Imagine inheriting your uncle’s house and possessions. While you’d certainly be grieving, inheriting a house in a nice neighborhood sounds like a dream!

Would it still be a dream if that house were in an HOA neighborhood? Not as much.

In this story, one woman is in this exact situation. Her uncle left everything to her, including his house that is in an HOA neighborhood where she now lives by herself. That’s not necessarily the problem. The problem is that the HOA wants every homeowner to use one specific gardener. The gardener crossed the line of acceptable behavior one too many times, and she snapped at him.

Now, the HOA is mad at her, and she feels guilty. Keep reading to see if you think she should apologize or if the gardener really deserved to be yelled at.

AITA For firing my HOA-approved gardener after he tried to steal my departed uncle’s priceless heirloom?

Some background: ever since I was a young buy, I was raised by my uncle.

He has been exceptionally good to me and so he and I were very close up until the time of his untimely departure several months ago.

He left me everything, including the house he worked his whole life paying off to the bank, his extensive collection of books, and several pieces of jewelry he accumulated over the years. (Yes, he was a man who liked to collect jewelry and there’s nothing wrong with that)

But the house is in an HOA.

One tiny complication of inheriting my uncle’s house is that his house is in a fancy, pricey neighborhood and, of course, has an HOA.

To be honest, they’re not as bad as some horror stories I’ve heard but they have insisted on multiple occasions that my uncle and now I employ the services of a gardener to keep the outside of my house “tidy.”

Oh, but not just *any* gardener, a specific gardener who has an in with the HOA who offers a bulk discount if *everyone* uses his services.

The gardener sounds annoying.

My uncle tried to make the best of the situation, befriending the gardener, sometimes letting him shower in our place or grab a water or a beer.

Whatever, we should all look out for each other right?

But ever since I inherited the house, this guy has been pushing my limits, assuming I would be even more generous than my uncle.

This is really crossing the line!

A few weeks ago, I ordered some special baked goods from one of those nationwide shipping services. These cookies are hard to get because they have to be refrigerated. I waited for these cookies for weeks.

Well I go to my kitchen to grab a bite and I find my gardener inside the house covered in crumbs instead of outside the house “tidying” the yard; he had gone into my fridge and ate several of the cookies!

I scolded him about it, he apologized, and I thought we would move on.

But it got worse!

Well, Tuesday morning was the last straw.

While I was in my own living room cleaning up some of the jewelry boxes left by my uncle, the gardener came inside to use the restroom, noticed one of the pieces, and asked if I would let him *hold it*.

I lost it … and maybe went a little bit too far here.

To be blunt, I told him to get the heck out of my house, go back to his own home, and never come back.

The HOA is mad.

My phone is now blowing up from the president and co-treasurer of the HOA livid that I have cost them their “bulk deal” with the gardener and that they expect me to offset every other house’s increased costs in my own HOA dues because of how rude I was to a “loyal employee” who had “served the community” for many years.

I think it’s ridiculous to ask me to pay for everyone else’s garden but I’m feeling a little guilty about how I exploded at the gardener. AITA?

The gardener should never be inside the house. Not to eat cookies. Not to go to the bathroom. Not to hold jewelry. Yikes!

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a tenant who decided to stop returning his neighbor’s misplaced laundry after two years.

Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

The gardener’s behavior really isn’t typical.

Here’s a suggestion to talk to the HOA.

The gardener definitely doesn’t seem trustworthy!

Here’s another suggestion, and a question.

Did the gardener have a key to the house? How would he get inside and eat cookies? I’d definitely change the locks, install security cameras and fire him. This is not acceptable behavior.

Who cares if the HOA is upset? They should find another gardener to recommend, one who doesn’t steal!

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.