When an HOA decides “no” isn’t an acceptable answer, things can get ugly fast.

One homeowner’s refusal to join their neighborhood HOA spiraled into harassment and forged paperwork, dragging both the HOA and an untrustworthy ex into a legal mess they couldn’t escape.

You’ll want to keep reading for this one!

Vindictive Ex Wife illegally signed application to local HOA in my name

There is an HOA in my neighborhood. But I was not legally obligated to join it because the last owner of my house was not a member.

I made sure of that through a real estate lawyer as well. The HOA had no grounds to force me to join, and they were not happy about it.

The HOA made it clear they weren’t comfortable taking “no” for an answer.

The HOA president would show up with forms every week for the first month, demanding I sign them. Then she threatened to take me to court.

I had to get a C&D sent to her from my lawyer to make her stop. So she started harassing me by looking for any infractions she possibly could to report to the city.

But once the inspector showed up, the homeowner easily befriended them.

An inspector came out several times and found nothing wrong. In fact, I offered one of them a burger while grilling, and they graciously accepted.

Did I mention the HOA hates barbecues and parties that aren’t approved in advance? Well, they do.

And I like to grill when the weather is good. My neighbors actually love me for it because I invite them over.

The HOA, however, had very different ideas.

I had the police called on me several times for noise complaints because I was playing music on a Saturday afternoon while having my friends over.

I caught the HOA president trespassing once when she was trying to peer into my windows. I called the police, but she denied ever doing it.

The homeowner buffs up their security, but the HOA president isn’t giving up yet.

So I got cameras. She hasn’t trespassed since.

But I still got repeated passive-aggressive letters saying my cameras were not an approved addition to my house.

Some months ago, I started getting letters for fines in the mail. When I contacted the HOA, their representative claimed they had it on record that I’d joined and needed to pay all fees effective immediately.

I told them that was not possible.

Then they emailed a scanned copy of the forms, and they had a signature on them. But it was not mine.

That’s when this homeowner noticed something very unusual.

It was very similar in some ways, and I recognized right away that it was my ex’s handwriting. She knew what my signature looked like.

But it was a loose imitation at best.

They then realize there’s cause for a much bigger case now.

I got in touch with a lawyer right away over the forged signature. But the HOA still demanded to go to court.

It took seven months before that happened. Meanwhile, they were stacking unpaid fines against me weekly and threatening to put a lien on my house.

At first, the HOA seemed convinced the odds would be in their favor, but they were quickly proven wrong.

We went to court, and the HOA president looked very smug.

My lawyer pointed out how the signature wasn’t the same as mine and was very inconsistent across the various forms.

I’d never allowed the HOA president into my house, and I’d never requested the forms.

The HOA president actually slammed her palm on the table and said it was still binding.

Soon, the HOA president started to talk.

When pressed about where the fraudulent signature came from, she admitted my ex-wife called the HOA, they sent her the forms, and then got them back in the mail signed.

She then claimed she thought I had signed them.

The judge looked at her and asked if she was serious. She confirmed she was.

The judge couldn’t quite wrap their head around this.

The judge then asked how a woman I was no longer married to, who had never even lived with me in my current residence, could have any bearing on whether or not I joined her HOA.

She went quiet. I could see the “oh no” look on her face as she finally seemed to mentally put the pieces together.

My lawyer then counterclaimed that what the HOA did was blatant fraud and that legal action must be taken.

And it was.

Finally, things started to really go the homeowner’s way.

I countersued the HOA for the emotional distress caused by the harassment I’d received since moving in. I had plenty of proof.

That won me about $10,000 after lawyer fees, which I decided to put toward my mortgage.

The HOA received quite a shakeup after the lawsuit.

The HOA president was removed from her position. I like to think she was kicking and screaming.

She was also slapped with a hefty fine.

I’ve seen her outside a few times since, and she always looks at me like I’m the devil.

The HOA itself had to pay all of my legal fees as well.

The homeowner’s ex, however, wasn’t as easy to pin down.

I wanted to go after my ex for forging my signature, but I couldn’t. Not long after she forged the forms, she apparently left the country to be with her third AP.

She’s somewhere in Europe, based on the final posts on her Facebook before she disappeared.

So that was a wash.

Bu the end of it, things pretty much went back to normal.

I’m not getting letters from the HOA anymore, though. And the new president has promised to keep things completely cordial from now on.

I still don’t feel like I got much of a win out of this. Other than the $10k payout, it all felt like a huge waste of time.

What started as petty HOA drama ended as a legal reality check.

Redditors are sure to have a lot to say about this one.

This whole situation hopefully will make his ex stay far, far away from him in the future.

HOAs often end up making matters worse for themselves by pushing too hard.

It’s amazing to sit back and watch karma do its thing.

Turns out fake authority and fake signatures don’t hold up in a real courtroom.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.