'[House] flippers were... unhappy with my mother's "unsightly" driveway': HOA tells family to clear their driveway, mother installs a sign to get back at them

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Sep 21, 2023 5:00 PM EDT

What HOA wants, HOA will get. When they pick a fight with this family, they're going to get much more of a hassle than they ever anticipated. 

Parents can sense something in the air as summer is coming to a close, and they instinctually realize: It's time to make the kids clean out the garage with me. Why do parents have this instinct? Science has not given us the answer yet. Maybe they realize that school is about to be back in session, and their kids have had a lot of fun already this summer. Why not spend an entire day---or an entire weekend, if your parents are militant about cleaning---to empty out the dustiest boxes in the garage? At least you sometimes find cool stuff in there, like a baseball glove you forgot about, or that skateboard you don't ride enough. 

U/jumboface and their mom were doing some major cleaning before their nosy neighbors insisted they stop. The family had taken all the boxes from their garage, containing a "concerning amount of possessions," the OP writes. With all of these boxes sprawled across the lawn, some flippers across the street thought the cleaning project looked like an eyesore. When their cleaning project started, it wasn't meant to be a long-term eye sore, but don't mess with a mother on a mission! 

Check out this great HOA story below. Then, this grocery employee embraced workplace chaos after their manager informed them they shouldn't do anything extra… cue malicious compliance! 

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  • 01
    Plant - "Call the HOA because my yard is "devaluing" your house? Alright, I'll have it clean by the inspection date."
    via Gus Ruballo on Unsplash
  • 02
    Font - "Call the HOA because my yard is "devaluing" your house? Alright, I'll have it clean by the inspection date."
    via u/jumboface
  • 03
    Human body - This is a story of my mothers. She has always been incredibly hardheaded, but this sticks out a lot from my teenage years.
    via u/jumboface
  • 04
    Font - Once a year she always had us pull everything out of the garage (lots of boxes my mom has a concerning amount of possessions) so we could go through it and clean/reorganize. This particular year the couple who owned the house across from us (flippers) where in the process of selling their house. Unhappy with my mothers "unsightly" driveway covered in boxes soiling their good image, they made a call to the HOA.
    via u/jumboface
  • 05
    Font - By the time my mother received the letter, the mess had been put away, but they decided to get her on a few other complaints such as the bikes against the side of the house and the "patchy" gravel. She had two weeks to have everything up to standards.
    via u/jumboface
  • 06
    Font - Petty and easily frustrated, my mother knew immediately who called since the couple had come over and told her flat out with their renovations they were selling that house for "way more any other house and this neighborhood" and would appreciate if she respected that by keeping her property on par.
    via u/jumboface
  • 07
    Font - For the next two weeks every box from that garage was in our driveway. The couch and the living room TV came next. This was early summer, so it was perfect weather to sit in your yard in your short shorts and sports bra. My mom made sure to wave and smile every time they brought someone over for a showing.
    via u/jumboface
  • 08
    Font - The final step came at the end of that two weeks though. After the yard had been cleaned up and cleared by the HOA, my mom went to the local walmart and bought a for sale sign. She wrote about 1/4 of their ridiculous asking price on it and finished off with a big SOLD written across the front and stuck it out in our yard.
    via u/jumboface
  • 09
    Font - No clue what they ended up selling their house for, but it sat empty for a while so I'd assume it was below offer. TL;DR Don't tell my mom she's devaluing your house, or she will go far out her way to do so, all while complying with the HOA.
    via u/jumboface
  • 10
    Font - jsting LMAO that final step was a masterpiece. All that stuff before is a headache and time consuming, but that under value sign is genius.
    via u/jsting
  • 11
    Font - ocioico totally agree. Love it, and having recently purchased a home, that would definitely take me away from purchasing a more expensive one across the street.
    via u/ocioico
  • 12
    Font - thewholed planet. walmart and bought a for sale sign. She wrote about 1/4 of their ridiculous asking price on it and finished off with a big SOLD written across the front and stuck it out in our yard Oh... oh that is so wonderfully evil I want to send your Mom a card on Mother's Day.
    via u/thewholed***planet
  • 13
    Font - Connectikatie My dad had a habit of starting big projects (putting in a pool, installing a geothermal well, adding chimneys and fireplaces, etc) and taking forever to finish them. We didn't have a HOA and most people didnt mind the mess, but one couple we shared a property line with were always complaining to the city whenever they could. When my dad built the frame of the deck for our aboveground pool, he waited to finish the platform and the fencing until he could get nice planks and ma
    via u/Connectikatie
  • 14
    Font - good. But this couple complained to the city, and my dad couldn't find a loophole in the building codes that would give him more time. So instead of hiring someone to do it or taking some extra days off work to do it himself, he threw on some unfinished plywood flooring and made a fence out of chicken wire. The neighbors were not happy about the "eyesore", but it was up to code, and my dad never got around to fixing it up.
    via u/Connectikatie
  • 15
    Font - [deleted] I live in a neighborhood that has a really strict HOA; however, our house is just outside their jurisdiction. The amount of angry Karen's that have came to our door just to be told they are powerless is priceless.
    via u/deleted
  • 16
    Font - anothersip HOA Compliance level: EXPERT
    via u/anothersip
  • 17
    Font - amishbill She wrote about 1/4 of their ridiculous asking price on it and finished off with a big SOLD written across the front and stuck it out in our yard. This... This is a wonderful idea. So beautifully quiet & polite, yet FU.
    via u/amishbill
  • 18
    Font - Thameus The HOA allowed the sign? They must still be kicking themselves. 39 Reply Share audigex They can't ban for sale or sold signs, otherwise nobody in the HOA area would be able to sell their property...
    via u/Thameus

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hoa housing neighbors neighborhood mother neighborhood-drama neighborhood-stories terrible neighbors flippers flipping family mom houses home cardboard boxes boxes driveway
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