One homeowner in Asheville, North Carolina, was furious after their HOA fined them after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on the area and community.
The Reddit user took to r/f**kHOA to share their frustration. They explained that they were fined $25 following a second official warning to clean a “light level” of dirt off the side of their house.
The original poster responded to the HOA in an email that the house had been pressure-washed. Since it cost so much, the OP’s household couldn’t afford its full grocery run for that week.
“‘Thank you for making sure the community stays safe against the evil dirt on the sides of houses,'” the OP said in the email, per the Reddit post. “‘I’m so glad our community prioritizes such important matters.'”
The OP added in a comment that the HOA fined their neighbor for a similar dirt situation in a non-public area of the house.
“They nailed our neighbor too. Who helped us a LOT with paying for it. But nonetheless it’s so disgusting,” they wrote. “This isn’t anything IMPORTANT, is the worst part. Nor is it impacting ANYONE.”
This follows other recent stories of HOAs going too far and cutting down flowers, implementing more expensive energy rules, and ghosting residents who want to install solar.
Stories like this highlight a bigger problem of HOAs across the country blocking eco-friendly improvements and not accounting for extreme weather events like this one. These restrictions frustrate residents and cost them money. They also stall progress on cleaner energy, greener neighborhoods, and cheaper, healthier living for people and the planet.
Users in the comments were understandably on the poster’s side:
One user south of Asheville added support: “There [are] still obvious remnants from Helene around me. … There are definitely more important things than a little dirt. Especially with how bad it was for you guys.”
“I [got] a letter one year, except the dirt in question was on the back of my home. So I was like, which one of you is walking through our wooded, tick-infested HOA buffer trying to find dirt on the back of our houses?” a second person questioned. “Weirdos.”
Another put the fines in perspective: “It will be cheaper to buy your own pressure washer. But, r/f**khoa.”
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