Living in an HOA neighborhood means you should not be surprised to find a nosy Karen or three. So what can you do when one decides that you are going to be the target of their explosive wrath and rage? If she's got the HOA laws on her side, fighting this would be an expensive mess. If you give in, sure, the Karen is going to win, but it's better to take the target off your back than submit to months of war. In short, it's just not worth it. Now, there are a few ways that you can give in while s…

This HOA was so out of line that they tried to get money out of homeowners who were completely outside of their jurisdiction. Usually with these kinds of stories, we take the opportunity to warn our readers to avoid buying any home in an HOA if they can help it, but since these homeowners were given no mention of an HOA in their initial contract, it seems like nowhere is safe anymore. It's one thing when you elect to have to deal with annoying, invasive HOA board members; it's quite another whe…

This resident of an HOA neighborhood decided that the injustice he needed to fight was his right to plant sunflowers. We all have a purpose in life, and sometimes that purpose announces itself in the most unexpected ways. You might think your purpose is to fight for world peace, until your HOA demands that you get rid of the sunflowers you planted and then your true life goals come into focus. The HOA in question insisted that according to the resident's contract, he was forbidden to plant sunf…

Generally, when someone is willing to lend their advice to help you with a problem it's best to listen. Still, no one likes unsolicited advice and that's an important thing to remember when you consider offering it—regardless of whether or not someone is in dire need of hearing it. Those who have elected to proceed without the proper knowledge and precautions are most likely to be the least receptive to listening to other people. Then, if they decide to arrogantly proceed with something that is…

DEFUND HOA. This is a mantra that many homeowners and condo-dwellers have chanted in the streets of their prospective neighborhoods with great fervor for many generations. While the concept of an HOA probably means well–keeping landscaping alive, houses looking pretty, and covering the costs of amenity upkeep–the uniformity of suburban Karens can maliciously overpower even the simplest HOA.

This entitled neighbor had some extreme plans for his landscaping, which included removing massive trees, constructing a 10-foot fence, and leveling the ground extensively. However, his actions did not sit well with his neighbors, the HOA, or even city officials. Despite receiving multiple warnings from his well-meaning next-door neighbors, he refused to consider their advice, believing that his entitlement gave him the right to do as he pleased. Little did he know that his next-door neighbor...

One would think that living in an HOA neighborhood would mean safety and protection, but in reality, it means pettiness and fines. Of course, it’s not easy to get on the good side of HOA board members because these are the folks with Tracy Flick sensibilities, years of under-explored resentment, and backward authority complexes. In short, you can’t make friends with the people who will go out of their way to put you in your place for silly reasons. It’s a waste of one’s time and energy. It’s be…

What would you do if you finally were able to afford a down payment on a new home, so you submitted an offer, but then got the home inspection back and some pretty pricey repairs need to be done? None of the repairs are dealbreakers, but they are annoying and costly. What should your next move be?

Constant proximity to other people—without any recourse or avenues for escape—is maddening. I guarantee, if you were locked in a room, even with your favorite person in the world, it wouldn't take long (and even less time than you'd think) before you'd grow sick of the sight of them and tired of the sound of their voice, wishing their mouth would stay shut every time they breathed. Say now, that you don't even like this person. Worse yet, you have your entire life savings and livelihood investe…

In rural areas, it's not uncommon to have long individual or shared driveways that aren't serviced by public services, instead being completely up to the owner/s to maintain. This can present some tricky situations for the unprepared in areas that regularly or irregularly receive heavy snowfall, where they might wake up one morning and find themselves unable to leave their home.

There are a lot of stressful moments in one's life, but buying a house has to make it close to the top of the list—especially nowadays! Buying a house is not cheap, you're investing more than just a portion of your paycheck, you're investing a lifetime agreement. So to put that ink to paper to make it official can be nerve-racking. It's only natural that you want everything to be perfect before you officially commit.

When you purchase a property, do you intend to follow all the unwritten rules that other neighbors feel “grandfathered” into? What if those rules get your car dinged up or your dog loose? The entitlement to your own private property can be intimidating. And if your good old-fashioned neighborly intimidation tactics don't work, then some extremely entitled neighbors might take it too far. Perhaps even going against the law.

This family decided to stand up for what they believed in… and what they believed in was their right to put a roof on their own home . When you're deciding where you want to live, there are plenty of factors. But one that people don't always take into consideration at first is how the weather will impact them. Now, if you're going to live somewhere like Florida, you'll have to keep that in mind right from the get-go. The weather can be warm and sunny plenty of the time. But it rains multiple ti…

There are some institutions in this world whose sole purpose in life is to be a nuisance to you. A few types of organizations come to mind when rounding out this list. The Department of Motor Vehicles is one. Whoever processes or doesn't properly process your insurance claims also qualifies as a worthy contender. But nine times out of ten, the most common organization people take issue with is their local homeowners association. According to these folks who shared their memorable HOA horror sto…

Kids will be kids, but also petty neighbors will still be petty! In fact, there is perhaps no greater rivalry than a group of rebellious kids and a disgruntled adult neighbor with a knack for being petty. We empathize with this neighbor's predicament here because not only were these kids repeatedly littering just for the fun of it, but if their parents weren't going to teach them a lesson, who was? If not now, when? Am I right, reader? This dude started to discover piles of trash on the sidewal…

One man dismantled his HOA after getting on the board and exacting some well-deserved payback after they gave him ridiculous fines. Why even live in a neighborhood with an HOA? This person explained why he felt he had no choice, as the neighborhood he chose to buy a house in had the lowest HOA rates in the city, the fewest rules, and most importantly, the house was listed well within his budget. After a few weeks, OP began regretting his decision, because he was fined for two things… One, his l…