Free Republic

BEAVERTON, Ore. — A group of Beaverton homeowners, facing thousands of dollars in fines from their neighborhood's HOA board, tried to remove their board president from his position — only for the board to change the neighborhood's bylaws the very next day, making it "essentially impossible" to be removed from power. An attorney representing the HOA board told KGW that the homeowners' actions don't represent the entire community, as some people have been pleased with the 'clean-up' of the neighborhood, but the conflict highlights the delicate balance of power between neighborhoods and the associations that run them. Homeowners associations, or...

Soon, I'll be moving into an HOA neighborhood. I have repeatedly vowed I would never live in one again, but I actually ended up going the complete opposite direction and buying a home in a place with the most extreme homeowners association I've ever lived under. Here are some of the rules I'll have to comply with when I buy my new house. 1. Any exterior changes to your house must go to a vote If you want to make any exterior modifications to any public areas of your house in my new neighborhood, you must get prior approval first....

Sometimes, to make change, you have to infiltrate the enemy’s domain, or at least that’s what the Greeks thought during the Trojan War. One homeowner used a similar technique to bring change to their neighborhood by joining the board of their homeowners association. The gardener posted on Reddit about how they became president of their HOA to convince people that natural gardens aren’t so bad after all. In their post are photos of their lawn filled to the brim with flowers, vegetables, trees, and clovers. The poster said: “I’ve convinced people that this kind of lawn is better than theirs!...

A Black fisherman's TikTok videos showing white people repeatedly confronting him for being at a lake in his own neighborhood have gone viral. The man, whose handle is "fishingbay2ga," posted a video on Wednesday with a caption explaining that "privileged" people in his "nice" neighborhood don't believe he lives there. The video, which has racked up more than 5 million views, shows a white woman approaching him and a companion near the lake. "Are you guys residents here?" she asks, later adding that the lake is for residents only. After the woman says she does not give him permission to...

PLANTATION, Fla. – A South Florida woman is accusing her homeowner’s association of towing away her late husband’s cars while she dealt with his sudden death and planned his funeral. Dori Cousley’s 59-year-old husband Richard died of a sudden heart attack. “I was planning a funeral, planning a viewing, getting my sister-in-law here from Jamaica,” she said. “The other sister lives out of South Florida.” The last thing on her mind was Richard’s cars in the parking lot. The couple had lived at the Plantation Racquet Club on Broward Boulevard for 20 years. Richard used to be the security guard...

Michelle Clark Miller Executive Administrative Assistant (2000–present) When my sister bought her house, she was the third person to buy in the new neighborhood. They signed the papers and started making payments BEFORE the HOA was established, so the HOA was not mentioned in the paperwork. Over the next few years, my sister and her then husband erected a basketball goal, added a covered patio, inground pool, and a large storage/workshop. They’d bought one of the two lots on the very tail end of the cul-de-sac, so their lot was HUGE. They still had way more backyard than most people....

A Florida man angry with his homeowners association set his unit on fire, causing an explosion that damaged other units and shot himself afterwards, authorities said. Marc Hermann, 53, was arrested Monday and is being held in the Seminole County jail on four arson charges. The fire broke out on Jan. 14 in a small apartment community in the Orlando suburb of Longwood, according to a police affidavit. A responding deputy found Hermann sitting on the ground draped in towels and bleeding, the documents said. When asked about his injuries, Hermann allegedly told authorities they were caused by a gun....

WESTON, Fla. – A Weston Hills Country Club homeowner has been put on notice and told to park his new $100,000 pickup truck in a garage, out of sight, or face fines. That homeowner is gearing up for a fight, claiming the rules are outdated and ridiculous. “How long did you wait to get this vehicle?” Local 10 investigative reporter Jeff Weinsier asked. “It was ordered over a year ago,” said Weston Hills resident Glenn Gordon. Gordon’s truck was delivered just a few weeks ago. “I felt like a little kid waiting for it,” he said. “The first one I...

A friend of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and two other women were shot dead Sunday when a man opened fire at a Rome coffee shop. The women were holding a board meeting for their condominium in Rome’s Fidene district when the 57-year-old gunman stormed in and opened fire, according to Italian authorities. The suspect was overpowered and detained by other residents at the meeting. Arriving police arrested the man. “He came into the room, closed the door and shouted, ‘I’ll kill you all’ and then started to shoot,” one witness said, according to Italian news agency Ansa. The suspect...

I own a second home in Pagosa Springs, CO. A couple years ago the HOA for Pagosa Lakes went full dictator and declared war on short term rentals in Pagosa Lakes. We home owners were not able to vote on this; they simply declared it with minimal input from the owners. When I sent a scathing letter that included the “damn” word I was informed of another policy they enacted without input. If they don’t like your correspondence you are subject to a $500 fine for the first offense, $10,000 for the second and $20,000 for the third. Gee, what...

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A Florida man has been arrested after committing multiple fraudulent transactions while pretending to be an Irish national. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement became aware of a man using the pseudonym “Declan Quinn” to commit fraud in February. Following an investigation, agents found that “Quinn” had won the position of HOA Board of Directors presidents at his Washington County neighborhood. He also used his standing in his community to obtain a $17,000 loan fraudulently. The fake name was even used to sign a notarized promissory note stating he would repay the loan, which he failed...

It's one thing to send your neighbor a completely insane rambling letter demanding that they cease something that you don't want them to do. That alone takes a certain level of unhinged manicism. When that letter is written so poorly that parts of it are almost incomprehensible, it takes the whole thing to another level. It's kind of like getting into an argument on the internet; if you're unable to adequately and accurately express yourself, you will be torn apart based on that alone. Why on earth is this neighbor so riled up in the first place? I wouldn't consider...

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA — After two days of dealing with the insufferable busybodies at the Martha's Vinyard Home Owners Association, illegal immigrants have decided to go back home and take their chances with the cartels. "Man, the cartels are bad where I come from, but this is a whole other level," said immigrant Juan Ramirez as he climbed back on the unmarked charter bus. "How do you people live like this? You have to pay $1000 per month for a team of white ladies named 'Karen' to come to inspect your hedges and whine when you don't do them right?...

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - A Henderson resident believes his freedom of speech is being violated over a bumper sticker on his truck. A bumper sticker that reads “Let’s Go Brandon” is causing all the trouble for the man who is being told by his homeowner’s association that displaying the sticker on his truck is considered an offensive trader activity. Chris lives in the Central Park Estates neighborhood located on the cross streets of Bermuda and Pebble. You can often see his red truck parked in his driveway usually with flags attached to it, but not anymore. “They said I...

Unvaccinated residents of Sydney, Australia, will face social isolation and a difficult life should they continue to resist vaccination, says New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian. According to Reuters, Berejiklian told reporters on Tuesday that the unvaccinated will face a great deal of difficulty when stay-at-home orders cease this coming December, from social activities to simple employment. “A lot of businesses have said they will not accept anyone who is unvaccinated,” Berejiklian told Seven News on Tuesday. “Life for the unvaccinated will be very difficult indefinitely.”

Retired publishing mogul Florence Fang won her years-long legal battle with a local California government to keep the life-sized sculptures outside her home Fang purchased the home in 2017 for $2.8 million and started making additions such as the dinosaurs and Flintstone characters Fang also added a giant sign that read 'yabba dabba doo' to her lawn in orange letters The Town of Hillsborough sued Fang in 2019, saying it was an eyesore, and that she had not gone through the proper channels for the construction Fang countersued, saying the town was harassing her and violating her First Amendment rights...

A volcanic-ash scrubber, a decontamination room, a waterslide -- when it comes to surviving a nuclear apocalypse, the Survival Condo has everything you could need, at a price. ........ For most of my adult life, I've had an apocalypse plan. It's been straightforward. Grab my go bag, drive out to a shack in the woods, then hunker down under the floorboards eating canned food through the valve in my gas mask, waiting for the nukes to drop. But after visiting my first real nuclear bunker, my apocalypse plan has been upgraded. Now my list of needs includes "underground swimming pool"...

As a Pasco County Sheriff’s Deputy, Sean Kennedy spent 25-years following the law and enforcing it. Now he’s found himself in a position where he feels he must break the law. More specifically, a by-law for his community association. Kennedy lives with his wife and children in the Foxwood subdivision in New Port Richey. It’s a deed-restricted community where lawns are neatly mowed and cars are parked in garages. Over Kennedy’s garage flies a blue lives matter flag, the homeowners association recently told him he had to take it down. Kennedy lives with his wife and children in the Foxwood...

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A viral video shows a furniture and home appliance delivery driver being held against his will in a neighborhood, blocked in by a HOA president who demanded information from him regarding why he was there. “I want to know where you’re going?” a man named David Stewart is heard saying on a viral Facebook live. “It’s none of your business. I’m going out, that’s where I’m going,” Travis Miller said. Travis Miller, a home appliance and furniture delivery driver, captured the encounter in the Ashford Hills neighborhood in NE OKC, on Facebook Live on Monday.

Simonis said the letter did not address any of the other decorations in their yard. "Maintenance - holiday decorations need to be removed," the letter obtained by NBC affiliate WOAI in San Antonio reads. "Please remove the snowman until closer to the holiday season." Simonis said she and her family have lived in the subdivision for four years and have never received a letter like this before.