If you’ve ever been in an HOA, and had problems, you fully understand how annoying and frustrating it is. HOAs tend to use restrictive rules, fail to be transparent, and cause all sorts of trouble for neighbors. One Texas woman learned quickly her freedom feels non-existent in an HOA. After attempting to rent our her pool, the HOA “Karens” were quick to harass her. Now, she’s gone viral for speaking out against it.
Billie Renee (@cerverafitmom on TikTok) posted a video after she was (surprise!) instructed to cease operations. Her initial post claims, “My HOA is watching me like a hawk and I’m over it. This feels more like harassment than a rule violation.” In previous posts, Billie claimed she rented out the pool in her backyard to others for three seasons. She said that “several families made memories,” their children learned to swim, and everything was going fine. That is, until the HOA “Karens” got involved and reported her.
Since the report, Billie’s HOA has sent her several letters regarding her pool and to “cease activity immediately.” She claims they pulled up to her home and took pictures of her SUV and house during their “investigation.” They wanted to catch her inviting people over to her pool behind their backs. At outlining her irritating ordeal, she says, “Now I’m going to enjoy my pool today with some friends.”
Billie has since shown the email from the HOA, which annoyingly states she isn’t permitted to rent out her pool. They stated in bold, “Please cease commercial use of your property. Renting your pool out is now allowed. Please remove all advertisements and cease this activity immediately. Failure to address this issue will result in further violations and fines.” The HOA Karens are getting real serious with this one.
Surely, we’ve all heard HOA horror stories on the internet or from friends who, unfortunately, have to live in one. There have been numerous stories of people getting fines for leaving decorations out too long or not mowing their grass at the “correct” length. This is a new one, though. I was always under the impression you could do what you want with your pool but apparently, allowing others to have a good time means you’re running some big business that impedes on the HOA’s ability to run a picture-perfect neighborhood. Think of the money as a donation!
Of course, commenters have had a lot of fun bashing HOAs in the comments of Billie’s videos. One person quipped (but truthfully), “HOA is the student council people who peaked in high school.” Another suggested, “How about you get together with other people and audit the HOA and find out their secrets because they’re probably hiding something. I feel all HOA need to be audited by the community.”
Others called HOAs a scam or said they would never, ever live in one under any circumstances because it’s nice to have your own autonomy and rights. Some even called what Billie experiences a lot like a dictatorship because, let’s face it, it totally is. I can’t even begin to fathom what it feels like to live in a neighborhood where you’re judged constantly.
