Imagine buying a house that’s not part of an HOA but is surrounded by houses that are part of an HOA. Would you be surprised if the HOA kept pestering you about joining the HOA and tried to fine you for violating their rules even though you’re not part of the HOA?

Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised either. HOAs are relentless.

In this story, one homeowner is dealing with that exact situation, but he was smart about how he handled it. With the help of his lawyer, he was able to get a towing company on his side.

Let’s read all about it.

FHOA Getting harassed by HOA I’m not a part of. (and have refused to join)

So… I purchased my property in a quasi non-voluntary HOA in forced sale.

I cleared the liens (Which were disclosed prior to my purchase) and have been fixing up the property.

I’m currently “living” in an RV I have parked in the front yard.

I have it up on concrete blocks. Totally in violation of the HOA but I’m not a member.

He can’t move into the actual house for awhile.

The interior of the house is not livable (pretty bad hoarding situation) and I have a standing order with the trash company to have a 10 yard bin that gets swapped out every Friday.

I predict another 2-3 months until that service can be canceled.

The dumpster every week is on top of bags of clothing that goes to goodwill and all the crap I put up on craigslist and ebay for sale.

Plus I have enough shampoo and conditioner to keep my hair silky smooth and smelling of spring time for the next 50 years.

The HOA sounds really annoying.

The HOA has been harassing me to join.

I thought we settled the argument but screw them.

They also attempted to have my RV towed off my front yard.

Fortunately I had already made efforts to prevent it from being towed. Namely I called the towing company the HOA had a contract with and my lawyer explained the situation.

He has the towing company on his side.

They also started sending me fines in the mail and I’m adding them to the harassments file.

Not being dumb enough to be sued the towing company agreed that they wouldn’t tow any vehicle from any space that could be defined as “123 oak street” without my direct authorization. Including but not limited to the driveway, garage, front yard, or street in front of 123 Oak street.

We also saw a way for them to profit from the situation.

This is my pro revenge on them.

This works out well for the towing company.

We have a standing deal that they can drive the tow truck to my house, then they knock on my door and ask if I called the tow.

If I say no they charge the HOA for wasting their time, and If I don’t answer they can still charge the HOA for wasting their time.

The towing company hit them for about $500 before they caught on to the deal they made with me.

Some good news… i’ve successfully gotten into the bathroom and cleaned out all the children’s clothing and decades old pizza boxes and bags of onion peels. So after a great deal of elbow grease I might actually be able to shower in my house soon.

Being proactive with the towing company was a smart move.

I can’t imagine buying a house that was owned by a hoarder. It sounds like a nightmare.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This person thinks the HOA should try to help.

Another person thinks this project sounds satisfying.

This is a good idea.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who shuts down her neighbor’s construction project after her property gets damaged.

The HOA really is being shortsighted.

The neighborhood will be so much better off once OP finishes clearing out that house and fixing it up. The HOA should be grateful that someone bought the house and wants to gut it. Not everyone would be willing to take on this project.

I love that OP had the idea to make a deal with the towing company. The revenge on the HOA is brilliant!