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Article Courtesy of NEWSWEEK
By Rebecca Flood
Published April 1, 2022
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WATCH VIDEO |
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A
resident claims to be embroiled in a drama with their Homeowners Association (HOA)
that started off as a query about decorative hinges.
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The homeowner, based
in Fort Myers, Florida, has been sharing a series of clips
to their TikTok account, @keyrealtors, documenting the saga
with the HOA, thought to be Castle Group.
Earlier this month, they posted a video, explaining: "My
homeowners association denied my decorative garage door
hinges."
"When I asked if everyone with a decorative wall hanging
applied for approval, the board changed the rules and
removed decorative wall décor from needing approval.
Checkmate."
They ended the video by
filming the side of their home, where they appeared to have
mounted a garage door—complete with hinges—resembling the
design of their functional garage.
In a series of follow-up clips, they recorded the new
addition to their home, writing: "They try to say it isn't
art but those who know..." While they zoomed in on a fake
"Picasso" signature they'd added at the bottom.
However the artwork didn't seem to go down well with the HOA,
as it posted a further update claiming: "The board changed
the rules again! They removed the wall décor exception."
They filmed reams of documents, including letters,
highlighting a section that said: "If the wall décor or
plaque exceed 30"x30" or 900 sq ft, ARC approval is
required."
The TikToker captioned the follow-up clip, posted on Friday,
with: "My HOA caught wind of pt.1 when it went viral. They
changed rules again to further target me after I beat them
at their own game."
Need to Apply
The on-screen text from the video continued: "They sent a
new violation letter for my Picasso wall décor saying I was
supposed to apply for the modification."
An excerpt from a letter stated: "Specifically, you have
permanently attached a garage door to your house and failed
to request approval from the Architectural Review
Committee." |
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My HOA caught wind of pt.1 when it went viral. They
changed rules again to further target me after I beat them at their
own game.
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The video continued: "They met with the association attorney to review the
mess they got themselves into. The board added me as a violation on the
meeting agenda but when it came time to discuss they wouldn't say a single
word."
And they confirmed their now-viral TikTok had been spotted, continuing:
"Then the board saw part 1 with 100,000 likes and over 1 million views.
"Part 1 really hit a nerve so the board escalated right to trying to sue me
to take down the Picasso. Still hanging proud, stay tuned for part 3."
The original clip—the part one—has been seen more than 4 million times, and
can be viewed here, while the follow-ups have garnered more than 320,000
views in total.
Numerous people have commented on the drama, praising the homeowner for
their "pettiness" over the issue.
According to research published in 2021 from iProperty Management, 58 per
cent of homeowners live in HOAs in the U.S., with $250 the average monthly
fee for a single family home.
They said: "California and Florida have the highest number of HOAs
nationwide, with 97,700 between them. Florida has the highest concentration
of community associations, with 67.3% of homeowners belonging to an HOA."
They've become increasingly popular, with 74.5% of homes sold in 2019 part
of HOAs.
"From 2018 to 2019, HOA resident populations grew 0.54% as homeownership
rates remained stagnate," they explained.
While 70 per cent of HOA residents claims to have a good experience, they
noted that potential hidden costs can include "fines for property that does
not comply with community regulations."
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