One Hundred Dollars a Month

There are people who hate HOA’s and people who love them.

Maybe I’m a little off my rocker, but I’m okay with HOA’s because because there are rules. I know when I go to sell my home I won’t have to worry about the pink house next door or the guy with his 1980’s Uncle Eddie camper down the street, or the guy with his car jacked up on cinder blocks in his front driveway making my home to potential buyers undesirable. That being said, the next house we buy {our forever home, will not be a part of a HOA because it will be in the middle of nowhere}.

What I hate, are the busy bodies who {typically} run the association. Although in all fairness, I have no idea who is actually on my HOA landscape committee nor do I really care. The rules are there for a reason. And if you buy into a planned community, you are suppose to follow them. I get it. I can live with that.

But what I really despise are getting anonymous letters in the mail from people on said committee telling me I am in violation. Which is exactly what happened last week {but c’mon now… it took them long enough don’t you think}. 😉

But, I’m a big girl. And I can play the game.

I knew when we moved to this neighborhood there were rules. Just like there were rules in every single other development we’ve ever lived in. Never once did I get a letter. I knew in our last development I was crossing the line when we bought chickens. Technically, “no caged birds or livestock” were allowed. I was prepared to argue that the chickens were “pets” and that since they free ranged, they were not “caged birds.”

But luckily, I didn’t have too. Because no one really cared. Well they did show a wee bit of concern at first because they thought we would keep roosters. Which we did not.

But in this neighborhood, they care. OH BOY DO THEY CARE.

Here is {part} of the letter I received last week.

At first when I read it I was like… exterior changes? I didn’t make any exterior changes to my house. I didn’t paint it, or add on a deck or anything strange. I pruned {okay, hacked} a few bushes {okay, a lot}. And then I was like “Oh crap, if the HH finds out I got caught he is going to FLIP OUT. {He is a total rule follower}.

So I called the lady at the HOA office and asked her if there was a special form I was suppose to fill out and what I needed to include. I also quickly ran my garden box idea by her and got the feeling from the tone of her voice that if the garden boxes could be seen from the road, they were going to be a “no go.” I mentioned I had seen a few other homes in the neighborhood with similar garden boxes in their side yards like the ones I was planning on installing. She said something like, “Oh, if you want to write down their addresses the committee can drive by and take a look.”

Umm. No.

I wasn’t about to get someone else in trouble for growing a few freakin’ vegetables.

ARE.YOU.KIDDING.ME?

So I quickly drew up a sketch of what I was “proposing to plant.” I made no mention of anything I had removed. I also included a “Plan B.” {Basically same garden boxes but in the upper garden instead of the side yard.”

And then I turned in my form.

We’ll see what happens.

~Mavis the Garden Rebel.