Okay, guys, we've all seen ridiculous disputes before. But this one may just take home the gold. Because one woman on Reddit has reported that the Home Owners' Association in her area issued an insane fine. What was the fine, you ask? Apparently, she parked her car during light snow and left behind a penis-shaped outline on the ground.
If that charge made you double-take, or laugh out loud, you're not alone. Both the original poster and everyone who reads it is in stitches over the insane fine. And the more details we get, the funnier it becomes!
So, you're probably wondering how this bewildering tale ends. Keep reading to see what this woman did with her unorthodox fine – and the real reason it may have been issued.
Home Owners' Associations are no strangers to controversy.
So much so, in fact, that there's an entire Reddit community (F%#&HOA) dedicated to HOA-related anger.Like this post, about a bizarre request to repaint a house.
Today I received a letter stating that my house is "currently in violation of exterior materials/color and maintenance/general aesthetics," with a handwritten message at the bottom saying "redo exterior paint." Our house was freshly painted in 2015, and there is no visible sign of age anywhere on the paint/stucco. No warping, no peeling, nothing. The only "issue" I can say is that there is some dust that's accumulated on the exterior walls of the house, which can simply be hosed off (it's winter, I was planning on doing this once it warms up a bit).
I really don't understand why I'm suddenly being asked to repaint my house when the current paint is basically still brand new and isn't some wacky color (it's a darker shade of blue, other houses in my neighborhood have a similar shade). -u/Neighsus
Or this complaint titled "Need some salt? Try getting solar panels."
Last year, we wanted to get solar panels installed on the front roof of our south-facing house. We looked through the bylaws, and there was no mention of them. Cool. We submitted a formal request to the Architecture Review Committee, playing by the rules, expecting a quick "yeah, sure, there's no rule against it."
Silly us.
We got back a paragraph saying basically "Your request is denied because our rules say no HVAC equipment in front of the house." -u/Bob_Loblaws_Laws
(They ended up getting the panels, but it was a real headache.)One HOA made the news in 2015 for cracking down on the American flag.
A Home Owners' Association in Utah tried to rule against flying the American flag, except on holidays. After a heated six-day battle between residents and the HOA, the rule was withdrawn.In 2017, one woman was sent a threatening letter by an HOA she didn't know she was part of.
Gaynel Cromwell had lived in her house for about a year and a half, under the impression that it was not in a homeowner's association. As in, the realtor has never mentioned it and the person she'd bought the house from had marked 'no' when asked if there was an HOA.Imagine her surprise when an HOA nevertheless began making demands.
Cromwell got a letter from a neighboring HOA saying that she needed to plant a few more bushes and trees, plus put some rocks along the street or she would be fined. And apparently she wasn't the only person in her neighborhood who hadn't been told about the HOA before moving in.She was not happy.
"I'd just like them to leave all of us in phase two alone and quit sending threatening letters to us," Cromwell told KUTV. Stuff like that is filling up this Reddit community, but this next crazy story is going viral...Redditor 'ReservoirKat' shared her unique HOA problem with the community.
The Tennessee native faced the most bizarre accusation ever, after a light snowfall in her area.Here's how she puts it:
A few weeks ago we got a pitiful little snow that was barely really a frost. Just enough to cause a little trouble of the roads (cause any sort of weather causes troubles on the roads here), but nothing severe. So my husband and I go out, get in our cars, and leave for the workday. -ReservoirKatSo far so good...
Awhile later (I don't remember if it was five days or a week), we get an email from the HOA saying we are being fined for something. -ReservoirKatAnd it wasn't clear, at first, what the fine was even for.
They aren't very specific at first, but they are saying it's about the snow and our cars. We are very confused. There is not enough snow to shovel, as you will soon see. -ReservoirKatWhen they finally made it clear...she was not impressed.
Finally, after a few back-and-forth emails, they simply send us a picture "describing the problem."
Y'all.
Y'all. -ReservoirKat