Imaging living in a condo complex with an HOA that takes care of the maintenance of the outside of the complex. If you were told you needed to move your car because the parking lot was going to be repaved, would you comply, or would you come up with a way to fight this decision?

In this story, one condo owner shares what happens when a resident is upset that they have to move their car.

Keep reading to see how their actions backfire in glorious fashion.

Be Careful What You Wish For, The Fire Inspector May Cite You Instead

Several years ago I inherited my mother’s condo after my grandmother, her mother passed.

After my mother’s death a few years later, I decided to rent it out.

The condo is part of a complex that is roughly 50 years old. Think garden courtyard style, with 2-story buildings built around an open courtyard, with parking outside.

It is pretty nice, particularly when the HOA keeps up the maintenance and landscaping.

One company holds most of the power.

The units are owned by a combination of individual residents, absentee owners like myself, and one company that owns the bulk of the units. The company changes hands from time to time but effectively controls the complex because they own so many units.

Generally, they choose a good management company, and right now the property manager is very proactive and looks out for the residents, owners and tenants alike.

With that out of the way…

This will be inconvenient, but it’s necessary.

Being roughly 50 years old, it is time to pave the parking lots again.

The management company hires a paving company and sets up a plan to pave each lot in turn, and make sure all the residents are notified well in advance so they can move their cars. An annoying process, but paving always is and the lots are in dire need of being paved.

And again, the management company is over-communicating, trying to make sure everyone moves their car, no one gets towed, and the paving stays on schedule.

One resident complains.

Well, someone apparently isn’t too happy about all this. So they decide to call the Fire Department and report the paving for blocking access in the event of a fire.

Judging by correspondence from the management company, they never bothered to speak with the on-site manager and address the issue.

Of course, the Fire Department sends out an Inspector. The Inspector checks out the property and sees it matches with what was already submitted to avoid any issues and everything is good to go.

Except…

There was another problem.

City ordinance prohibits grills, fire pits, tiki torches, and other open flames on condo/apartment balconies.

And of course, lots and lots of units have one or all of the above.

So the Fire Inspector kindly tells the Property Manager and gives the residents a chance to remove the violating items and that he will be back to cite anyone who still has one.

So, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

If the resident hadn’t complained, everyone could keep their tiki torches, but the whole community will be safer if they comply with the rules.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

This person has learned from experience.

Rules exist for a reason.

One person shares the rules in their city.

This person is surprised the fire inspector didn’t handle the situation differently.

It’s better to follow the rules than to have your home burn down.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.