We get it — some neighbors can be a pain in the rear. But do they really need to be reported to the HOA? These HOA residents say otherwise. What are your thoughts? Content has been edited for clarity.
“Temporary” Waterslide
“I never thought I would be in this position but I am the one who sought out the 75-year-old members of the HOA board for assistance. Having said that, I feel like I was very patient and accommodating but just got pushed too far. But still anytime you ‘call the HOA’ you might be the jerk.
My neighbors started out in February/March with a bouncy castle in their yard. I could not see it but I could certainly hear it when the kids would start bouncing at 4:30/5 am. It honestly seemed that the kids would wake up really early and the parents would send them outside so they could sleep. But it was incredibly loud. I had a polite conversation with the parents and they assured me the bouncy castle was temporary. I put up with it for probably 3 weeks, nearly every day until I explained that I work nights and I was being woken up right as I was getting to sleep.
To their credit, they stopped jumping early in the morning and everything was fine until 3 weeks ago when a huge bouncy castle suddenly appeared in their backyard. It was at least 25 feet tall..it completely blocked my view of the mountains I could see the kids were able to look right into my bedroom window from the top.
Unfortunately, this coincided with a shift change for me, and now the kids were up until 11-12, even 1 am on some nights and now I had to wake up at 4:30. I didn’t even realize it was also a waterslide until I realized that probably hundreds of gallons of water had run under our shared fence and actually pushed all my dog’s poop up against by back door.
I went over and talked to them and the dad essentially said, ‘We were polite enough to change our schedule for you the first time and this is our backyard–screw you!’
I decided something had to be done because potentially my house could be damaged, let alone the sleep issue. So I called the HOA and however the machine works, my neighbor had been called in front of a board meeting, fined about $1000 dollars for covenant violations as well as ordered to pay for damages to our joint fence.
I thought everything was good except for some dirty looks from the neighbor but literally EVERY one of my family and friends are saying I’m the asshole for going to the HOA. While opinions vary, the general gist is I’m now the crabby neighbor ruining kids’ fun. That I should have got some noise-cancelling headphones and ignored it and they would have popped the slide at some point anyways and it would have taken care of itself. The idea I guess is that I tattled and got my way by unleashing a bunch of busybodies with too much time and too much undeserved power.”
The Frog Statuette
“Recently, my husband, I, and my 6-year-old daughter started to walk. We’ve been doing the same route every day. It is about 2 miles and there aren’t a lot of cars, so it is a really good route.
Recently one of our neighbors put up a frog statuette for display outside their house. I find it really creepy and so does my husband. My daughter hates it. She is absolutely terrified of it. Now She refuses to go on walks.
Earlier today I went to the house to ask them to move the statuette so it is no longer on display. I knocked on the door and a middle-aged man, maybe 55, opened the door. I told him the situation. He seemed sympathetic, but he said that he and his wife really like the display, so they won’t be taking down that statuette.
After that, I talked to my next-door neighbor. He is the vice president of the HOA so I was wondering if he could force them to take the statuette down. He said that the statuette might be a violation of the HOA bylaws. He went to look at it and sure enough, it is. Now they’re being forced to take down the statuette and are being fined for violating the bylaws.
My husband says that I took it too far. I see it differently. The statuette is destroying the aesthetics of the neighborhood and is scaring the children. ”
Dogs
“I (32M) and my wife (32F) live in a Community Association or under an HOA. We have had no problems since moving in a few years ago. We have two dogs: a 1-year-old golden retriever and a 3-year-old shepherd mix. I work from home and can walk the dogs. I always bring a few bags with me and pick up after my dogs.
New neighbors moved in recently and have 3 dogs: 2 Bernese mountain dogs and a Great Dane. The dogs are very friendly and get along great with our two dogs. However, I have noticed that the neighbors do not pick up after their dogs and let them come over to our property. My wife went over and politely asked them if they would pick up after their dogs. The neighbors nodded, and everything seemed okay. Nonetheless, my wife went out to plant in her garden and stepped in many dog piles.
I had enough of what was going on and mentioned the problem to the HOA. They assured me that they would speak to our neighbors, and the problem would be solved. A few days later, the neighbors came over, banging on the front door. The husband started shouting at me about going to the HOA over such a small issue. I told him that my wife had gone over and politely asked them to pick up after their dogs. He then proceeded to blame my dogs, and I told him that I always pick up after them. Now, my wife and I are discussing building a fence. We will talk to the HOA about it and see if they will approve.”
