Oh, boy, here we go again…

It’s yet another story from Reddit about people on a Homeowners Association board getting a little too big for their britches.

But this story has a twist…and it’s all about REVENGE!

It all started when this parent put a trampoline in their backyard for their kids.

HOA board tries to force me to remove my trampoline, I get them removed from the board instead.

“I put a trampoline in my backyard in early 2017. I have three young boys and we have enjoyed it immensely.

And, of course, someone had to complain about it.

My neighbor, the HOA president at the time, went to sell his house in spring of 2018 and his realtor said the trampoline in my backyard might be a detriment to getting top dollar for his home.

So he convinced the neighbor on the other side of my house to complain as well. Out of the blue, I received a message from the HOA property manager that the neighbors complained and I would need to submit a form to get it approved.

I filled out the form and sent it in. The Architectural Review Committee denied it a month later. I appealed the decision and met with the board in August. They sent me a letter and said it was in violation. I asked which rules I violated. They never sent me a letter so I asked again a week ago.

But they grew suspicious about how this whole thing was unfolding.

The property manager was adamant she had sent the letter, but I asked for proof. She forwarded an email, where she put my name in the “To:” field after-the-fact. I had a strong suspicion it was after-the-fact due to the following reasons:

an HOA meeting was mentioned that never took place

the responses to my questions varied in color, indicating they had been edited at different times

she responded immediately to my request for proof by indicating she would forward the email, but then took an hour (presumably editing a draft she never sent)

she cited a rule early in the email, but then cited an additional rule later that superseded the first. The first cited rule could’ve simply been omitted.

The message was not marked as “forwarded message” at the top, and the sent time didn’t include seconds

So they did a little investigative work…and they decided to take matters into their own hands.

None of these things are a smoking gun, but they are suspicious. I asked the other people in the “To:” field if they received a copy of the email with my name in the address field. The only honest member of the board replied he hadn’t, the rest remained silent because they didn’t want to look like they and the property manager dropped the ball.

The year end meeting was scheduled for yesterday, and four board positions were up for election. I got 3 of my friends on the street to run with me. I went door to door every day for a week and spoke with the majority of home owners about their discontent with the street.

And, oh boy, did this work out pretty well for them!

I got a third of the community to sign proxy forms stating that I would vote on their behalf. I went to the meeting last night and put these fools on BLAST. I listed calmly all the ways the current board was failing the community and my plan to right their wrongs. The vote was a landslide, in favor of myself and my friends getting elected.

Things aren’t perfect, but they’re a helluva lot better than they used to be!

One awful board member remains but he is the minority. We fired the property manager who was uncommunicative and flat-out dishonest. The trampoline endures!

The only bummer is now I have to manage a street which includes some legit crazy people. BUT – this whole episode has convinced my wife that we will never live in an HOA again, which I count as a huge victory in addition to the trampoline remaining where it is today.”

Check out what people had to say about this.

One reader said their cousin did something like this.

This reader thinks they need to take some precautions.

A person said they need to make sure to read all the HOA laws.

And this Reddit user is not a fan of HOAs at all.

Ahhhh, that one felt good!

You gotta love it, people!