Imagine living in an HOA community where one of the rules is that you can’t leave a non-operational vehicle parking on the street.

If the HOA thought you were breaking this rule because you left an older vehicle parked on the street for quite awhile, would you move the vehicle or would you prove that it worked and repark it on the street?

In this story, one homeowner is in this situation and chooses the second option, but they have fun with it!

Let’s see how the story plays out.

Mud happens

As anyone that lives in a neighborhood with an HOA knows, sometimes they like to nitpick.

I had an old Chevy Blazer that I used mostly to get through deep snow, or go camping and play around in the mountains.

It sat mostly on the street in front of my house. I didn’t have room to park in the driveway lest I block access to my garage, where I park my daily driver.

My “pig” wasn’t pretty, but it ran and was my toy, my workhorse when needed.

Of course the HOA had to complain.

Because it spent most of the time at the curb, one day I get a letter in the mail stating I need to move my “derelict vehicle” or face fines.

The letter stated “During our visits (more like patrols) in the neighborhood, we have seen no indication that your vehicle works or has moved in several months.”

They wanted him to move the car, right?

The week the letter came, we had had significant rain for the area. And with rain comes mud.

And boy did I find mud.

The pig and I enjoyed an afternoon of sloshing through it. Top to bottom and all sides in between caked in thick, clay, mud.

And after we our frolic through the muck and mire, I put him back in his customary place.

The HOA couldn’t complain.

My lot was on the corner, and uphill from the rest of the street.

So, as luck would have it, when we got a little more rain it got washed off and painted the street downhill from me brown.

This was wonderful.

There was no language in the HOA agreement that said anything about mud coming from vehicles.

No, the only thing that could not come from your vehicles without penalty was massive amounts of fluids, or failing parts.

Now, there’s no reason for them to complain.

They got their proof it is indeed not derelict.

And I got the satisfaction of making a mess on their pretty road.

Mud happens.

*bonus It was all mud from the new development section of the same neighborhood just up the street.

That was a fun way to make a point and get the HOA to leave them alone!

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This is a funny idea!

I’ve never heard of it being illegal to park in your own driveway!

This is a good idea!

Sometimes a fine is cheaper than paid parking.

When the HOA is wrong, prove it!

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.