HOAs can be a thorn in the side of many homeowners, and in the case of one Redditor, their "small-minded" homeowners association president was the biggest thorn of all.
In this Reddit thread, the homeowner complained about what a "power hungry pita" the president was and how they wanted "to get rid of the management company" altogether.
So, what happened?
Though it appears the Redditor has had other issues with the president, this time the problem was about solar panels. Specifically, the president appeared to want to vote on a request for solar panels from a homeowner — even though the HOA could not approve or deny the panels in the first place.
The thread's commenters had differing thoughts on the matter. One did not fully understand the frustration of the original poster, which highlights how confusing the issue of solar panel access may be to many homeowners. As a result, they suggested, "If you and the other non-president director are in agreement re: responding to the homeowner that applied for solar panels, then hold the vote and outvote the president."
They went on to point out that "as long as [the president] is voting in a manner that doesn't conflict with Federal or state law … she is entitled to vote however she wants."
While this particular case may still result in the original homeowner's getting the solar panels that they requested, it points to a bigger issue of HOAs' getting involved in — and sometimes blocking — solar panel distribution to homeowners.
If your HOA tries to stop you from getting solar panels, you could miss out on significant cost savings. In fact, HOAs across the country have been caught preventing homeowners from making money-saving, eco-friendly updates to their homes such as solar panels or native plant lawns.
The good news is there are ways to help change the bylaws of your HOA. Doing so often benefits the whole community by raising property values, lowering energy costs, and more. And if you can't change the bylaws, it's worth looking for ways to get around the restrictions.
🗣️ Should HOAs be able to force homeowners to change their yards?
🔘 Absolutely not 💯
🔘 Yes — it's part of the deal 🤝
🔘 Only in extreme circumstances 🏚️
🔘 We should ban HOAs 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"My HOA president doesn't even live in our neighborhood anymore," one commenter noted, with shades of Mean Girls.
Another stated that "single family homes should have any HOA dissolved."
Finally, one commenter said what many of the others may have been thinking: "Fire the management company to save money. They're costing you far more than the service you get."
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