Every US person has an innate right to private property, which is guaranteed in the Constitution. But it is with this that three utterly mystical letters are linked, behind which certain individuals very legally dictate to homeowners what they should and should not do. What do these three letters stand for? HOA! This story below demonstrates exactly how arrogant and cheeky HOA can be these days. A tragic encounter between one individual and a heartless bureaucratic machine…Read the story and how would you deal with such a situation.
Source: Reddit
I inherited a house a few years ago after the passing of my grandfather. The timing was perfect as I had just graduated and it wasn’t that far from the area where I wanted to work.
About 2-3 years ago a development company bought a bunch of surrounding property to build a semi-gated community. The fence for the community ends a good few yards away from my property but isn’t closed all the way.
Now that people have moved in I’ve been getting HOA letters about fees, my lawn, and my house paint. I tried emailing the HOA president but they never got back to me.
I crashed the last meeting they had and explained that my house wasn’t part of the neighborhood and therefore not part of the HOA. The president and board members tried to say that I was because of how close my property is.
It isn’t, and I have documentation from the development company and the county saying it isn’t. After the meeting the president emailed back and said that regardless of the particulars I should still try to conform to the rest of the community because I was bringing property values down.
I know that I was very lucky in getting my home and I don’t want to negatively affect others, especially considering the current market.
Am I Wrong for not listening to the HOA? Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted:
