A little background: one of the members on the board constantly breaks the rules and gets zero repercussions, but will be the first person to jump on any excuse to enforce the rules on others, especially my family and other families that aren't exactly white (this has been a pattern and not even speculative). Our neighbor is an old cunty woman that used to be friends with us, but ever since she joined the HOA she's basically been observing us to the extent that we've been forced to change how we park, have gotten consistent letters for bullshit like weeds and noise, and as of last night TOWED OUR CAR.
SO the car towing is the final straw, the first member i mentioned that breaks the rules parks on the street in front of the houses for up to like 8 hours and doesn't get a single warning, and does this almost daily. My sister parked her car at the dead end of the street (Directly in view of our house and the cunt ladys house) and within 3 hours she got towed, costing us alot of wasted time and out about $220. So with bullshit warning and everything we've had to deal with over the last year our family is easily out like $400-$500.
I'm looking for ways to make this bitch suffer in some very petty and annoying ways
You first need to go thru the HOA rules line by line and document board members adherence. That’s fodder for board election time.
We just had an election and listed off EVERYTHING, nothing changed and the people we put forward to make changes didnt get elected
Are you sure the HOA actually has jurisdiction on the street regarding normal passenger vehicles? My HOA can’t do a damn thing about regular passenger vehicles, only trailers/RVs, and commercial vehicles.
HOA rules don’t supersede laws
Who maintains the street? If it is a city street the HOA rules are of no relevance....city/county takes priority
Yea in my area the hoas are allowed to limit like trailers/giant commercial vehicles like an f-650, but not passenger vehicles. The city maintains the roads but I’m pretty sure our HOA rules regarding trailers on the street are the same as the city law anyway
side note... i didn't even know there WAS a f-650 lol thought they only went up to 450s
https://preview.redd.it/qh41a2qfxy6g1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9aa7f968a2bd7448b457857ae26c09aa6ea1239
Yup! We all need one of these parked in front of our houses! LOL!😝
Yea there’s even Chevy and Ram 6500 series too lol. Used to drive an f-650 with a long ass stake bed on the back when I worked for a landscaper
How many years before we get the f-1000?
lol, the numbers dictate the series (1-9?) an 8 series is a standard eighteen wheeler. I think 6 is the biggest you can drive without a CDL in the states
So 8 is the largest? Sounds like we can go even further beyond... Twice
Also, there's gotta be someone out there that modded their truck and rebadged it to a f-420
While this is r/fuckHOA, that statement, while true, is misleading.
When you purchase in an HOA, you are making a private party agreement. That agreement can certainly have restrictions that you agree to. For instance, it can say that you agree to not park on a particular street for over a certain amount of time. In most states, this is still binding. They can fine you for it. Towing your car is something that they generally can only do on a private street that they own.
You cannot sign away certain specific rights, but you can sign away quite a bit in a private contract. That's why you better be damned sure of what you are signing away when you move into an HOA.
That makes sense on like real specific not every-day stuff, but like if the street is taxpayer funded, city owned and maintained, there’s no gate, I don’t see how an HOA can restrict passenger car parking. What if the city specifically has a local ordinance that allows street parking in reidential areas? What if the person parked there isn’t a resident? They haven’t signed their rights away. And again, normal stuff, parked for a few hours or whatever. Not talking about leaving a broken down truck on blocks with a 3 year out of date registration parked in the street.
Some developments transfer ownership of the streets back to the municipality to own and maintain after a subdivision others don’t, gated or not.
That wouldn’t fall under “city owned and maintained” then would it?
In Washington state 20 years ago (when I lived there) that was 100% correct. HOA escalated to towing cars, HOA got sued and lost every single case over the next few months, then couldn't get the votes to levy an assessment to cover the losses until the sitting board members resigned.
No. A private entity cannot enforce anything on state property unless they are contracted by the state to do so. So unless the city gave the road to the hoa, not gonna happen.
I also would like to point out most HOA board members are cunty
HOA board members are elected. Don’t elect cunty people to the board and you won’t have cunty people on the board.
They will often come across as decent people,until they get a taste of power, then that's when their true colors finally comes out.
Sure. Absolutely.
But their power is derived from the consent of the governed. Get enough people to show up and they will usually back down. If they don’t, recall them.
They are elected with tiny fraction of votes. Usually no other options. They become cunty-er when they get elected and 5hink they have power
They _do_ have power...they were elected.
If you want other options, run better candidates. I don't know what the governing docs at your HOA specify, but everywhere I've lived, any homeowner can run for the board. Sometimes renters are allowed to run as well.
Low voter turnout isn't the board's fault (usually).
Run a good candidate and get out and campaign for votes.
Yore missing the point. It's not a fair election. They can win with 5% votes. They make their own election rules. Residents don't want to run or have to play fucking politics at their home which is supposed to be a place of peace.
This is fuck hoa sub, not defend hoa and blame residents.
Get out of hoa, don't play politics for some bullshit delusion of power.
I take it, from your response, that you have been on an hoa board.
I would gladly elect a person to government but fuck anyone who wants to control the trim color of my house. The really fucked part is if they don't like the color they can forclose your fucking home. Karen says my house is beige when I say it's white and now they can forclose on u paid fees.
"They can win with 5% votes"
I assume you mean you don't need a majority of the association to vote for a particular candidate, you just need a majority of whoever votes. Usually there's a quorum requirement....maybe that's 5% in your HOA? So...if 5% of the association votes, it is a valid election and the winner is the one with the most votes. Yes?
If so, our HOA is similar, but quorum requires 10% of the association to vote. And that's a perfectly fair election.
And yes...I'm currently on my HOA board. TBH, I don't want to attend HOA meetings, much less prep for and preside over them. (Or deal with the incessant whining.) But, I couldn't get anyone else to run so here I am. I ran because the board was entirely populated by power-hungry jackasses, they were doing a lot of stuff behind closed doors, meeting minutes were really vague and not posted until 6+ months later, and they were trying to force through some stuff that a lot of people didn't want.
If you don't want someone controlling what color you paint your trim, don't move into an HOA neighborhood where the association has authority over such things. Or figure out what the process is for changing the governing documents so they no longer have that authority.
Given the choice, I'd be somewhere more rural where my neighbor can't even see my trim, much less fine me because they don't like the color of it. But I wanted other things that only come in HOA neighborhoods in my area and those things were more important to me at the time. Then my HOA board started being shitheads, so we organized the association, ran three of them off (resigned), recalled a 4th, and made a lot of changes to make the board and the management company more responsive and accountable to the association.
I mean...those are your choices.
1. Don't live in an HOA neighborhood
2. Live in one and do the work to make the HOA what you want it to be
3. Live in an HOA neighborhood that you don't like and then just bitch and moan about it.
Obvious
Sometimes we don't start out cunty but have to become so. I have no interest in micro-managing anyone's yard or home. We just want everyone to keep the yards reasonably neat and get pre-approval for major modifications as required by the CC&Rs. It's a fairly new neighborhood and we want it to stay nice. Apparently that's just asking too much.
So we have all the Karens complaining about the weedy, overgrown yards and those homeowners complaining that it's their property and they can do what they want. We get caught in the middle and have to get cunty with grownups who are throwing toddler tantrums about mowing.
You DO, inherently have an interest in micro-managing others’ yards AND homes. You’re just not a very good person. That’s it.
Please don't use that name as a slur.
Huh? “Cunty” or “Karen”?
Which one is an actual name that 2 million people have, none of which asked to have their name trashed by society and used to mean every horrible behavior?
Oh, you must mean Cunty McCuntface. Popular name in Australia and Scotland
Don't know if that's a real comment or a troll comment, but I didn't mean that and I'm not familiar with it.
I’m a board member. I’m a bit cunty. Okay, I’m a lot cunty,
I have no cunt, but I can be a dick when people don't follow the rules they legally agreed to by purchasing a unit in our HOA. You park in the street overnight (private streets owned and maintained by the Association) we will absolutely tow your car. That said, we don't seek these violations out. They're usually reported (via complaint) by other Association members.
Why do you care so much? Like I get it if someone is violating rules egregiously over and over, but why do assholes like you go out of your way to care? Second question is how do you deal with the fact everyone hates people like you so much so, they made a whole reddit to talk shit about your kind?
?
Like what does it matter if someone parks in the street over night because they had a guest? Who does that hurt? What kind of people worry about it so much they report their neighbor for such a thing unless it's a constant problem? Or blocking their mailbox etc.....
Photography is your friend.
Take a video of her violations and show it at the meeting.
Rules cannot be enforced on one person and ignored for others, that is why they are there. Document all her violations and bring it up at a board meeting.
Call her out at next meeting. If OP or other home owner gets a violation. Just point the bord members and say "you do that al the time ,home come you don't get fined. This way rest of the community knows.
First was she actually illegally parked on a private street or was the street a public street?
If illegally parked well, not much you can do about that.
If public, can the HOA tow cars legally parked on a public street in your area?
If the HOA owns the roads is there rules in the bylaws that state who can park on the street how long, parking passes etc.? If there are any rules and you AND your the member were breaking the rules that is selective enforcement. Find out who authorized the tow from the tow company and what they said at the time. You can gather evidence and sue the HOA in small claims court if they did selective enforcement or lied in some way about the car.
If it wasn't the HOA and was just the neighbor lying sue her in small claims court to recover the damages.
Use the system that they love to impose upon others to take them down. That is the best way.
Include criminal charges. If car was legally parked, towing it was grand theft auto.
That's a fairytale without any factual basis.
It has happened to people who has done that, and they've gone to prison for it.
This. If it’s a public street check state and local laws.
And don’t forget to add your court fees for reimbursement when you file.
I mean there appears to be a SHIT TON of missing information here.
A tow company isn’t going to willy nilly tow a car that’s legally parked and a HOA almost always has a whole violation process to go through before towing a vehicle that’s going to take multiple days at a minimum that has to be documented before a company will take on the risk and liability of towing a car.
If you have proof of selective enforcement and enforcement based on a legally protected status, you need to be filing complaints with the FHA/HUD and if there’s a State oversight organization, with them as well.
Selective enforcement is hard to prove, but you’re apparently claiming to have well documented evidence. So there is a breach of fiduciary duties by the Board. And again if it’s specifically targeting protected classes - any State Housing Authority and HUD can investigate those complaints.
Yeah. OP may be fully in the right on this, or maybe confused, or worse. I was once blamed by a neighbor for having their visiting cousin's car towed out of racism.
The car had been parked in a third neighbor's spot, but the accusing neighbor insisted they had permission to park there.
ONLY the owner of each spot had authority to call for a tow, and I did not have the authority for that spot, but nonetheless the neighbor was convinced I had done so. Knowing their cousin's car might not have been recognized by the spot's true owner, I asked whether they'd contacted that person, and whether they had blanket permission to park there generally, or perhaps had asked one time and then misinterpreted the answer and assumed their cousin could park there this later date as well. They asserted they did indeed have permission.
They did not. When the spot's owner was eventually contacted, it indeed turned out that the accuser had previously asked permission to park THEIR OWN car ONE TIME, and the spot's owner simply failed to recognize that did not constitute permanent blanket permission to park OTHER cars there.
But I did wind up having to call the police, as before things got straightened out, the accuser threatened me with gang violence for my alleged racist actions.
They mentioned parking at the deadend of a road. That is often a turnabout for emergency vehicles and many have fire hydrants because it's not a place parking will be. I'm wondering if any of those are factors here.
Long game or short game?
Mother in law says long game, I want short game
Long game. Be sweet as sugar. Tell her thank you for bringing this stuff to your attention and putting in the time and effort to make the neighborhood better. And she has inspired you to help. Work your way on to the compliance committee or board. Wait until she rolls off it. And then bam. Hit her with every possible infraction.
Shorr term. Find out her hobbies, her joys and ruin them for her in whatever you can without breaking any laws. She has a favorite bakery? Pay a friend to show up early to buy out her favorite pastry. She goes to the library for a certain type of book? Get there before her and check them all out.
Before you go ballistic on this person, is there anyone new staying in the neighborhood or with HOA lady? It just seems weird that she was fine before and now is suddenly a bitch.
Although, maybe she drank the HOA koolaid.
I've heard unicorn blood has the same effect, maybe the bottles were mislabeled?
If you can prove that she is targeting minorities then you can sue the HOA. Go to your States attorney General.
Not in a HOA for reasons just like this but love creeping in this sub to eat popcorn
This could violate Federal and state fair housing laws. Consider making a complaint to the enforcement ageny(ies) in your area.
I would be reaching out to an attorney. HOA boards HATE to be sued and the person who caused the suit to be filed usually loses their place on the board. Tell the board you are speaking to an attorney due to the obvious racism that you and some of the others neighbors have been documenting. That will give them some pause. All HOAs are different so your mileage may vary. A lot of lawyers will give a free consultation so start there.
although, you will pay your attorney and the HOA costs for being sued.
Go get some beef bullion cubes, and in the middle of the night while its raining toss them into cuntys yard. They will dissolve and then most of the neighborhood animals will be attracted to her yard and start digging for the "good smelling stuff". Your neighbors yard will look like a minefield.
Love this!
If true, this is what is called selective enforcement and is against the law. Though it happens all the time even in government and normal laws. Good luck, you could always lawyer up and sue yourself, i.e. the HOA. But then your fees will go up. Move away if you can, and not into another HOA.
Or, and here's an easy one, don't give the HOA any ammunition to cite you.
Document the discriminatory treatment and contact a civil rights lawyer.
You don't need to make her suffer in petty and annoying ways. You need to use the HOA rules to get rid of her.
Lot of confident folks here talking about public streets incorrectly. HOA enforcement can be more strict than local/state laws and ordinances, if your state/municipality allows it. It’s bullshit but legal in some places.
Your post is content-free.
Check your states stalking laws. You may find something that could benefit you.
Also, install cameras around your house.
Spray round up on her lawn. The HOA will make her replace it. Extra points if you spray a swastika.
If she violates a parking rule, call the towing company directly. Say you’re from the HOA.
Alternatively you can buy a parking boot immobilization device on Amazon. After locking it, put superglue in the lock. She’ll have to have it cut off.
may I suggest r/UnethicalLifeProTips for maybe out of the box suggestions
How petty do you want to be? Buy some triclopyr and a little spray bottle and spray a tree trunk from 12” to the ground. They will die. And trees being dormant right now she won’t know until they don’t pop out in spring.
Pay a witch to put a curse on her.
I thought I couldn't hate HOA's any more than I already do, but after reading this.... Yep! I hate them even more now.
Don't park illegally.
We have the same thing!!!
Didn't you hear she has a 1964 1/2 Mustang for sale? It has a Craigslist ad with her phone number...
I assume your HOA owns the streets? That is the only way the HOA could get cars towed.
What do your CC&Rs state?
Can you get a hold of the number the HOA calls to get cars towed? Call on others!
Powered chlorine her lawn. Get a bag and feed the fish!
She had the car towed without even making an attempt to ask you about it first? That is vile.
If the streets are maintained by the local government, an HOA can’t restrict the parking. If your cars were towed, that may have been illegal. Check the local laws. If it was illegal, you have a possible suit against the HOA, the tow company and her personally.
Read the rules with a fine tooth comb and fishes violating them, lodge complaints.
If you have proof that she’s doing this because of race, get a lawyer and got after her.
This post certainly served to demonstrate the on-going rationale for HOA’s, in the post Fair Housing Act, which is to perpetuate the practical effects of red-lining, after the actual practice was outlawed.
There's a lot of little things that you can do that no hoa can touch like putting up a clothesline or letting your property get overgrown with native plants. They can't make you cut down native plants....Google it cuz there's more than that....
I hope you find a non-violent way to stick it to them.
Is your HOA a gated community? If not then the streets are public and the HOA can't legally be towing cars.
If they are not enforcing things equally then you need to lawyer up and sue th HOA for arbitrary and capricious enforcement.
Join the board
Put clover/ mint seeds in her yard that shit grows like wild fire! Hell if you can even do bamboo!! Or just kill her grass!
Usually, ie I know in Texas, if it's not a hated community, and is the city/ county/ state is responsible for the upkeep of the road... then it's legal to park anywhere as it's a public roadway.
If you are actually breaking the rules of the HOA, that you agreed to when you moved in, nothing much you can do. Just because others don’t get fined doesn’t mean everyone else can’t be fined.
You can try to get on the board and try to change the rules, or you can start reporting everyone else who’s in violation of HOA rules, or just don’t break the rules.
Depends on the time and effort you want to put into document the racial disparities to the enforcement. Anecdotes certainly won’t get you to far.
Bat house or ham radio tower. Federal law protects both
You may want to google if either of those ideas would actually work . . .
https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckHOA/s/WpcFrKdiDX
I was referencing this with the radio tower.
Bat houses are definitely federally protected if bats are living there
If either structure is built unapproved and the CC&Rs of a particular HOA requires approval the HOA can still enforce the CC&Rs - IE fining the owner and in the case of the tower seeking an injunction that could force its removal as well as recovery of legal fees.
And only 6 species of bats are legally protected. If a legally protected one roosts in the habitat though, the owner can’t remove it but the HOA could in theory continue to fine the owner as long as it’s unapproved.
The joys of willingly entering into a legally binding contract and deciding to fuck yourself.
You’d be better off with satellite dishes or tv antennas - assuming you’re not in a historical community.
Perfect explanation on the terrible bat house idea
The FCC implemented OTARD. https://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule
It supersedes all HOA local and some state laws. To my knowledge otard rules have never lost in court, my old HOA attempted and lost. Lawyers told us any chance to overrule would cost in the tens of millions. Ham radio towers and WiSP towers are covered by this
I’m well aware of OTARD. Doesn’t mean you can just build shit for the shits and grins.
OTARD doesn’t exempt you from having to receive approvals and get permits or anything else of that nature. And it does not cover HAM radios per the FCC.
https://preview.redd.it/i5qgmle5327g1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4e659bf91c9de8fcaa8c3f7a77ba318ccf0c818
Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers, but want to clarify the screenshot you took from the FCC website, otard rules cannot be used to defend a tower exclusively used for HAM, this was the case in our old neighborhood that the dispute was over, and if you scroll down just a little bit further on that same page it does exempt you from having to receive approvals and get permits
https://preview.redd.it/tof8x9wh827g1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14f11dc66c529f8f19f3c08dd7f649873e9a7c38
My feathers aren’t ruffled, but based on what you’re saying the judge fucked up his ruling seeing as the FCC specifically states it doesn’t apply to HAMs. 🤷♂️
He had a satellite dish on it as well, which we were told meets their cohabitate rule so it complied. You're correct in that just a ham radio on a tower is not covered, but all you need is a satellite dish or wisp antenna to make it legal within some bounds
https://preview.redd.it/8vjvxl8j827g1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2a3cf0c42105d55d10795fa0f9f6b324d6ded491
Not for long with this administration…
And if bat houses are against HoA rules you're fully liable for the costs of relocating them (which due to the laws protecting them is very expensive)
Your neighbor willingly joined an hoa they weren't a part of? How stupid are they?
You misunderstood..the neighbor was just a neighbor and friend until she got on the HOA board of directors that manages the HOA
They explicitly say that she was friends until she joined the HOA. What am i missing?
Oh I see. The board member and the neighbor are the same person?
Smart move. If I were a petty, black hearted, hateful, spiteful, malicious jerk who parked my vehicle in a broom closet I’d join the HOA to empower those characteristics most fully.