In the 20+ years I have been in real estate I have seen HOA’s complain about some amazing things. Here are a few examples.
1) The HOA said there had to be at least eight plants in the front yard. The three plants in pots did not count.
2) The Home Owners Association complained because there were no curtains on the windows. Actually the curtains and blinds were there but had been opened or pulled up to let more light into this ranch style home. I guess if you buy a home in this HOA you can’t have the blinds or curtains open.
3) The Home Owners Association complained because there were dead trees on the property. We told the HOA the trees were deciduous. Then we had to explain this means the trees or shrubs lose their leaves in the fall and grow them back in the spring. The plants are not dead just dormant.
4) When the sign went up at the seller’s house the Home Owners Association started complaining. First it was paint on the side of the house. The seller painted. A week later they did not like the paint job on the side of the house AND the front of the house needed to be painted. The seller painted both. A week later a violation was received saying the garage door needed to be painted and there were overgrown bushes in the yard. The seller removed the only two plants that were in the yard but did not have time to paint before close of escrow. The buyer agreed to take responsibility for the HOA violations so escrow could close. The day the seller was moving out a guy from the HOA was at the front of the house again coming up with new violations. This begs the question why didn’t the HOA write up ALL the violations when the first violation was sent?