOAs become disappointing and dysfunctional because of their fixation on power.
"Let's be real, everyone wants power. With it, HOAs can control people and do what they want without any real consequence, so this is not a surprise to me."
ScallionWarm7975 laughed at the prospect of a good HOA. "No offense, but it's a joke," they said. "Like, yeah, I've seen one before, but it still was too strict. In my opinion, not having one is better."
#10
We tried painting the brick in front of our house, drafted a letter in compliance with the HOA rules, even told them we’d be using proper masonry painting, I went through all the engineering side of how it will be done properly, etc etc. We were denied because “nobody has ever asked to paint brick in this neighborhood before.” I told them well we’re asking. They denied our request again and reminded us that if we painted the brick a lien would be placed against the property. So we didn’t paint but we started maliciously complying. Any permanent outdoor changes have to be preapproved, so when I built a deck around a tree, I made very sure to not set it into the ground. It weighs about 500lbs so it’s not going anywhere but it’s not permanent. When they came by to b***h at us, I told them it wasn’t permanent. They said we still needed to get it approved and I asked if I would need to get approval for buying a lawn chair. They said no, and I told them that I built a custom lawn chair and would not be getting approval for anything else unless I absolutely needed to.
Flavia Slag 7 months ago
When these HOA's pay my taxes and mortgage then they can tell me how to live. Why would anyone pay someone to tell them how to live on their own property?
#11
My HOA in Texas sent me a letter that told me my child's toys had to be removed from sight at the end of each day. Keep in mind... this was a ranch style development... I had 3 acres of land. I said fine. I didn't put them away. I got another letter regarding the toys (bike and such) saying they had observed them in the driveway the previous day. I replied... yep... my daughter took them out to play with them again... I'll put them away at the end of the day. I didn't. Got yet another letter saying they saw them again. I said yep. My child plays with her toys every day. And after sundown you won't see them any more. There are NO lights on my exterior. There are NO street lamps. I then got ANOTHER letter with a NIGHT VISION PHOTOGRAPH of my child's bike 200 ft down my driveway near my garage. I s**t you not.
XenoMurph 8 months ago
I'd immediately call the police accusing them of voyeurism on your child.
Lyoness 8 months ago
Invasion of privacy, trespassing, harassment, there's all sorts of fun stuff to throw at them.
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YakFactory 8 months ago
Clearly some people don't want others to have a real life, and can't help themselves from butting into other people's business. What sort of people would want to be on a HOA? They obviously don't have a life of their own.
Upstaged75 7 months ago
These people are insane! They must have sad personal lives to be that ridiculous over a few kid's toys.
Colleen Glim 8 months ago
Downvoting you again. If you have an issue with a few toys, feel free to not look. You don’t get to decide how somebody else lives their life
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Hobby Hopper 8 months ago
Have you heard of "civil disobedience", the breaking of an unjust rule or law on ethical or moral grounds?
Load More Replies... #12
I got fined $300 for my motorcycle being too loud. I’ve never owned a motorcycle.
Crystalwitch60 8 months ago
Oooffff it’s your dog or cat lol they been tearing up the neighbourhood of a night when u all asleep 😂😂
Seadog 7 months ago
As it's likely a public road through the HOA, I'd contact some local bike owner/clubs and have them make sure they make that road part of their fund raiser rides. You get 100 Harleys together, you'll hear them for 1/2 a mile. And being a state/city owned street, there's absolutely nothing they can do about it. I've been on multiple Police led rides that go through multiple neighborhoods, and not always at the posted speed limit. The best one, the escorts consistently ran at least 10 over, sometimes more. You keep up or get left behind. Were people mad? Nope, they would come out and wave. Some even knew we were coming and were camped out in lawn chairs in their yard or by the road.
#13
My neighborhood president wants to be an absolute t**t about everything so we nominated and voted in the 2 people she hates the most.
SouthernGal 8 months ago
This is the solution! If you don’t like the way it’s being run, get on the board and make it better. Don’t just sit around and complain.
Michael Largey 8 months ago (edited)
I first had some trouble deciphering what t**t was. I finially figured it out, but it wasn't t'what I first thought it was.
#14
I received a letter that I had to remove a sign from my yard - not political - when other residents had posted political signs and left the up long after the election. So I put the sign in my truck window in the driveway instead, where it could be seen from the street.
SouthernGal 8 months ago
Political signs are exempt from HOA regulations where I live. It’s state law.
#15
My fake HOA believe themselves to be legitimate and once sent me a handwritten fee invoice for flying a drone, having off leash dogs, and not mowing the right of way. In reaponse I sent them a mock copy with a bunch of made up fees they owed me.
Dog Mom to Zoe 8 months ago (edited)
Off leash dogs can be an issue. It's really safety for others even if you have a good boy or girl. This is coming for a dog owner of 2.
Nads 7 months ago
It’s also annoying because if you have a dog that’s spooky or not very friendly, you have to keep dodging of dogs off their leash trying to approach. On top of it, the owners take offense. 🙂↕️ “Yes, sir, I’m sure your puppy is well behaved… unfortunately MINE ISN’T!”
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and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 8 months ago
Our dog is much, much better off leash than on. He’s great at recall and super chill around other dogs. You know what we do when we know we might encounter other people or animals? We put him on the f*****g leash.
Sadie Enward 8 months ago
No matter how good your dogs are, I don't know them. if your unleashed dogs come running at me in the darkness...
Anna Drever 7 months ago
There was a fatality recently near where we live. Dogs attacked a young child. If they’d been on leads a 4 year old boy would still be alive.
K Barnes 7 months ago
My small dog was always great with other dogs, big and small. He had tons of big dog pals that he played with regularly at the park. He was attacked by a big dog a few years back during COVID, the owner was nowhere in sight. She let her aggressive dog run out of her sight and wasn't supervising it. Now he's afraid of and aggressive with all big dogs and I hate it because he's reinforcing the stereotype of little dogs being bad with big dogs. That idiot totally changed one part of my dog's personality with her neglect and it makes me really sad.
#16
My neighbors, who have a son w special needs, had a small inflatable kids pool. Like a 30 Dollar wal mart pool. The hoa sent them a letter about how no above ground pools are allowed. I got into it the president who is on a power trip and let him know all of his violations. Which he then told me his were pre-approved? Anyway they ended up having a special meeting and allowed them to keep the pool.
HardBoiledBlonde 8 months ago
No problem, but the kiddie pool needs to be emptied at least every three days because water is mosquito's breeding grounds and mosquitoes can carry diseases.
#17
I have some friends, who live in Texas, sane people except they won’t leave.
For those, who don’t know, Texas has four seasons just like other places and those seasons are named Summer, Summer, Summer and Hell.
Well, one day my friends had a visit from the HOA telling them that their grass was longer than the allowed one inch and they’d be fined until that was remedied.
Knowing full well that it was politically motivated nonsense my friend agreed that it was indeed a disgrace and he’d accept the fine, provided he accompanied the deputation around so they could fine every single HOA member, who had grass that was not green, since that was the other requirement pertaining to grass in that list of rulles and regulations, they were waving about.
Wouldn’t you know it, suddenly it was no biggie that his grass was a little too long, it did look much niecer being green. There hasn’t been any more issues with the HOA since they found out he flights back.
Karen Krause 8 months ago
Probably why his lawn was green and everyone else's was brown.
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Hobby Hopper 8 months ago
As a Texas resident, I respectfully disagree. There is about 3 days of winter.
Mary Tonningsen 7 months ago
I used to have a "nosy old man" neighbor who didn't like how I maintained my lawn because I didn't edge it properly, and I'd come home from work to find that he'd mowed and edged my lawn while I was gone. He kept doing it even though I asked him not to. I noticed he was cutting it much shorter than I did - about an inch long compared to my 3 inches. Eventually the lawn got dried out and barren, the weeds took over, and I've never been able to make it look as good since. Now I don't have the good health or money to have it all redone as it would take a pro to take care of it properly. So glad he's gone and I don't have to deal with him anymore!
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Lo Kindred 8 months ago
We also have 4 seasons in one day. Mornings is Winter, Noon is spring, afternoon is summer and Evening is Fall.
#18
We replaced a cracked hardiplank board (note the singular BOARD) and painted it the same cream as the old board. Got a note from our HOA that we should have filed for a permit.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
Start sending daily email inquiries. Do I need a permit before I move my furniture? Do I need a permit before I change my lawn mower pattern? Do I need a permit to wash my driveway? Do I need a permit to change my seasonal decorations? Every single day. Multiple times a day if possible. Grab the HOA contract and go through it line by line sending emails asking fro clarification on each and every sentence. Then create a shareable google drive with everything and let people know you have the ultimate clarification guide to the HOA. Suggest they email with questions of their own.
#19
I often give my housekeeper clothes to donate at Mexican orphanages. One time I had two huge black garbage bags full, she took one out to her car and left it on the driveway while she went to get the other one. HOA came by and sent me a fine for leaving out garbage. Same housekeeper parked far over on my driveway to leave room for me to pull in and turn into my garage. She left half of her front and back tires off the edge of the driveway and the other half of the tires on the dirt/grass patch next to the driveway. Not a front lawn, just the edge of the driveway. Got a fine for that too. I fought it, they sent me pictures so I know what they saw and proceeded to send out flyers to all the homeowners showing the pictures and fines. Four of us got together and ran for the HOA and won.
Catherine Spencer-Mills 7 months ago
Nah, best choice is to never live anywhere there is a HOA
Load More Replies... Uncle Schmickle 7 months ago
As an Aussie, I'd like to know what the HOA can do if you refuse to pay a fine ?
#20
My roommate and I were the "young ones" in a mostly senior subdivision. As such, we drew the ire of everyone for things like "smoking meat after 9M", "laughter in general", and "having guests park...in the guest area." Fines occured on the regular.
We were often blamed for sound ordinance violations...at times we both were working night shift. The 90 y/o next to us was practically deaf and had an awesome audio system, but no one bothered to suspect him.
Anywho...
We eventually found out that the old couple across from is...the ones we constantly helped out...were the ones making all the compliants, and costing is almost of money.
A******s.
Well, in the middle of Covid they decided to sell. At the last minute their moving company pushed back the packup date. Well, they were in escrow, and this was going to cost them alot.
"Do you know anyone!?!?"
"I think I might..."
I set up a Google voice number, and had my buddy pretend to be a "mover".
And I gave these pricks said number.
My buddy set up their "move" for the last possible weekend before penalties occured.
A*****e couple canceled the other movers.
Well, the friday before said weekend, me and roomie wished them "goodbye", and went on a road trip for the weekend.
Wouldn't you know it? Those d**n movers never showed up. Weird.
Anywho they got hosed on escrow fees in the thousands.
F**k them.
Jonas Fisher 8 months ago
This isn't karma. It's planned and executed revenge.
Load More Replies... Hobby Hopper 8 months ago
I'm all for revenge, but d**n, this is not only malicious but also fraud.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
Meh not fraud. He said he knew some people who could move things for them. He didn't say they were a company, create a contract, get a deposit, or anything else. Just gave them a number where they spoke to someone who wasn't truthful.
Load More Replies... #21
After my dad died the rest of the neighborhood voted to form an HOA and did so. They couldn't force my mom to be a member so they'd have their kids vandalize my mom's home and vehicles by egging the house. When my mom would try to speak to them before calling the cops they'd be all "Well if you were a member..." and when she did call the cops they were all "not s**t we can do"
She might have tried to do more but without my dad's income paying the mortgage was becoming impossible so she sold and moved.
Jan 8 months ago
Some lady on our neighborhood Facebook page put forward that she wanted an HOA because some people were letting their shrubs grow high enough to cover windows. We live in the South where it gets hot and shading your house from the sun helps. Yes curtains help as well but good grief if you want shrubs growing to your roof it's your house and I could not care less what you do with your landscape. Everyone who responded told her absolutely not. I can still imagine her as an HOA president
Christina A Davis 7 months ago
I would have set up cameras, and given pictures to the cops--so they would know who to arrest.
Janelle Collard 7 months ago
That poor woman - her husband died + she was forced out of her home by a**h***s.
#22
Does "exist" count? the fact they EXIST is stupid.
Hobby Hopper 8 months ago
Maybe not for condos, but for single family homes on separate properties? Yes, ludicrous.
Seadog 7 months ago (edited)
I disagree. Even for a condo, unless someone is paying for my home or already owns it, then they have absolutely zero say over anything I do unless I'm creating a health issue or being a nuisance such as loud noises.
Load More Replies... HardBoiledBlonde 8 months ago
HOA's are not necessary if the county, city, etc government in which the development is located has comprehensive laws, policies, rules and procedures, etc and the manpower to investigate, enforce and fine, etc for violations regarding properties and dwellings.
Flavia Slag 7 months ago
When these HOA's pay my taxes and mortgage then they can tell me how to live. Why would anyone pay someone to tell them how to live on their own property?
Michael Largey 8 months ago
Home owners associations are to good neighborhoods what organized religion is to spirituality.
#23
Landscapers aerated the grass around all the condos.
We get a letter a couple of days later about how we were in violation of letting our dog poop all over the grass.
Because cylinders of soil and grass are the same as dog poop.
Explained this to the management company and the violation was removed. The animal haters across the way continued to be awful.
#24
Not me, my parents when I was a teen. My car parked in overflow parking had “satanic insignia” on it. Not sure if the meant the Air Force sticker, the Marine Corps Sticker (my bestie is a Marine) or the Metallica name logo sticker. Hell, maybe it was just the Ford Emblem. 😕.
Seadog 7 months ago
Makes me want to go out and put a death bat sticker on my car right now. Can you imagine what that HOA would do if they found out what happens to the Porsche logo (wheel center) when it's spinning? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OefCxmU5pRo
Marie BellaDonna 7 months ago
OMG thank you for that. The comments are hysterical!
Load More Replies... nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
Satanic insignia are not illegal. Maybe there was an HOA regulation banning them, in which case it would also have to define them.
Seadog 7 months ago
But then the HOA would be in violation of the 1st Amendment and no HOA has that authority. Can you picture some HOA busybody being subpoenaed to a Federal Court for a violating someone's constitutional rights? I'd pay to see that as long as it wasn't being heard by some libtard panty waisted judge, which would be highly likely these days.
Load More Replies... #25
I got a notice saying the stain on my fence was too dark. Made me redo my fence. Then the HOA decided to redo the park fences and used the same color stain and brand. I mailed a notice to them with a bill and stated they owed me and are in violation.
#26
During Covid lockdown, the local high school wanted to celebrate the seniors so they put congrats signs in the yards of the seniors Everyone who got one in ourneighborhood got a notice to take down it against hoa or face a fine!
Snazzy Smurf 8 months ago (edited)
That must have been a miserable group of people to not let others celebrate kids without their being fines.
Michael Largey 8 months ago
Consistency in unreasonableness seems reasonable to some people. (ie, if you catch us doing the right thing once, you might start expecting us to do the right thing again.)
Load More Replies... #27
Someone left their pit bull outside all day. They had one of those short 1 foot fences around their patio so of course eventually the dog jumped over and bit someone.
Because of this, HOA mandated that nobody in the complex is allowed to have ANYTHING on their patio. Only thing allowed is the cement patio itself.
People got together and wrote a petition and went to the board meetings etc so the mandate was eventually scrapped. Success story for once.
Panda Bear 8 months ago
Punish the negligent owner not innocent people who had nothing to do with it
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
Yes. If I'm not mistaken, collective punishment is forbidden by the Geneva Convention.
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Aaron Miller 7 months ago
Dog and owner should be put down. I like dogs. Those that stay home and don't bite.
Mary Kelly 7 months ago
most urban and suburban counties have laws that pets must be leashed if outside...
#28
I lived in an HOA that was so poorly managed that 3 of my neighbors were “delinquent”.
I got divorced and was forced to sell my condo.
When an offer came in, the buyer’s bank refused to loan them money because they had a (common?) lending clause that said that they will not buy into any association that has more than 15% delinquency. My building had 3 delinquencies out of 17 units, meaning they had roughly 17% delinquency.
I could not move out. The HOA refused to forgive or restructure its delinquencies, but ALSO refused to send delinquencies to collections or even CONTACT THE DELINQUENT TENANTS about my issue. They told me “they’re your neighbors, take it up with them yourself.” I found out through this process that one of my neighbors owed almost $7,000 in delinquent HOA fees. My association was missing more than $11,000 in delinquent dues.
The only way I could solve the issue, after delaying my closing date TWICE, was to personally pay off the debt of my least delinquent neighbor (which was around $540) to get my own HOA’s solvency above 85%.
I was in an association that was so mismanaged that no one could join OR leave, without literally paying the price to the penny of their OWN mismanagement.
And they still charged me $900 some odd dollars in “document fees” to leave the association AFTER I paid off my deadbeat neighbors.
I hope my old condo complex is currently crumbling into the pavement.
Regina Holt 8 months ago
Usually HOAs are hounding people relentlessly to pay, pay, pay. You were screwed because your HOA was the exact opposite.
Toothless Feline 7 months ago
That’s gross mismanagement. In an association that small, $11,000 is a huge amount to be short. They’ll be unable to do much maintenance with that kind of shortfall (and in a community of multi-unit buildings, you *will* need lots of regular maintenance). My association has about twice that many units, and we’ve started eviction proceedings for owners who are delinquent by more than one year’s dues. (We don’t just proceed directly to eviction after a year. We contact them after three months’ worth of missed payments, or three late payments in a six-month period, to try to work out a way to catch them up. It’s only if they won’t try to work out a plan or they can’t keep up with one that we escalate to what eventually becomes eviction proceedings.)
#29
HOA president came to my front door and threatened to call the police if I came to the HOA meeting he invited me to, because he found out he spent an hour arguing with me and I wasn't even the homeowner (my folks are, and they were out of town, he assumed). We got into an argument because I called him a, what was it... Ah yes, a f*****g d*****s for paying the new ISP $500,000 when our old ISP bid $0 because they were about to upgrade their infrastructure in the entire state - including our neighborhood. I have had 3 mb/s for a decade and I was actually hopeful I would get at least 100, but no, new ISP had never done residential work and botched install. They then told everyone we would get our same base speed and would have to pay a minimum of $400 a month to get anything better. We also had $100 tacked onto our dues for it.
Guess who went to the HOA meeting that night? Granted, they didn't let me past the sign in desk with the management company, and the manager had a note about me already written down, but I made sure ol' president saw me. After I left and got into my car, the manager kicked over the potted plant holding the door open, slammed the door, and locked it.
We started getting letter after letter about violations. The president would personally drive by our house up to twice a day looking for things to ding us on. Trash cans out 10 minutes after the truck just picked it up? Letter. Bird s**t on the mailbox? Letter. Parents brought the RV home to repair in the driveway for a day or two? Letter each individual day it was there.
My folks shredded every single one. Then we got second letters for ignoring the first ones (they require email response to confirm you've received and understand), and those went in the shredder too. Eventually, my father threatened to have a talk with the president about how he acted on our private property (threatening me with the cops) via the management company, and lo and behold the letters ceased.
The president didn't re-apply for his position the next year.
XenoMurph 8 months ago
Same, people use abbreviations thinking the entire world knows about the little laws and practices in their small corner of the world
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Kit Black 8 months ago
ISP - internet service provider...HOA - Home Owner's Association... mb/s - megabits per second, used to describe the speed of an internet connection...RV - Recreational vehicle... the homeowners association president didn't want the person who knew he was screwing the entire homeowner's group over to be at the meeting where he announced he was going to screw them all over...
Michael Melfa 8 months ago
Sounds like the OP got into a very heated argument with the HOA president because the president paid someone $500,000 to lay new internet cable throughout the neighborhood. Before the new internet it was really slow and free. With the new internet it was the same speed for $100 more to the HOA fees, unless they wanted faster internet it'd be a total of $500 more. The rest is each party threatening to call the cops on each other for harrassment.
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Maples Dad 8 months ago
Well whatever it was I hope it made more sense than this entire story because I can't make heads nor tails of anything I've just read.
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#30
My wife had a house built in a new HOA before we met. I've always been a country boy, so living in a HOA was new to me. I was a DOD Civilian and previously lived about forty-five min from work, married her, and my new drive was one hour and forty-five minutes. Anyway, I'd leave at 5am and return from work 6pm daily.
We had a wet spring the first year I moved here, and our lawn grew like crazy, as well as the dandelions. Even though I worked long hours, I still push mowed the lawn twice a week and did outside work till dark. Lawn looked nice, but we battled dandelions like crazy. I swear we used every chemical known to man that year, even going as far as to pull them individually.
We soon started getting letters about our yard, even started getting pics of our dandelions. Not a casual yard picture, but someone had actually laid in our driveway to take pics at eye level across the yard to show them. My wife would just chuckle and round file the notices, they'd make me so d**n livid I couldn't stand it. I mean, I knew more than anyone we had dandelions, and I had waged war on them, so the letters just added insult to injury.
We got about a letter a week for a little over a month, and my wife just started just tossing them and not saying a word about them to me until they stepped up their game.
Next, we got a threatening letter saying they were going to hire a landscaping crew to come landscape our yard, and we would be billed. We assumed it was over the dandelions, so we just sat on it while deciding what our next move would be. The next week, like clockwork, we received our next letter, and this time, it included a pic, not of our dandelions, but our shrubs. Seems they didn't like the few spots in the shrubs where we had had bag worms sometime before. It wasn't the whole shrub, just spots, and they weren't really that bad. We didn't care for the shrubs or how the builder had placed them, so long-term plans were to eventually replace them with what we wanted.
For me, this letter was my last straw. I backed into my yard, locked my truck into 4 low, and I proceeded to pull every d**n shrub out. Within the hour, we had a six foot pile of shrubs in the bed of my truck. We then filled in the holes and I made sure to leave my truck parked on the curb that night.
We have lots of walkers in our HOA. It's an evening past time here, it seems. I was asked a lot that spring from my neighbor about landscaping, and I explained the situation. I read our covenants several times, and there is no required landscaping besides green grass and lawn has to be maintained. There is one sentence about trees or shrubs needing to be pre-approved, but nothing stating we have to have shrubs. The overall response to my solution over the landscaping was positive...lol
It's been five years now, and even though I did level and landscape brick a spot for shrubs, I still don't have a single one. I'm pretty vocal at the meetings and have become a favorite neighbor to many. I think alot of them live vicariously thru me where my HOA antics are concerned.....lol.
Hobby Hopper 8 months ago
I've never understood why people hate dandelions so much. They look nice, are edible, and support pollinators. Besides, isn't diversity good? Why do you want to live on a putting green with exactly one variety of grass. I say the more species of ground cover the better.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
HOA people want to live the Stepford Wives life. Where everything is uniform, perfectly identical, and utterly soulless. They do not care about pollinators, diversity, or anything other than looking rich and identical.
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#31
My HOA in Fort Wayne, IN prohibited LBGT+ flags so I put up 18 around my property and triggered a bunch of MAGA and Karens but I’m moving to just outside of Chicago for way more money and a lot less Indiana.
Pencil 8 months ago
The HOA can prohibit all flags but it cannot lawfully prohibit one specific type of flag. Particularly one representing a protected class.
Michael Largey 8 months ago
The HOA agreement might say that any flag displayed must be pre-approved by the HOA and the HOA has sole discretion.
Load More Replies... #32
Our neighbors asked to put in a basketball hoop and the board approved it. Now one of the board members did have an issue with it but after deliberation she ultimately approved it. 2 weeks later the homeowner had the city code enforcement officer at their house for a complaint about the hoop. Enforcement officer said it was someone who identified as a board member and calls all the time. The homeowner filed a foia request to get the complaint and sure as s**t the woman put her husband's name on it and filed the complaint. She constantly calls the city to try and get around things the board approves or blames it on other homeowners who "contact" her and complain. The city ultimately told the homeowner the hoop was fine and if the woman tried to escalate it the city would shut her down.
Rosecrucian Roeth 8 months ago
Wouldn't be surprised if that is rescinded before too long.
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#33
Mine wanted to Sue a neighbor for running a senior foster care. They worried about some old mentally unstable person in their neighborhood. The irony that I brought up at the HOA meeting is that most of them would soon need some sort of care. These were the people who had bought when the neighborhood was built in the 60s. Needless to say, their concern was illigal as such a service is protected by law. They still funded her next door neighbor to sue her. The neighbor lost and moved shortly thereafter.
This was after they tried to sue the golf course (and the church) across the main road from the neighborhood entrance because they were worried their lights would shine towards the neighborhood. Why either would shine their lighting away from their own property no one could explain.
Turned out the actual hoa expired in 1968, but they were still running it. They couldn't get enough signatures to make it mandatory, so it was optional. When I reviewed their budget it was 90% legal fees.
Pencil 8 months ago
I hope the senior care center was licensed. Unregulated facilities for vulnerable people are rife with abuse.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
Sadly many of the regulated ones aren't much better. We really need to do more to protect and ensure our seniors receive decent care.
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#34
We applied for permission to build a fence exactly like every other fence in our community. It was not the fence I wanted, but the fence that was allowed. We had small children and our house was on a lake so we needed a fence.
For 4 months they "forgot to" discuss our application at their meetings. I finally just built it and was told that it needed to be taken down. I asked for a reason and they held a meeting in our backyard to discuss it, but couldn't find anything wrong with it. They then spent the next several months finding fault with everything we did. They counted plants in our yard, found fault with the way our garden was mulched...It really was ridiculous. Fortunately we moved that year. We never bought an HOA house again.
#35
Remodeled my bathroom.
HOA demands contractors haul away the waste.
HOA also states you can’t have a dumpster.
HOA angry contractor had a small trailer (smaller than my car) parked in my personal parking spot to haul away the waste from construction.
HOA demanded the trailer was removed immediately.
Kindly told the HOA I’d be happy to park the trailer on the grass if they didn’t want it in my spot.
HOA stopped complaining.
#36
I lived in an 7 story building with condominiums, and was HOA board president (don’t shoot me)! I got a call at my work at lunchtime from a new resident who purchased a unit on the bottom floor and who had a large patio. She demanded that the HOA pay a gardener to pick up the leaves that a magnolia tree was dropping on to her (private, but limited common element) patio. When I told her that leaf pickup for her private use patio was her responsibility, she threatened to have the NAACP sue me for racism. I told her I didn’t know what race she was and asked how it could be racism - she said I was lying because the condo newsletter had featured her recently and mentioned she was a graduate of Howard University, and *of course* I knew she was black because Howard was an HBCU. (Poor, stupid 25 year old white California native-me-had never heard that term before. OMG was I dumb!)
Also - got involved in a lawsuit between 2 unit owners. One (an unemployed lawyer) was suing his next door neighbor for ATTEMPTED MURDER because her cigarette smoke was infiltrating his unit.
I quit and sold the condo soon afterwards. People are weird, and although I loved the building and living “in community”, this was too much for me. Have not lived in an HOA community since.
Pencil 8 months ago
Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Before the Civil Rights Act of 1965, minorities simply didn't have access to higher education so these institutions were founded (as early as 1865) to provide those opportunities. They're all integrated now (as are all schools) but still tend to have "majority minority" enrollment. So this person is saying that because she went to an HBCU, OP should have known she was black. Which is as stupid and racist as saying "I went to Harvard so you should know that I'm white."
Load More Replies... #37
Posted this before. The f*****g ape that headed up the FORMER HoA theatened to put a lien on our home if we didn't pay the $15
for the maintenance of - as the now twice-divorced d*****t called
it - "our beautiful sign".
Said sign is located on the cornerr of a lot that is PRIVATELY OWNED. There are zero amenities in our tiny sub. We refused to
pay anything and then s******d got nasty with us. Many people
over the decades have grossly underestimated the childless
couple in the small house. Much to their own detriment.
We returned the favor. My WIFE printed out his email, along with
a number of relevant articles showing that these f*****g quasi- governmental m***********s have levied liens against people for absolute b******t, then executing a judicial foreclosure on their homes.
38 of 40 homes all got certified mail with this information, along with our letter saying we owed f*****g nothing. After that dropped, fat a*s was seen RUNNING down the street. There were 3 of these idiots involved in this. The HoA was summarily terminated.
The lesson of this little story? Be careful whose cornflakes you p**s in because you never know whose cornflakes you are pissing in. Many people have learned that after tangling with us.
Pencil 8 months ago (edited)
What does the guy being twice-divorced have to do with anything? All property within an HOA is "PRIVATELY OWNED" but was the lot part of the HOA? If not, why was the HOA maintaining it? Is the HOA failing to provide amenities the members are paying for or does this "tiny sub" just not have any amenities? Why is "WIFE" in all caps? The "fat a*s" was so disturbed that residents got letters that he ran off, or was he just going for a jog so he'd be less "fat"? Seems to me that OP is "tangling" with more people than most.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
Yeah and the general attitude of don't f with me I'm a tough guy... ok sweetie you're a tough guy who took down the big HOA. *pat pat*
Load More Replies... #38
We had a non funded hoa in my mom's neighborhood when she moved in. They would tell people the rules and I guess a lot of people listened. Not my mom.
There were no sheds and only wood roofs. Well when time came for a new roof. Asphalt shingles went up. She got a letter about they are not allowed and she needed to replace back to wood.
Letter in the trash.the next month she build a concrete poured shed about 14ft by 20ft. They came and complained during construction. Told them to het lost. She never signed anything joining a hop.
Not long after, multiple homes had sheds out back and Asphalt and metal or steel roofs.
People really don't like silverfish.
#39
We lived an hour outside of Chicago, so we got a lot of snow. We lived in a small culdesac of townhouses. After a big snow the plows made a couple of massive hills of snow that my >10 year old boys were thrilled to climb. The HOA president yelled at them to get off of and told me we shouldn't have bought our townhouse as it was not really an appropriate place for children. I proceeded to tell him to f**k off and there was nothing in the bylaws about it.
#40
They complained about my lawn (3.5” not 3”), so I froze round up in an ice cube tray and threw them in the board members yards/flower beds for over a year before moving.
#41
Not my story but turns out the management company for my parents townhouse had been just pocketing the cash from the HOA fees for up to a year while the entire board just sat on their a*ses. We only found out when the company hightailed it outta there and the new company got a notice from the water company that water was going to be shut off in a week unless they paid the overdue bill of 11k. When people asked if the HOA was going to pursue the old company for embezzlement they just shrugged their shoulders. My parents just moved out because they can’t take it anymore.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
I'm surprised more criminals haven't realized how easy it is to get on an HOA board and embezzle with zero chance they will call the cops.
#42
When I moved in to my neighborhood I quickly realized that the builder retained control of the HOA but hadn’t filed the proper paperwork in 19 years despite the 5 year legal requirement. I attempted to speak with them and they told me I was wrong so I asked to speak with the association’s attorney.
The lawyer never contacted me but we all got mailers about a week later informing us that the builder was turning the HOA over to the neighborhood.
I’m more impressed that there are around 600 houses in my neighborhood and no one figured it out for nearly 2 decades. I generally believe all my neighbors are idiots because of this.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
It does seem like someone would have checked. Were they all just paying the builder money for this?
#43
One year in early spring we got a letter we had mowed our grass too short. It was self-rectifying.
#44
Every house in the neighborhood got a letter demanding all the yards have the wild onions picked within 2 weeks of the letter or be fined.
AtMostAFabulist 8 months ago
I hate wild onions. My neighbor has them because they look nice. I am about to take the nuclear option to keep the spread out of my yard
Lila Allen 8 months ago
You're killing free food? Wouldn't you rather harvest and freeze them?
Load More Replies... #45
I work for a property management company. I once had to fine someone because they had a shopping cart or something hung up in their garage. Not a supermarket one. Like, the collapsible kind that you use to take the stuff from your car into your house. Also, I had to fine someone like $250 for repeated doordash deliveries right to their door. Apparently at that property, they have to meet any delivery in the lobby of the building.
#46
Not my experience, I was watching a house flipping show( zombie house flippers Florida) they got all the permits, started tearing out the old cabinets, when the HOA shut them down because the last owner left without paying fines. Held them up for a month.
#47
Where I live we had a voluntary HOA. Last year the name got changed to a Neighborhood Association because it was voluntary. The main thing it does is keep the common areas looking good and the entrance signs in good repair. We only had one problem person in the neighborhood. I got elected to the board and shut her down very quickly. Dues are $150/year. I've never heard about any fines or things like that in this neighborhood.
I guess it also helps if an elected state representative, county commissioner and state senator live in the neighborhood.
#48
When my condo HOA was forced to spend $450K (twenty years ago) to repair a botched repair done by the s****y property management firm AND refused to sue the property management firm who had the owner's unemployed brother in-law do the repair, in spite of state laws requiring that all repairs must be done by a licensed and bonded construction company. Instead the HOA just billed residents $14K each, payable within one week.
#49
Hoa for 18 years , in the covenant the hoa is responsable for fix and repair roof , payed an extra 5k specially assessment for the neighborhood , most buildings got roof replacement mine has a hole in it … still waiting for fix ..
Lila Allen 8 months ago
Ok this is the first time I've seen or heard of an HOA actually benefitting its members
#50
My neighbor who is on the HOA board said that we weren’t cutting our grass to the right height and they mowed over the property line six inches. So he rang my doorbell at 9 AM on Saturday before he painted the property line and then hung up property diagram from his tree. He continued to paint the property line for weeks and so much more nonsense. It was wild!
#51
Mine has a service that calls you if you get a fine, at least it sounds like a service because they had a foreign accent and I live in the South. The problem was parking of course. They said we were being fined for parking and too many cars. So I gave him a simple math problem. If there are three people on the lease of a three bedroom home with different jobs and needs how many cars are there? then I hung up on him. immediately get a message that they're talking to the homeowner and the HOA. They are currently expanding my driveway.
#52
My mother (who I’m estranged from now so idk if it’s still a problem) lives in an OLD a*s house, in an OLD a*s neighborhood. She’s lived there for the past decade or so. A few years back, she got a notice that the moss growing on the bricks at the front of the house was an HOA violation because it made the house look bad, and she’d be fined monthly if she didn’t clean it off. That moss was THICK, meaning it had been there for a long f*****g time, and this wasn’t something they sent when she first moved in, but years down the line. They also refused to hire a service to sort it out when she pointed this out to them, meaning she had to pay for it (it’s a lower class neighborhood). There was moss on all the house….
What do you think ?
Cee Cee 8 months ago
This whole HOA concept is alien to me as not a thing in the UK. Reading this I think land of the free? Plus the huge and petty ego trips these loons seem to be on... madness!
LakotaWolf (she/her) 8 months ago
I’m an American and I still don’t understand why people willingly buy houses that are part of HOAs!
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Wombat 8 months ago
Australian, and I don't understand how these people are able to issue legally enforceable fines, and to put liens on peoples' homes if even small fines are unpaid. Not only that but the fines seem ridiculously out of proportion for really petty things - like hundreds of dollars a week for a fence slightly the wrong colour. How, and why do people even put up with this nonsense?
Pencil 8 months ago
What all posts like this fail to mention is that the amount of the fines is determined by the HOA board and the HOA board is elected by the members. As an American, we have an all-too-common tendency here to expect our elected institutions to work for us (as they should) but a total unwillingness to participate in them if it's the slightest inconvenience. I mean, just look at how many of us don't bother to vote. So the HOAs get more and more out of control while the residents b***h and b***h but don't bother to show up for meetings or vote in a new board. But honestly, most HOAs aren't like this at all. These are by far the outliers.
Load More Replies... Amelia Jade 8 months ago
For anyone wondering why people are part of HOAs--some of us live in areas where you cannot buy a house that is outside of one. Where I live, it is next to impossible to find neighborhoods that are not part of HOAs. They DO exist but they're not common--and since I live in a massive urban sprawl, we needed to buy somewhere that provided the best commute for work. HOAs are not just groups or clubs formed on a whim by people living in the neighborhood. In our state, HOAs have to be registered as a corporation and are regulated by the state--more specifically, the Real Estate Division of the Department of Business and Industry. If you buy a house within an HOA you are automatically a member, you do not have a choice. The documents regarding it are included in everything you sign when you buy the house. Rules will vary depending on the HOA, but they still have to abide by state law so they can't enforce arbitrary things.
Amelia Jade 8 months ago (edited)
For example--in our state, an HOA would not be legally allowed to tell me I can't fly an LGBTQ flag. They can't enforce rules that impede freedom of speech or expression. Their rules aren't enforceable if they fail to follow proper procedure when enacting rules, or if they exceed their authority, or if they seem to be singling out specific homeowners. Fines have to be shown to be reasonable and related to the violation. From my experience--having been under an HOA for nearly 20 years now--the state takes it all pretty seriously and the HOA doesn't have a lot of wiggle room to abuse their power. We had a few small issues early on but it's been a decade since we've heard from our HOA. But maybe we've been lucky. Maybe I have neighbors with horror stories I'm unaware of.
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Annik Perrot 8 months ago (edited)
I live in à 425 houses "copropriété", and there are rules, mostly about the houses' outward appearance, but the elected "conseil syndical" who runs it, along with a professional "syndic", doesn't have the power to fine anyone. If there are really big problems, they can go to court, but they mostly try to solve any trouble amicably.
Johnnynatfan 8 months ago
I live in an HOA community and I love it here. I will say I am lucky though because our HOA minds their own business and the dues are next to nothing. We pay $200.00 a year and we have a community pool, a community beach and marina. A rental hall and every year the HOA throws a big 4th of July party for the residents with food and drinks ( you have to bring your own alcohol) down at the beach with a DJ. Its free for residents and if you want to bring a guest it costs them $3.00 to get in.
Lana Oro 8 months ago
I LOVE our HOA. They are amazing group of volunteer neighbors who do so much for our gated community. We will have an Easter egg hunt with Easter bunny next week. Tomorrow we will have a food truck and carvel ice cream truck. Santa come in a fire truck, Trunk or treats for Halloween.even though Halloween is so much fun here. We have a 5k Turkey Trot and St Paddy one. We have pie contests, chili contests. Coffee trucks. Summertime bbqs. All they ask is keep your grass cut and rust stains off sidewalks.
For All Pedernity 8 months ago
In Norway we have housing associations, which are democratic and governed by law, and neighborhood associations, but this whole HOA business sounds like madness!
Pencil 8 months ago
HOAs are also democratic and governed by law. The members and the bylaws are all voted on by the members; including the cost of fines, etc. And they have to operate within state and local laws. Some do try to get excessive and they have more legal authority than in other countries but they're the exceptions.
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Cee Cee 8 months ago
This whole HOA concept is alien to me as not a thing in the UK. Reading this I think land of the free? Plus the huge and petty ego trips these loons seem to be on... madness!
LakotaWolf (she/her) 8 months ago
I’m an American and I still don’t understand why people willingly buy houses that are part of HOAs!
Load More Replies... Wombat 8 months ago
Australian, and I don't understand how these people are able to issue legally enforceable fines, and to put liens on peoples' homes if even small fines are unpaid. Not only that but the fines seem ridiculously out of proportion for really petty things - like hundreds of dollars a week for a fence slightly the wrong colour. How, and why do people even put up with this nonsense?
Pencil 8 months ago
What all posts like this fail to mention is that the amount of the fines is determined by the HOA board and the HOA board is elected by the members. As an American, we have an all-too-common tendency here to expect our elected institutions to work for us (as they should) but a total unwillingness to participate in them if it's the slightest inconvenience. I mean, just look at how many of us don't bother to vote. So the HOAs get more and more out of control while the residents b***h and b***h but don't bother to show up for meetings or vote in a new board. But honestly, most HOAs aren't like this at all. These are by far the outliers.
Load More Replies... Amelia Jade 8 months ago
For anyone wondering why people are part of HOAs--some of us live in areas where you cannot buy a house that is outside of one. Where I live, it is next to impossible to find neighborhoods that are not part of HOAs. They DO exist but they're not common--and since I live in a massive urban sprawl, we needed to buy somewhere that provided the best commute for work. HOAs are not just groups or clubs formed on a whim by people living in the neighborhood. In our state, HOAs have to be registered as a corporation and are regulated by the state--more specifically, the Real Estate Division of the Department of Business and Industry. If you buy a house within an HOA you are automatically a member, you do not have a choice. The documents regarding it are included in everything you sign when you buy the house. Rules will vary depending on the HOA, but they still have to abide by state law so they can't enforce arbitrary things.
Amelia Jade 8 months ago (edited)
For example--in our state, an HOA would not be legally allowed to tell me I can't fly an LGBTQ flag. They can't enforce rules that impede freedom of speech or expression. Their rules aren't enforceable if they fail to follow proper procedure when enacting rules, or if they exceed their authority, or if they seem to be singling out specific homeowners. Fines have to be shown to be reasonable and related to the violation. From my experience--having been under an HOA for nearly 20 years now--the state takes it all pretty seriously and the HOA doesn't have a lot of wiggle room to abuse their power. We had a few small issues early on but it's been a decade since we've heard from our HOA. But maybe we've been lucky. Maybe I have neighbors with horror stories I'm unaware of.
Load More Replies... Annik Perrot 8 months ago (edited)
I live in à 425 houses "copropriété", and there are rules, mostly about the houses' outward appearance, but the elected "conseil syndical" who runs it, along with a professional "syndic", doesn't have the power to fine anyone. If there are really big problems, they can go to court, but they mostly try to solve any trouble amicably.
Johnnynatfan 8 months ago
I live in an HOA community and I love it here. I will say I am lucky though because our HOA minds their own business and the dues are next to nothing. We pay $200.00 a year and we have a community pool, a community beach and marina. A rental hall and every year the HOA throws a big 4th of July party for the residents with food and drinks ( you have to bring your own alcohol) down at the beach with a DJ. Its free for residents and if you want to bring a guest it costs them $3.00 to get in.
Lana Oro 8 months ago
I LOVE our HOA. They are amazing group of volunteer neighbors who do so much for our gated community. We will have an Easter egg hunt with Easter bunny next week. Tomorrow we will have a food truck and carvel ice cream truck. Santa come in a fire truck, Trunk or treats for Halloween.even though Halloween is so much fun here. We have a 5k Turkey Trot and St Paddy one. We have pie contests, chili contests. Coffee trucks. Summertime bbqs. All they ask is keep your grass cut and rust stains off sidewalks.
For All Pedernity 8 months ago
In Norway we have housing associations, which are democratic and governed by law, and neighborhood associations, but this whole HOA business sounds like madness!
Pencil 8 months ago
HOAs are also democratic and governed by law. The members and the bylaws are all voted on by the members; including the cost of fines, etc. And they have to operate within state and local laws. Some do try to get excessive and they have more legal authority than in other countries but they're the exceptions.
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