Ohio man roasts his HOA’s rules on 'defiant beige' paint and 'extra' guests with gold-level captions

Today, more than 75 million Americans live in around 365,000 HOA communities, yet a majority of them dislike the association. In fact, a survey by 2-10 found 70% of homeowners there would prefer a community without an HOA if they had to buy a home today. But why? The reasons vary from person to person; while some complain about the rising HOA fees, others call out the enforcement of bizarre rules and an unresponsive board. An Ohio man (@bankertobuilder) living in an HOA-governed community is also frustrated with the association. But instead of shouting or yelling at them, he decided to expose the oh-so-evil association in front of the world with a pinch of sarcasm.

His post, shared on November 26, captured an HOA board member screaming at a homeowner for painting their house a "defiant beige." That color, apparently, isn't suitable for the neighborhood, as it "blinds neighbors emotionally." The board member even said that every time he walked past the house, he found himself losing his sense of purpose. "The approved palette exists for a reason," he said. The member mentioned that visual chaos spreads fast, and his house paint was undermining the community's "spirit alignment." The homeowner introduced the board member as the HOA quant, and sarcastically wrote, "[I] couldn’t be more proud of how he conducts his HOA meetings."

His second post was shared a day later, where another HOA board member announced yet another bizarre rule, urging people to uninvite extra guests on Thanksgiving. She said, "Each household will be limited to five guests." The homeowners were obviously shocked and immediately raised concerns about the rule. In fact, a man with three kids and grandparents couldn't understand how he would adhere to the new policy. The five-guest limit for Thanksgiving was so strict that if someone had an infant as a sixth guest, they would be fined by the HOA. 

Both his posts went viral, with people responding in equal measure with sarcasm. Meanwhile, others criticized the HOA for enforcing unreasonable rules. For instance, @stephen_a_crane commented, "I thought everybody knew 'Defiant Beige' was offensive. It is a shame that your quant had to kindly explain the matter to the owner. I’m sure the fine will be reasonable." @outtolunch237 wrote, "Remember that all HOA board members should be required to pass a background check. If they don't have mental illness, they aren't qualified." Calling out the association, @logosethosetc wrote, "You have no business telling people how many guests they have over. That is not part of your authority or responsibility."

@mrgeeknation said, "What in the actual f**k is being 'blinded emotionally?' Are you so f****** soft that a different shade of BEIGE blinds you emotionally and undermines the community's 'Spirit Alignment'? HOAs should be deemed illegal. I would rather be homeless than live in a free HOA house." @allxday305 commented, "The board either has no family coming or family that hates them; they don’t want to hear their neighbors having fun. Ban HOAs." @chainedreality confessed, "These kinds of people inspire me to move to the woods and never have anything to do with the burbs at all. It's not just the HOA. The HOA is a reflection of the people living there. And I want nothing to do with them."

You can follow Mason Home Builder (@bankertobuilder) on X for more such funny posts.

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