Sometimes, HOAs can be a real pain.

This man shares how he received a complaint letter saying he needed to remove the trampoline from the backyard.

He questioned what rules it violated, but the board couldn’t provide a clear reason. He came up with a clever way to get revenge!

Find out more details by reading the story below.

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.

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.

He received a letter of complaints about the trampoline.

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.

What’s sad is that I was friendly with both of these people. They had been in my home. They could’ve talked to me face to face.

But nobody asked.

Nobody came to me to have a face-to-face, heart-to-heart discussion about their concerns.

He appealed the decision when the request was denied.

So 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.

The property manager said she sent a reply, but he never received it.

I asked which rules I violated.

They never sent me a letter so I asked again a week ago.

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.

So, he investigated and found out these discrepancies.

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 it 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• She cited a rule early in the email, but then cited an additional rule later that superseded the first.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

He asked the other recipients about the email, and only one was honest about it.

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.

He decided to run for a board position, along with 3 of his friends.

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.

I got a third of the community to sign proxy forms stating that I would vote on their behalf.

He got a landslide vote!

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.

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!

Haha! Hooray for the trampoline. Let’s find out what Reddit users have to say.

Similar experience with this user right here.

This person shares their honest thoughts.

This user never liked neighborhoods with HOAs.

Here’s some sound advice.

Finally, another suggestion to consider…

The neighborhood has literally voted and won!

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.