A Florida woman who lives in an HOA reflects on the time her neighborhood fined her for not managing her lawn to their specifications. Now, she’s received another violation – this time during a drought. She shares all and sheds some light on what many individuals deal with when they live in HOAs.
TikToker @saltyoccasionallysweet says she was handed a violation a year ago for her grass being dead during times of record heat. She said they were only able to water their yard once a week and all of her neighbors had dead yards as well. Just the other day, she received a new violation for the same thing! Now, she’s sharing what was written in the letter and why she finds it ridiculous.
This TikToker says that her HOA started the letter with a condescending, “Living in a deed-restricted community brings with it special responsibilities. As a community, we must maintain high standards in order to preserve the investments in our homes.” The HOA tells her that they want to enhance the value of properties in the neighborhood and, as a result, they conduct “regular inspections” on homes. She says to her audience, “I know! The old fat guy that rides around on his golf cart passes my house every single day.”
As she reads on, she states the violations they pointed out in her yard specifically. These include yard maintenance, repairs that need made to her yard, and replacing dead grass. They request that she “remedies” the situation within 30 days. But, as she says, that’s pretty difficult to do when there’s a drought in many areas of Florida. On top of that, she says she doesn’t care to correct the problem. Why? They’re moving out of their HOA in “a week and a half.” She says she doesn’t know who will water the lawn but laughs as she says, “It’s not gonna be me!”
As @saltyoccasionallysweet says, this is what their HOA fees pay for. She says all their money they pay into their neighborhood “goes toward them taking pictures of my house.” On top of that, she says that the HOA director rides by their house every day but they still send the letters through USPS to their homes.
The video immediately sparked reactions from many, some of which who criticize HOAs. As one commenter stated simply, “I hate HOAs.” Another commenter shared, “HOAs are not allowed to give citations for lawn/shrubs being dry during a drought or water restrictions placed by city, county or state.” The TikToker replied, “Boy do I have news for you!”
Other commenters quipped about their opinions and experiences dealing with HOAs. One commenter stated, “I wouldn’t live in a house with an HOA if someone gave it to me for free.” Another shared, “We are about to move into an HOA community where we will actually own the house and I’m scared.” One commenter asked, “Why would you do that?! You’re paying money so strangers can tell you what you can and can’t do with your property.” Luckily, this TikToker is getting away from that life. Hopefully, her next neighborhood leads to less drama.
