Recently, a man we’ll call Revel shared on an online forum that he bought his first house a few years ago. It was a medium-sized house in a southern state with a Home Owners Association (HOA).
He chose the neighborhood due to its low HOA charges, minimal rules, and affordability. However, after a few weeks, Revel received a notice from the HOA stating two violations.
The first violation was that the lawn needed to be greener, and the other was that the trash cans were too near the driveway. This confused Revel since the first violation was in the middle of winter, and everyone’s lawn was dead.
One month later, he got a fine of one hundred dollars for every violation. This did not make sense, and Revel was not about to hand out money for nothing. He went to appeal and met with an older guy who seemed to be in his seventies.
Revel saw a chance and took it by nominating themselves. He gave a fake speech about his passion for serving the community and that the HOA is not here to make money.
Revel was appointed secretary after joining the board. His role was to maintain meeting notes and review records. He could vote on new laws from the vice president or president but was not allowed to propose new policies.
The first opening presented itself when the president proposed a fine for her neighbors who did not have neutral flowers. Revel started a message thread on Slack to find out how other members felt about this.
The next targets were the director and treasurer. Revel made an account on Nextdoor and waited till the board rolled out violation letters. He then texted all the recipients and told them that the treasurer and director were behind this and they should come to their next HOA meeting to appeal.