I read a lot of horror stories about HOAs, and this is another one but with a twist. In this case, the HOA itself is not the problem. One neighbor is the problem. Actually, it might be several neighbors, but one neighbor in particular shows up in this story.

Imagine buying a home in an HOA but being specifically told by the HOA that you can park your car on the street anywhere you want. What would you do if a neighbor later confronted you when you were getting out of your car and acted like you didn’t have the right to park anywhere you wanted? Would you move your car, ignore the crazy neighbor, or stand up for yourself?

In this story, one couple is in this situation, but it’s the wife who has to deal with the crazy neighbor. She doesn’t want to cause drama in the neighborhood, so she moves her car. Now, she’s wishing she hadn’t. What she overheard the neighbor say about her the next day made her even more upset than when the neighbor complained about where she parked her car.

I think the neighbor is way out of line, and she shouldn’t let this go. Keep reading to see if you agree.

What should I do about this crazy parking police neighbor

My husband and I recently bought a home in a neighborhood with an HOA, and we are still very new here.

During our HOA interview before purchasing, we specifically asked about street parking and were told that residents are free to park anywhere.

That mattered to us because we have two cars. Our driveway fits one, which my husband uses, so my car has to be parked on the street. Or if he gets home he parks on the street to save me our driveway since there will be no spots available lol we rotate whoever gets home first.

Parking wasn’t a problem until one neighbor made it a problem.

We live in a small cul de sac with a circular layout. There are no assigned spots and no signage.

For the first month or two after moving in, I parked wherever there was an open space, because the spots closest to our house are often already taken by neighbors or their guests.

About a month or two after moving in, I parked in front of a house across the circle. I had never met or spoken to this neighbor before.

As I was getting out of my car, the man who lives there came up to me and pointed toward another area and said, “You know you can park over there, right?” His tone came off rude and aggressive, like he was telling me where I was allowed to park.

The neighbor was really rude.

I was caught off guard and annoyed, so I kept saying “What?” while trying to process what he was saying. And honestly stalling to think if I should go Karen on him or not…

I have a very small fuse when it comes fairness and when accused of doing the wrong thing specially when I know for a fact I’m not wrong. Normally I would’ve told him to back off and mind his own lol.

He then went on to say something along the lines of, “Everyone here has lived here for years and everyone knows where they’re supposed to park.”

At one point, he also said that he and some of the neighbors were “betting” on where I was going to park next because apparently I park everywhere but where “ I’m supposed to “ , which I ignored at the time but thought was a strange thing to say to someone new.

What is this guy’s problem?

I told him that during our HOA interview we were told parking is open and residents can park anywhere.

He kept insisting I should park “on that side.”

I explained that people already park there, and if I only parked where he wanted me to, I’d often have no place to park at all.

Eventually, he backtracked and said something like, “Oh yeah, you can park anywhere you’re a homeowner too. Forget what I said.”

Yikes! The conversation she overheard would make me upset too!

Even though he changed his tune, the interaction had already made me uncomfortable. I didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot or cause problems, so I moved my car anyway just to avoid conflict.

The next freaking day I overheard him talking to another person outside and saying that he “put me in my place” and I QUOTE “ don’t worry I put that little girl in her place “ and “corrected me and where I was parking.”

That really upset me, because not only was that not true, but it made me feel like I was being talked about and watched in a neighborhood where I’m still new and haven’t done anything wrong.

I’m angry for her!

Now I feel anxious and angry about parking anywhere in the cul de sac, even though I followed the rules as they were explained to us.

I’m also frustrated that I tried to be polite and deescalate, and it feels like that was turned into a power move on his end.

I’m so mad and frustrated that I chose peace since we are new here and want to be ok with the neighbors but I can’t shake the feeling of anger after he bragged about “ putting me in my place “

I would like everyone’s opinion on this. Be honest should I suck it up and get over it or ?

I’d be plotting revenge or go to the HOA for clarification, maybe both.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about someone who asked their neighbor to move their fence off their property, then learned the neighbor was trying to claim their land as theirs instead.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

This person shares what they would do.

Here’s a similar suggestion.

That comment would make me furious too!

Another person would be really petty.

She should definitely tell her husband, and they should park both of their cars on the cul-de-sac in front of this annoying neighbor’s house. He was way out of line. She tried to be nice about it, and he twisted the situation to make her look bad and to make him look like the neighborhood hero.

I also think she should go to the HOA for clarification and to report the neighbor. If he confronts her again, she should definitely ask for his name, but she already has his address. That would probably be enough to report him to the HOA. I also think she should start recording him if he confronts her again so she has proof for the HOA.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a family who is resisting pressure from the HOA to remove their tree and lights.