HOA board members cannot really get much more heartless than this. While the family of a matriarch was in the midst of their grieving, Ed (the HOA representative) decided that now would be the right time to bother them about their mother's late fees. The truth of the matter was that even if the family wanted to pay those fees now, they couldn't because the courts had not yet ruled about the particulars of their mother's estate, but that answer was not enough for little old Ed. He kept bothering…

Here is one of those rare instances in which an HOA was on the right side of an issue. You know that you're a major problem if everyone else in the neighborhood agrees with how your HOA dealt with you. This neighborhood had two desired parking spaces, one of which everyone unanimously agreed belonged to an elderly neighbor. The other space was hogged by an annoying resident, who would go out of his way to ensure that no one ever snagged his spot. Well, his stubborn nature got him absolutely now…

Why would anyone want to be an HOA board member? That's just a one-way ticket to immediately becoming one of the most disliked people in the neighborhood. I'm convinced that some people in this world would rather be in the most unnecessary, fake position of power, even if it meant making all the enemies. We feel this even at a young age when classmates try to hog the playground and assume some sort of faux position of power. This also applies to the annoying teacher's pets in school and your hi…

For one South Carolina homeowner, HOA rules just weren't acceptable. His case is totally understandable: why would you want an association to meddle with your property? Why is it any of their business in the first place? HOAs, or Home Owner's Associations , are known to be meddlesome groups. They're usually run by local people who police the properties in their area heavily. They can issue fines for things like parking in one's own driveway, or having the wrong mailbox type, or painting one's h…

If HOAs want to enforce pointless rules, then they better be prepared for people to expose just how pointless said rules are. Here, we have a guy who just wanted to paint his house a light green color but did not realize that the HOA had to approve the color. When the head of the HOA came by to discuss the paint job, he purposely left out this reminder so that the resident could later be fined for not complying. That’s when the resident decided to get petty in return. He proceeded to submit doz…

If you can help it, never move into a neighborhood that is home to an HOA. The name of an HOA, or Home Owner's Association, implies that it's a board that'll make sound decisions for the homeowners of an area. But in practice, that's so far from the truth. In reality, HOAs are run by a few people who make sweeping decisions for an entire area, and are often more focused on keeping control over people's homes and charging massive fines to line their own pockets. They're able to do things like ch…

Everyone has a dirty little secret hiding somewhere on their property—sometimes it's that project car that hasn't moved for months (and that probably will never be finished), and sometimes it's your neglected fountain in your backyard that has become less of an aesthetic water feature and more of a mosquito breeding ground. And it's only natural to be vaguely annoyed by these oversights on the part of your neighbors, as—when you're locked eternally into a plot of land in (relatively) close prox…

Being cautious and conscientious about where you're buying property is extremely important. Ensuring that you're aware of any zoning, environmental hazards, or other possible issues ensures that you're going to not only make a good investment but enjoy a peaceable existence in your new home as well. Future-proofing is important too. Of course, you can't control all eventualities, but the last thing you want to do is get caught out, unaware that you were buying next to a plot of land that could…

You never think the worst case scenario could happen to you, until it does…

If you've ever wondered what you could do to make a pizza parlor blacklist you, check out this story. I know what you're thinking: what do you mean you can get blacklisted by a pizza place? Aren't they supposed to deliver to wherever you tell them to when you place your order? I was surprised to learn that they can and will ban people from ever ordering again. I thought that was something managers reserved for teenagers who prank call them with giant pizza orders sent to addresses that don't ex…

Isn't it great when karma gives you a front seat?

First-time home buyers have over-inflated confidence in their DIY skills

Having an HOA board member as your next-door neighbor can definitely make you feel like you're constantly being watched. It seems like the kind of thing a homeowner should be made aware of prior to signing anything. Think of it as feeling like your boss is hovering over you all day every day, waiting for you to make a mistake. However, instead of this being in your office, it's in your home. This Reddit thread was posted by a homeowner who received an aggressive email from their HOA Karen neigh…

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…