Woman kept finding her pool 'closed' despite HOA's $500 monthly fee. Turns out, they expected her to clean it on her own
People are frustrated with the HOA, which fails to do the exact job for which it was established in the first place
People living in an HOA neighborhood fork over a lot of money every month toward them. So, of course, they hope that the neighborhood will be in pristine condition, especially amenities like pools. However, that's not exactly what one community has been getting lately, despite not missing their payments. This has led one woman (u/BackOnTheMap) to vent out her frustration on Reddit, who revealed in her post on 26th May about how the HOA is scamming her daughter.
The pool isn't opening this weekend because there are not enough VOLUNTEERS to take care of it.
by u/BackOnTheMap in fuckHOA
A bizarre condition
The mother shared that her daughter, who lived in a condo complex, paid over $500 to the HOA. Well, that's not quite the issue, as the common range of HOA fees is about $200 to $400, which increases in condos and other high-amenity communities. However, the surprising part is that despite paying this amount, the woman's daughter isn't even allowed to go to the pool, as it is often closed due to a lack of volunteers. "They expect residents to deal with everything for the community pool. Insane," the mother said.
Of course, this is way out of line and doesn't make any sense. Even more so, since it's literally the HOA's job to look after these things, such as volunteer shortages. However, just like a coin has two sides, there are neighborhoods where the people who decide to take matters into their own hands and solve the problem face the heat. That's because within the comment section of the same discussion, another woman (u/Acceptable-Regret398) narrated her story and how her neighbors were complaining to her husband, who is the HOA president, about taking action.
A pool problem turns personal
For this woman, the situation turned sour when her husband, who had joined the HOA to bring change, was criticized for hiring their 18-year-old son. Their neighborhood was also struggling to find pool volunteers, so instead of paying outsiders, he gave the job to someone willing to do it. What seemed like a practical fix soon became a nightmare.
Although the teen handled chemical testing, litter removal, chair arrangement and other duties well, neighbors accused the family of nepotism. The woman said her husband had posted the job for two years, but no one applied. After that, he hired their son rather than outsourcing the work. Still, the backlash made it feel like there was no right decision, leaving her so upset that she urged him to buy a home outside an HOA community. "Honestly, I’m so over this neighborhood that I’m not even concerned anymore. We are building a home with no HOA and will be moving this fall," she further noted.
The bigger picture on HOA living
While the internet is filled with bad HOA experiences, recent survey data shows a more mixed picture. According to the Foundation for Community Association Research’s 2024 Homeowner Satisfaction Survey, conducted by Zogby Analytics, 86% of residents rated their overall community association experience as either good, very good, or neutral. Of that group, 60% gave a good or very good rating, while 26% felt neutral.
'Absolutely never again'
Nonetheless, this didn't stop the people in the comments from supporting these families. One of such comments came from u/NibelheimTifa, who wrote, "I used to live in an HOA. Absolutely never again. I'd rather have surgery without anesthesia. My HOA was $3000 per year when I left, and I sold my house just to get rid of it. I swear I wasn't allowed to park in my own driveway. I was supposed to use my garage, which didn't fit my car. I saw someone get punched in the face on the curb because of how nasty our HOA fights were." Meanwhile, u/Inthecards21 suggested, "I guess they could, and should increase the fees to manage the pool."
More on Scoop Upworthy
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