One homeowners association resident faced a heartbreaking situation when their HOA's drastic action ruined the best feature of a neighborhood common area.
Mature trees significantly improve the value of the property they grow on, making the space more beautiful and providing comfortable, cooling shade. They also purify the air and help keep the soil from eroding.
But this HOA wasn't thinking about those benefits when it decided to remove three of the neighborhood's pine trees.
"HOA ripped out three trees overnight because they 'didn't look orderly,'" complained this Redditor in a recent post.
They also shared before-and-after photos. The "before" shows three healthy trees, set back a safe distance from the road and with no branches in the way of people, roads, or power lines. The "after" shows an empty space where the trees were, with unhealthy, patchy grass failing to cover the gap.
"Totally love our new 'orderly' patch of mulch," the original poster said sarcastically.
In a comment, they elaborated on how the change has affected them and the neighborhood. "Broke my frickin' heart," they said. "It used to be so pretty, especially in the morning sun. Now it's just a constant mud pit."
This isn't the first time an HOA has removed a tree unnecessarily. One homeowner found himself in a conflict with an HOA that insisted he remove his "dying" tree because its bark was peeling; it turned out that the tree was a perfectly healthy peeling river birch.
Another neighborhood had to file a restraining order against its HOA to protect the trees that the association was bent on removing.
"HOAs are the devil!" concluded one Reddit commenter.
"They love wasting other people's money," another user agreed.
Another commenter suggested a productive approach for homeowners in this situation. "This is the type of s*** that makes me want to apply to be on an HOA board so I can be one of the good ones," they said.
Even if you're not on the actual board, following the HOA's own internal processes can be an effective way to change frustrating rules or appeal board decisions. Learn about how to do that with this helpful guide.
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