HOA president fines new residents using made-up rules, they fire back after noticing several violations: 'Greg was hit with thousands of dollars in fines'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Dec 11, 2024 2:00 PM EST

It has got to be tough living next to the president of your local homeowner's association. Not only do you have to go out of your way to engage in trading fake niceties every time you see them, but also you have to deal with the paranoia that they are watching you at all times. Unfortunately for these new residents, who had just moved to the neighborhood, their next-door neighbor really was watching them at all times.

In fact, he almost immediately started issuing violations regarding their back-yard garden and their small wind chimes, the latter of which he deemed to be "disturbing the peace." Of course, after looking through the HOA handbook, the residents discovered that several of these so-called violations were not expressly written in the bylaws. Greg, the HOA president, fired back with the claim that some rules did not need to be written down, as if the other residents in the neighborhood were expected to read his mind or blindly pay fines for violating policies they had no way of even knowing existed.

Unfortunately for Greg, he also seemed to suffer from the ego-driven mentality that he was above the rules himself. This would end up being the beginning of his downfall. Keep scrolling below to find out how these residents pulled it off. For more stories like this, take a look at this one about an entitled Karen customer who would regret their incessant demands for extra pickles.

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    Cheezburger Image 10440109056
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    HOA president tried to bu y us with fake rules, so we took him down with using his own bylaws.
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    When my husband and I bought our first house last year, we were thrilled to join what seemed like a charming and quiet neighborhood. What we didn't
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    know was that we'd just moved in next door to Greg, the HOA president who ruled the community with an iron fist and a creepy sense of superiority. Greg
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    wasn't just bossy; he was downright intimidating. He had a way of showing up unannounced, glaring at people from his porch, and making thinly veiled threats about "consequences" if you didn't fall in line.
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    Our first real run-in with Greg came when we planted a small vegetable garden in our backyard. It was a modest setup
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    with tomatoes, herbs, and a simple trellis, tucked away so it wouldn't bother anyone. A week later, we received a formal notice
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    from Greg claiming the garden violated HOA landscaping rules. He called it an "eyesore" and said it had to go or we'd face a $250 fine.
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    This felt bizarre, so I checked the HOA handbook, and there was nothing about vegetable gardens being prohibited. I emailed Greg
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    to ask for clarification, and his response gave me chills. He replied that the "rules don't always need to be written down"
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    and that the HOA board (which he basically controlled) had the authority to "take action" against anyone jeopardizing the neighborhood's appearance. He
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    ended with, "I hope you understand how important it is to follow our standards-for everyone's sake."
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    The vague threat put us on edge, but we decided not to engage further. Instead, we quietly ignored the notice.
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    A week later, we received another complaint, this time about a wind chime hanging on our porch. Greg claimed it was "a disturbance to the peace" and
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    ordered us to remove it immediately. What made this so strange was that the wind chime was small, barely audible, and on our own porch.
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    Greg wasn't just enforcing rules. He was targeting us. That same week, I noticed Greg standing on the sidewalk near our house late at night, smoking a ciga tte and staring at our property. When I locked eyes with
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    him, he didn't move, just stood there watching until I went inside. It was unsettling. My husband and I realized we needed to do something before this escalated further.
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    We decided to fight back, but not directly. Instead, we studied Greg's property. He lived like a dictator but didn't seem to think the rules applied to him. A quick look revealed several blatant violations: an unapproved fence,
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    a massive shed, and a towering flagpole with a floodlight that lit up half the street at night. These were all against HOA regulations, which required approval for major additions.
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    We compiled everything into a formal complaint and submitted it anonymously to the rest of the HOA board. To our relief, the board (clearly tired of Greg's antics) took immediate action.
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    Within a week, Greg was hit with thousands of dollars in fines for his violations and was ordered to remove the structures or face escalating penalties.
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    Greg did not take this well. He started skulking around the neighborhood more often, glaring at anyone who dared to look his way. At the next HOA meeting, he tried to argue that his additions should be "grandfathered in"
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    because he was the president. However, one of the other board members, a retired lawyer, shut him down by reading the bylaws aloud and pointing out that Greg's additions were not only unapproved but egregiously out of compliance.
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    In a shocking twist, the board voted to remove Greg as HOA president on the spot. He had no choice but to comply with the fines and dismantle his precious flagpole and shed.
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    The new HOA president, a lovely woman with a passion for gardening, actually complimented our vegetable garden and wind chime at the next meeting. Meanwhile, Greg has retreated into his house,
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    barely speaking to anyone. Occasionally, we'll catch him watching us through his curtains, but he hasn't dared to approach since.
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    We are finally able to enjoy our garden, wind chime, and home in peace. Greg may still lurk in the shadows, but his reign of terror is over.
    via firakti

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