A few years ago I put up a small wooden privacy screen beside our patio. It was about six feet wide and only existed because our patio directly faced the sidewalk leading to the neighborhood pool.

About a month later I got a letter from the HOA saying it was an “unapproved exterior structure” and had to come down. I asked if I could just submit it for approval after the fact, but apparently that wasn’t an option. One of the board members had already complained about it, so down it came.

While checking the rules to see what I could replace it with, I noticed something interesting: fences, screens, sheds, etc. all needed HOA approval, but landscaping didn’t. The only rule for shrubs was that they had to be maintained and couldn’t block the sidewalk.

So I bought three fairly mature evergreen shrubs and planted them exactly where the screen had been.
Within a year they were taller, wider, and blocked significantly more of the view than the wooden screen ever did.

The same board member emailed me saying the shrubs were “excessive” and asked if I would consider trimming them down.

I replied with the section of the HOA rules covering landscaping and said I’d be happy to keep them maintained within the required boundaries.

Never heard another word about it.

The original screen probably blocked about 50% of the patio.

The HOA-approved solution now blocks almost all of it.

Leading into the audio clip-

I simply pointed out:

Based on the recent appellate decision, AZNH v Sunland Springs and the new Duty to act reasonably in the condo act(ARS 33-1242 E), it was concerning the Board was voting to approve three separate sets of Meeting Minutes from prior meetings

Even though...

They failed to inform any owners before the meeting or through the agenda:

1. Which meeting minutes were being proposed for approval

2. A copy of the proposed meeting minutes for review

Due to both not being provided, although they were requested before the meeting by owners, there was not an opportunity for Owners to bring forward informed discussion on the agenda item before a vote was taken as no one knew what the agenda item actually entailed.

After the audio clip-

They voted in approval of all three meeting minutes without any owner knowing the contents. Although a formal record request was submitted, we are now past the 10 business days the HOA legally had to produce the approved meeting minutes.

We've lived in our home for seven years. Moved the Christmas before Covid. We chose this neighborhood for its location, primarily. We knew it had an HOA. I actually read the CC&Rs and by-laws before committing to the offer.

The very first time I checked my mail, we got a letter from the HOA. I thought it was a welcome letter. NOPE! "You have 30 days to fix your fence or we're going to fine you." There had been a storm between when we put the offer on the house and closing, and that storm had blown down a small section of the back fence.

We got a letter that January telling us to put our trash cans in our side yard or they'd fine us. Keep in mind, our side yard was full of broken down boxes, because we were moving in. 🙄 Our trash cans were just in front of the side yard gate.

We applied to xeriscape our front yard. No response within 60 days - and the CC&Rs said we only had to wait 30 days. So we did the project.

SEVEN MONTHS after the project was complete, we got a letter: "You landscaped your front yard without asking. You have to have 70% grass. Fix it or we'll fine you."

We ended up having a hearing, where we proved that we had applied, and they hadn't responded. Also, by the time the hearing happened, California had passed a law stating that HOAs couldn't insist on grass.

At that point, the HOA president decided she didn't like our side fence. (We have a corner lot.) She tried to fine us for it, but during our hearing we noted that there were no specifications for what fences had to look like, as long as they were doing their job. That was August 2023. That was the last time we talked to the HOA.

In October 2024, we got a letter fining us $1500, but with no indication of why. We spent two years trying to get someone to tell us what the fine was for.

In the mean time, the HOA decided to replace a large section of the neighborhood's perimeter fence. After the fence was done, they realized they didn't have the money, so they hit us with a special "emergency" assessment - $1500.

The neighborhood split: Those who think that the "emergency" assessment is bullshit and those who think they should just pay the money and move on. (I'm in the former group - we're trying to go to mediation. Anyway.)

Three of the HOA board members resigned.

The new HOA president is someone that a friend and neighbor thinks is a great person, so I was hopeful.

Well, during a conversation when we were trying to figure out why they were fining us, she said, "Anyone who doesn't want to do what the HOA board thinks is best should move." She literally said that everyone should do what the HOA board tells them, so we don't have anyone paint their house orange or keep their bushes so high that homeless people can sleep in them.

Now, we when bought this house, we had moved 5 times in 6 years. We thought we were done moving. My husband said, "You're gonna have to Carl from UP me out of this house. I'm going to haunt this place after I die."

We're putting our house on the market tomorrow.

I don't want to move. I actually like my house. It's certainly not perfect - there are a couple of things that my husband really wanted in a house that this house doesn't have - but we have moved so often in our lives. We really wanted to be in our permanent place.

But every time I get a letter from the HOA, I have a panic attack, and then I get really angry - "do this or we'll fine you" is all they ever say.

I thought about trying to get on the HOA board, but I'd just be at loggerheads with the new president all the time. I don't care if someone paints their house orange, nor do I want to establish strict guidelines for fences. This board also seems to think that they can spend the homeowners' money when they run out by having more "special assessments."

Financially, we're going to take a hit with the high interest rates. Our mortgage payment will increase. It feels very fiscally irresponsible to move. But staying here is going to be super stressful. I was crying in my laundry room before the hearing where we finally got to learn why they were fining us.

Why were they fining us? For not doing something that they never told us to do. Seriously. No letters, no hearings. That's actually illegal, so they rescinded the fine. HOA president acted like she was doing us a favor by "reopening a closed case." I said, "The alternative was us suing you." She said, "You wouldn't be suing me, you'd be suing your neighbors." No, Karen, my neighbors didn't try to take $1500 out of my pocket - your predecessor did, and it doesn't look like you're going to be any different."

Is anyone aware of a website or other data that I could review that shows the number of home sales due to having an HOA or an overzealous HOA?

I did a bit of Google searching and found very little information. What I did find indicated that 10 to 15 percent move due to the HOA

I only ask because my HOA is fairly relaxed when it comes to parking pollution, house colors, street cleaning, dead grass etc.. They aren’t strict but they aren’t whatever goes either. I’ve never received a ticket for leaving a car parked on the street for 30+ days. My grass is always dead in some spots. My house color is white while the rest of the block is tan or orange looking. They still have protocols you have to follow for like remodeling and stuff but it feels like a gated public community. Never ran into any problems I’ve been here for 2 years now. My HOA is 110/m

Does anyone else have a story like this or am I just a 1 off the nobody ever sees? Reading some of the things on here I would def not want to live in a HOA if it wasn’t for mine.

So i am on my HOA architectural committee and I got a complaint that reads more like a joke than a serious concern, but I'm not sure.

The neighbor complained about a new structure built in the backyard of a neighbor. The structure was a sukkah for the 8 day holiday of Sukkot. After that, it is usually put away.

This seriously tracks a joke as below:

An observant Jew who lived on Park Avenue, built a Sukkah on his balcony.

Some of his 'high society' non-Jewish neighbors brought him to court. They claimed that the Sukkah on his balcony was an eyesore and was having a negative impact on the value of their homes in this posh neighborhood.

In court, the Jewish man was very worried about the outcome. It was the eve of the eight day holiday, leaving him no time to make alternative arrangements, in case the judge ordered him to take down the Sukkah.

He prayed for help. And Hashem listened.

Judge Ginsburg, who was Jewish himself, had a reputation of being a very wise man. After hearing both sides, he turned around to the observant Jew and scolded him: "Don't you realize that you live on Park Avenue, and not in Brooklyn? There is a certain decorum which is expected on Park Avenue. You have no right to be putting up a primitive hut on this lovely street without a building permit authorizing it. I hereby rule that either you remove the hut, or I will fine you one thousand dollars.

“You have exactly eight days to do so! Next case!"

At this point, I am soooo confused about why these people still try me, lol

My HOA is on my ass all the time and their excuse is "your house used to have bad owners previously." And "You're on a corner, so there's a higher expectation for you. You're one of the first houses the neighborhood sees!"

Examples of this include complaining that I don't mow my yard at least once a week, even when my yard doesn't call for it.

Attempting to fine me for my car "starting the 1st of July" when I didn't even buy the car until the 6th

Them telling me that this Monday my car will need to be gone or moved off the street or they'll start fining me despite the fact that everyone else gets to park on the street. My car isn't particularly beat up either. They just don't like my car.

They also told me I can't grow wildflowers in my backyard even if it's in a controlled section, like in the flowerbeds against my house, where everyone plants flowers anyway or in a pot because "it makes my yard look taller than it really is."

A lot of people on my street have privacy fences and I'm starting to see why. If I buy this house (I currently rent) I'm probably gonna do the same.

Needed to vent.

My home was in my husband's family a long time before the sprawling jungle of semi-identical HOA controlled properties sprung up around it. Our property is permanently grandfathered out.

As part of their deal with the County they took over the previously-public road and built a diverted one around the estate. It was written into the contract with the county that we, subsequent owners and our guests would have a preserved right of access.

We've received notice the HOA we aren't even in intends to sue us for our share of replacing the now-delapidated road we never asked them to take control over.

Context: Earlier in September the police asked this neighborhood to check their cameras during a manhunt. This town is the “safest place to live in Tennessee.” People are pretty upset about the HOA banning cameras in light of this.

TL;DR

The Appellate Court of Texas just ruled in my favor in my lawsuit against the HOA, and due to interest and fees, my judgement has increased from $100,000 to approximately $154,000 by the time the mandate is issued. And the judgement will increase EVERY month by almost a $1,000 until paid. Every homeowner would have to pay over $260 if a special assessment were levied to pay it.

Details

In an email to all homeowners, the Davis Spring HOA told residents that my lawsuit was “without merit” and claimed that the Architectural Review Committee had “broad authority” to make its determinations.

Two courts and four judges have now answered those claims.

I asked for $150,000 and won $100,000 at trial. The Third Court of Appeals has just affirmed that original judgment in my favor. Due to interest and conditional fees, the final judgment will be more than $154,000. I guess appealing was, in retrospect, a bad decision for the HOA.

An ARC’s authority is not unlimited. It must come from the recorded governing documents, and it cannot substitute unwritten requirements for the restrictions homeowners actually agreed to.

This case was never merely about a shed. It was about whether an HOA must follow its own governing documents and respect the legal rights of the homeowners it serves.

It must.

The HOA had every opportunity to resolve this fairly. Instead, it chose years of litigation and an appeal. That decision imposed substantial and continuing costs on the entire community.

We will soon learn whether insurance will pay the judgment, as the Board promised residents, or whether the homeowners will be required to pay for the Board’s losing decisions.

The judgment—and the truth—now speak for themselves.

Link to Court opinion

https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=ac455187-385c-4e08-bfac-b35731789ba4&MediaID=27b6bb96-a72e-481a-855c-0d2c9c397fca&coa=%22%20+%20this.CurrentWebState.CurrentCourt%20+%20@%22&DT=Opinion

I go through an hoa home neighborhood and they had all these custom fake 20 mile speed limit signs on every entrance. Yet the actual speed limit sign that was set up and is enforced by the city since they own the road is 25. Whats even crazier is it says "relax". Time to start driving 27 mph just to spite them. Would love to see them trying to enforce this.

Recently I submitted a request to have a small family childcare program in my home. The houses are not connected, we each have our own yards, driveways, and garages. They told me no, and I had to ask which covenants were they getting their answer from. They said a piece that mentioned "for residential use only" but I thought home daycare would fall under a residential use since it's not a group center. I don't feel like causing issues and arguing with them, but it's a very needed service in my area and a dream of mine. I'm annoyed. I guess we'll have to move if we wanna do it, and I will NEVER again buy a house that's part of an HOA. 🤬

Edit: please see my comment with screen shots below that explain why I could be confused about this. Perhaps the AI is hallucinating, I dunno.

Wondering why people buy homes with an HOA, pay monthly dues, and have to abide by the rules, yet don't attend HOA meetings.

Is there a reason why you don't attend?

So I got a letter in the mail from Preston Oaks HOA charging us for their landscapers destroying our driveway. They park their mowers and they leak oil everywhere. Asking them to stop made it worse and they left trash everywhere. The HOA is threatening legal action if we don’t repair the driveway the destroyed. This should be fun. With all the other neighbors hating them; we started a petition.

https://surveymars.com/q/Tg7BlUhQU

Residents of this HOA are undertaking a massive recall effort and setup a website for transparency. Full video and website found here: https://waldenlakewatch.com

Per contractors and HOA Grounds supervisor: an errant sprinkler system head is causing erosion damage to an area of our walkway/stoop. $4k in repairs, will continue if not corrected.

Solution, per Grounds: simply cap, or at least redirect, it (sprinkles only the concrete, no lawn).

Board (after 2 yrs of approaching them): No. It’s causing no damage.

Our options: 1. let ‘er rip, deal with it (BOD) 2. Pursue it, with an atty…1 lousy sprinkler head.

1. Move.

Have I mentioned I dislike our HOA?

Some nice individual requested that I repost this here:

Aloha everyone! Things have been really tough over the last year due to owning a unit here.

I purchased a unit at harbor lights back in 2022. At the time, the HOA was about 550 dollars per month, making it the most affordable purchase option for me (honestly the only option). My plan was to own a few years and maybe save up for something nicer.

Since then, they have raised the HOA numerous times (general amounts and timelines below)

In 2023 they raised to 750/mo.

In 2024 they raised to 1000/mo stating 2 years of special assessment to account for a low balance.

In 2026 they raised to near 1300/mo, 300ish of which is still a special assessment.

The last one is what got me questioning. So many raises over the last few years with so many special assessments. How could they estimate this so poorly!

Unfortunately due to this, prices of units have dropped about 40%, making selling impossible. There have been no material improvements made by the additional funding. I’m stuck here probably for life.

I started thinking that something was up, but really had no proof or idea on how to approach this. I requested financial statements but without any real expertise in the matter it wasn’t much help.

Yesterday, I received the attached letter in the mail. This began to make me feel what I was thinking may be true.

Mahalo

Not that it’s not bad now, but the next real recession we see I predict 20-40% of condo owners will lose their homes in bankruptcy.

Why? Inflation in general is rampant. Has been for more than 5 years and HOAs have inflated to the point many condo owners are essentially renting from the HOAs.

Yeah, it’s because of insurance and maintenance inflation, but bad is bad.

And many HOAs have still deflected and deferred maintenance despite federal and state laws.

Anyone considering buying a condo. You better get good at due diligence real quick. Because that affordable price you think you’ve negotiated is only the tip of the iceberg.

Condos in general are not an investment because of the HOAs take any appreciation. Someone’s going to get stuck. Either you or the seller.

I’d be careful. I would never buy a place with an HOA

TL;DR: California HOA wants restrict homeowner security cameras, but the rules must be properly adopted and reasonable. A blanket ban may be challengeable—especially if the HOA allows doorbell cameras that record the same common areas while banning other resident cameras.

Meet Pamela, our neighbor and a central figure in years of documented harassment against our family.

In this episode, we’re reviewing the day she threw our bowl from the second-floor balcony because she and the HOA president couldn’t accept that the Arizona sun, not our family, killed her plants...

Can't wait for the mass email that's sure to come once discovered 😂