A doting dad metaphorically nailed his busybody neighbor for indirectly forcing him to dismantle a treehouse that he and his kids assembled as a family project during the COVID-19 lockdown when so many were stuck inside.
He pinned a plastic-covered note containing a direct message to a not-so-neighborly “anonymous passerby” who apparently complained about the structure to the homeowners association.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now! Your act of casual cruelty was successful. The complaint you lodged with the HOA was heard. They had me take down the small treefort that I built on this location with my sons during the pandemic,” the message signed by “Dave” reads.
“No longer will its presence offend your walk past my house. Please enjoy your stroll free from the sound of my children’s play and laughter. They are safely back inside now, watching television I’m sure. Enjoy the unobstructed view of my backyard. I will try to keep it up to code.”
A photo of the note was posted to Reddit under the heading “Karen decides that children’s fun isn’t enough of a reason to have a treehouse,” where it prompted nearly 4,000 comments.
One Reddit user quipped that Dave might get cited for neglecting to get a permit before fastening the note on the tree.
Another commenter wrote, however, that “I know we’re all joking here but the beauty of this is that it’s preserved in a plastic sleeve so it’s not ‘garbage’ and it’s just a paper sign so it’s also not some kind of new ‘structure’ so likely the HOA can’t say s**t about this unless they write some new rules. Dave even hung it with the sleeve upside down so water can’t drop into it from the top.”
Some writers advised that disgruntled residents in HOA communities should start showing up for board meetings and get on the board to change things from within.
Others suggested that Dave, or any similarly situated person who has run afoul of overreaching HOA covenants, should check around the area any selective enforcement or nonenforcement of the rules.
Homeowners association rules and bylaws, which are sometimes overly picky in a purported attempt to maintain and/or enhance property values, are typically legally binding on everyone who owns a home in a subdivision.
A number of controversies have emerged around the country when HOAs even deemed the American Flag nonconforming with the existing private regulations.
Twitter also responded to this situation with somewhat nuanced opinions. Here is a sampling:
another example of how our society has gotten to the point where EVERYTHING is your business… NO.. IT’S NOT… if someone is doing something that isn’t illegal… isn’t hurting anyone… MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
— Carmine (@carmine196303) June 17, 2021
I sell real estate…..I warn my clients about HOAs. Don’t complain when you get caught doing something against rules. You knew the rules.
— Dolanator$Sooiepig (@PatrickDolan18) June 17, 2021
Many wanna-be tyrants love to be on HOA boards. I served on mine and our whole function was to make sure our very limited restrictions just made sure a landfill or mobile home wasn’t erected in our very rural acreage subdivision. Otherwise we minded our own business.
— Marianne 🇺🇸📷🌺🦅 #1A #2A (@ICherishFreedom) June 17, 2021
This kind of stuff is where HOA’s take things way too far. That being said, HOA’s are also good to have in situations where neighbors don’t take care of their property and makes everything around you look like 💩The fundamentals of most HOA’s are to keep the neighborhood nice.
— Pinstripes for Life (@Pinstripes4Life) June 17, 2021
I absolutely would never complain and think your a tool for doing so. That being said hard for the HOA because if they allow it then some idiot will then build some hideous structure that really is a issue and be like well you allowed them.
— Trindar (@Trindar1) June 17, 2021
You know when you buy a home that it is in an HOA and it has bylaws. If a person doesn’t want to obey the bylaws then don’t buy a home in an HOA. However I think the HOA could have found some temp leniency during Covid restrictions.
— some common sense (@realityresider) June 17, 2021
America, land of the free and home of the intolerant!
— Fool Me Once (@deace1) June 17, 2021
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Robert Jonathan is a staff writer for BizPac Review. He is a longtime writer/editor for news aggregation websites and has also developed content in the legal and financial publishing sectors as well as for online education. He earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law, “a law school the basketball teams can be proud of.”
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