Family is difficult, perhaps even one of the most difficult things—even when the relationships are fairly “traditional” and straightforward. Let's be honest, though: what is straightforward? Is there even really a straightforward when it comes to family? The reality is that there hardly ever is, and the ones that pretend

Every so often, you come across a story where a resident managed to successfully pull a fast one on their HOA. Obviously, this is a rare occurrence. The vast majority of our HOA stories involve residents getting into failed legal battles with entitled Karens who have nothing better to do than enforce unnecessary rules and regulations. However, here, we have a Redditor who discovered a loophole in his HOA policy and worked to exploit said loophole from the inside. As a board member himself, the…

It’s rare to see someone successfully get back at their HOA these days, but as it turns out, miracles can happen and this dude really worked wonders. After he was fined a nonsensical $1500 for taking a plank of wood down the communal elevator despite there being no other mode of transport, he decided that the best way to get even with these guys was to mess up their elevator without any trace of evidence that could get back to him. He did this by planting mini sound emitters that would erupt in…

"He's also a landlord for another property and knows that you need to keep heat on at least 60 to be legal and up to code."

Full anarchy

There's nothing worse than being forced to clean up someone else's mess. These new homeowners assumed everything was good to go regarding compliance with HOA rules and regulations. However, just three months after buying the home, they were suddenly slapped with a ton of HOA fees for violating the bylaws. They tried to communicate that they had not made any adjustments to the house since they purchased it and therefore should not be held accountable for violations that the previous owner must h…

We all answer to a higher power, but the more that we can pretend we don't and have some control and agency over our own lives, the happier we tend to be. Whether it's the plain old government authority boss, coach, parents, or that pesky HOA having or at least feeling like you have some control over your own life, the better you're going to feel about it.

HOAs can be a real pain, especially when you're not even part of them, and they're STILL hounding you. That's what happened to one homeowner who kept getting complaints from a neighboring HOA that he didn't even belong to. The HOA kept pestering him to trim back his tree, but he refused. So, in true HOA fashion, they took matters into their own hands and came over without permission to cut back the limbs. But instead of just taking it, this guy decided to stick it to the HOA in the best way pos…

No one should have to take orders from people who aren't even legitimate authority figures. This resident of a neighborhood was smart enough to question the bylaws of his HOA and ended up discovering a loophole that allowed him and other members of the neighborhood to remove themselves from the association altogether. So many folks have to grin and bear it when it comes to the rules and regulations of HOAs, so it's rare and wholesome when we come across a story in which a resident barely even h…

The local HOA board members could not have been more frustrated with this guy. However, the cherry on top of it all is that he wasn't technically part of the HOA at all, so all their pleas for him to comply with their nonsensical rules went unheard, and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. This Redditor had initially asked to be a part of the HOA when he first moved into the neighborhood so that his kids could play in the neighborhood pool and playground. He was willing to pay t…

City living is a different beast than other kinds of living; the high-density population leads to close proximity to other people at pretty much all times. Also, offering the unique opportunity to live in an apartment directly above a business like you're in some sort of 90s sitcom. While living in a sitcom sounds nice, the fact remains that in this type of living situation, even in your own bed, you're only really a few feet away from another person, either next to, above, or below you—separat…

"I told them I'd take that recording to the dean if they didn't make things right."

What's the craziest color you'd consider painting your home ? Neon pink? Lime green? Electric yellow? There are so many possibilities, as one couple found out while they were challenging their HOA . This HOA member was truly a busybody with nothing better to do than critique other people's life choices. Joan was the “busybody president” who made a lot of assumptions about her neighbors. She was rather unkind in accusing her neighbors of keeping a renter in their home against HOA policy . Well,…

Up next, these scorned exes got some very petty revenge on their former partners , like one person who admitted they “took all of the knobs and handles off of everything—TV, dresser, stereo...”

This HOA member has never learned to mind her own business! It's free and it keeps you out of trouble, not to mention the peace of mind you gain from not having to worry about other people's problems in life. But some people really enjoy getting into other' people's business: they like to be a bit bossy and try to get everyone to conform to their exact wishes. This woman, an HOA member that u/Emancipatedtreesnake keeps running into, has a completely petty gripe. She doesn't think this person's…

Ew, no one wants to go swimming in a green pool . It happens to every pool owner at some point: you go a few days without adding chlorine, and one morning you awaken to a pool full of bright green algae. The good news is that it's often an easy fix: you just need to shock the pool with some chlorine, or find a pool maintenance person to do it for you. But this person, u/Otherwise_Hunt7296, realized that their green pool problem might take a bit longer to solve than they'd planned. It's all due…