Imagine buying a home that’s not part of an HOA, but it’s right next to houses that are part of an HOA. Would you be annoyed if the neighbors who are part of the HOA complained about decisions you made for your property?

In this story, one homeowner is in this exact situation, and he’s really annoyed at his annoying neighbors.

Keep reading for all the details.

I’m not even in an HOA…

My home is NOT part of an HOA.

I live in the suburbs of a major metro area. So, it’s a patchwork of various developments of varying ages that border onto each other.

My home backs onto a neighborhood that has an HOA and they still find a way to be a pain in the butt.

To clarify the HOA property borders my lot at the back and along one side. So, two sides. But the part on the side is a field with areas of trees/woods.

The HOA doesn’t seem to be doing their job.

I’m fairly sure they aren’t policing their own residents.

For example, one house illegally does major and frequent work-truck engine repairs in their driveway. Passing it is like passing a toxic chemical dump.

There’s some dude who likes to park his big ole truck half up on the sidewalk and curb blocking the sidewalk from use.

A house behind me sets off massive illegal and dangerous fireworks several times a year. It’s just peachy when there’s a wildfire risk and these incompetent chuds have the burning fireworks coming down on the dead trees, leaves, my fence, my roof, etc.

The list of problems gets even worse!

This past fall some guy a few houses away got high, climbed my six-foot fence and tried to break in.

One of the neighbors immediately behind me loves to burn trash which blows the heavy nasty smoke across my yard making it utterly unusable when they do.

All of this is to give you a flavor of the character of the neighborhood.

With a few exceptions, like the guy trying to break in, or loose dogs that are being a nuisance/hazard or trespassing in my yard I’m careful to pick my battles.

OP had a big problem with flooding.

So its dumbfounding to me that the HOA reps are so effing bent on policing me.

A few years back the runoff from their neighborhood was causing my basement to repeatedly flood. Ok, so I consulted a company and they installed French drains to direct the water away from the house’s foundation.

The runoff previously flowed equally into my yard and down their walking path and pooled in the woods just past my property. A French drain runs along my fence line, catches the runoff coming into my yard, and directs it parallel to the path and spits it out at the corner of the fence, approximately where the ponding begins.

Of course, the HOA complained.

Crazy HOA lady notices one day and is pitching a fit that we can’t do that.

Eff off lady. My home is more important than that already muddy, soggy waterlogged path you have.

Trying to tell me what I can do on my own property to protect my property with the runoff that comes from their property to begin with….aaarrrgghh!!!

OP needed to have another problem solved.

A couple of weeks ago I had my crumbling deck replaced. Before I could have my fence replaced, I needed to also take down a couple of trees.

Today they started replacing the fence. Within minutes of the workmen leaving for the day I notice a lady on the footpath facing my property and taking pictures.

I go out and say, “Hi, is there a problem? Can I help you with something?”

This sour, pinched-faced lady is just oozing hostility. She barely acknowledges me, doesn’t make eye contact or really address me like a person, just starts moving away from me.

She eventually spoke up.

At the last minute she nastily tosses at me, “I’m on private property.” (Oooh, aren’t you cute with that comeback?)

I say, “Ok, but you’re taking pictures of MY property which is disturbing.”

She fires back, “I’m taking pictures of THIS property.”

Nice, we’ve moved on to gaslighting. Clearly, I’m (again) not dealing with a mature reasonable person, so I just say, “OK.”

But she wasn’t done.

She acts like she’s leaving, so I go back inside.

She then sneaks back to take more pics and I’m about to grab my phone and go out and video her just to be petty and amuse myself by making her more uncomfortable but she actually leaves before I can.

It’s one thing to be in an HOA and deal with their pettiness but I purposely chose this house because there was no HOA and I’m still dealing with their nonsense.

I don’t know what’s wrong with people. There are far too many awful people.

I guess the lesson we learn in this story is that it’s not good enough not to be part of an HOA. It’s also important not to live near an HOA, especially in a house that borders an HOA community.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

Here’s a petty idea.

A lawyer might be able to help.

Or there might be a bigger legal issue.

Here’s how another guy handled a similar situation.

Some people have really bad luck when it comes to neighbors.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.