The second story is a good example of turing the rope handed to you into a life line instead of a noose. If the guy didn't want to meet and pay outside of court, he chose the noose. But he saw the oppertunity to make a payment plan including labour if he couldn't pay, which allows him to fix this mistake. He chose wisely for the life line.
He honestly got lucky OP tracked him down and not someone else because it seems like there might be others who want to track him down... Just a theory but he seems to move a lot and keep where he is at under wraps. He could just not be into social media but it just feels like he has done something like this before and like OP said he would have cut his losses if the bill hadn't started to add up... Sometimes people like that need to be shown the kindness OP showed him to prevent this from ever happening again...
@@SailorMya Indeed; I wonder if his alcoholism led to him cutting corners and missing work in order to feed it? If anything, OP just saved him from going down that road again.
The last story, it's not 'nice' you are looking for, but 'fair'. Him having to pay back is nothing but fair, and giving him a little flexibility to fulfill his obligations is fair to him.
@@kiriseraph9674 honestly i believe in the 2nd story , he knew that ruin his life would have major consequences like mad rage to kill him , or turning him into a major criminal. Though he did the right thing by offering him a way to own up the mistake and plus he saw the length that this guy was going to find him was incredible detective work and most likely didnt want to anger anymore as he saw he was totally defeated. In some ways he might have found a new best friend or just a friend that totally has a good moral stand point that different from the people hes around with.
The fact that another member of the HOA was helping her made me laugh because you know it's bad when they are actively trying to destroy something they are a part of!
I see HOA's only having a use for communities that want to go above and beyond what the city could provide for public necessities. But the busy body and nosey HOA members that fine you for every small thing, or HOA's that use it as a way to have power over your neighbors are numerous and sound like the perfect way to turn a nice house into a nightmare.
@@hephsmith3738 you have to time it as the homeowner goes on vacation so you can bring the fees to collections and put a lean on their home, because you are a loving and caring hoa member of the community ❤️
To be fair, competent HOAs wouldn't get mentioned because then there would be no story worth telling. Would you tell a story of a waiter that did their job properly or would you tell one where they got your order wrong and spilled drinks on you.
@@wolfgamer8770 HOA are ass holes who have nothing better to do than tell how people can do things or not they have no right to tell anyone what to do and how people houses or yards should be you sound delusional as hell because you never had to deal with them
Story 1: Oh look, an HOA is committing fraud. I hope legal action was taken on the HOA and the members responsible are in jail. Story 2: The real revenge is what OP could do to the asshole after he was done paying.
Story 2: I like it when people are determined to track down the ones that wrong them rather than just cut their losses. On another note, don't scam people. They'll eventually track you down.
I love how rSlash edits the stories he reads leaving out while sections and rephrasing others but leaves the original text on the screen so you can see the missing information. Along with his long winded op-eds this channel is beyond average! Keep up the ok work rSlash
I’d say op was pretty generous with the guy in the last story, she let him do some work instead of making some of the payments even after he screwed up previous work
I Used to live in HOA apartment and honestly it’s kind of one of the reasons I moved they were way to strict and they’re were neighborhood snitch’s that told the HOA on people just living there lives Im quite glad I got out because it was honestly to much
OP was too nice... they were scammed, ghosted, suffered many losses and had to waste a lot of time finding and catfishing this douchebag. I would've gone scorched earth on what's left of him.
Probably would’ve got very little or nothing at all for so long that the payments they did receive didn’t actually make any difference in the long run. The state can only take 25% if there’s something to take from, and most businesses don’t like dealing with people with that sort of headache behind them.
The first story reminded me of a Nuclear revenge one from some time ago, in which the HOA bullied the poor man out of his house and in return he killed two of the members. You see, certain rules apply when one is a human being, but not, when one is a parasite.
I work with a guy who has been landscaping since like 1970. He loves it when some one tells him they are a master gardener. His response is “well if you are master gardener then I am a lord emperor gardener. Some master gardeners are very knowledgeable. Some can’t tell you the difference between perennial and annual.
That last story... even if that guy really did make a commitment to stay sober and was trying to get his life together, he's got a lot to learn about accountability. You wanna get your life back on track? Don't start by running away from commitments and responsibilities and leave others holding the bag.
Story 1: Depending on the state, county, and city HOAs are required for a subdivision to be built. Some places made agreements with the builders that prohibit the HOA from being dissolved. For example the 6 HOAs in my town if they were to dissolve would fall to a neutral party who would then run the HOA without having to consult the homeowners.
*Second OP:* I think this is a case where catfishing someone is justified. OP _was_ kind to go easy on the guy after making OP lose five figures worth of income.
I Dont think catfishing is justified in any case. Because what about the person op stole the images from, I personally wouldn't feel comfortable with someone using my face without my consent
Good morning rslash. Thanks for the stories. Have a great day. The work op put in to find the guy was definitely worth it to get his money back. He should be an investigator
I lived in an HOA neighborhood growing up, and our two worst encounters with them was 1) the time my dad had to take down the Christmas lights on the evergreen in front of our house because our next door neighbor complained that it looked like he'd made a penis drawing (which it did, we even have pictures of it) and 2) the time our next door neighbor (same neighbor) complained that we mowed our lawn on Sundays instead of Saturdays like the bylaws said; the HOA ruled that the bylaw existed in order to ensure that lawns were mowed at least once a week, so we were fine. The HOA paid to maintain 2 parks in our neighborhood too, so our money wasn't just going directly into the HOA's pockets.
My sister was once involved in a good HOA. This HOA is for a neighbourhood across town. This neighbourhood has a park, that was owned by the city. The city decided that the park was too much work and the city needed new houses. So the park was planned to be demolished and houses were planned there instead. The neighbourhood didn't want their park to go so they formed an HOA to take over care for the neighbourhood and the park. The city decided to give them some time to try and figure everything out, and they did. The HOA formed groups to do certain tasks inside the neighbourhood and only asks for money to buy stuff that is needed. No-one in the neighbourhood gets paid for the work they do, they all just like making the neighbourhood look better. Because of this, anything that needs to be done, gets done, no matter if it is helping someone or fixing a public area. How did my sister get involved? All groups could get one unpaid intern with the goal of teaching young people to do better. Since my sister wanted to become involved in nature care, she got to help out one summer, whilst getting credits for it!
I live in an HOA and tbh it has been chill they mow the lawn and provide an events room, pool and tennis court. It’s not a super expensive/fancy neighborhood (it used to be 55+ until recently) however I don’t like that they don’t allow fences and you have to get the colors of hot exterior painting approved
My funny hoa story is that I’m actually the secretary of mine, despite the fact that I go to college 2 hours away and am hardly ever home. The reason being: my dad is the president, my mom is the treasurer, and my brother is the Vice President. My dad didn’t like how it was being run so he just took over the whole thing and now it’s actually decent 😅
I lived in a HOA once and it wasn't too bad. It was good when a family just up and left their rental home next door to my old house and the grass didn't get cut for months.
HOA fees this year were 162 for the whole year. For 1.5M houses. That buys park taxes, maintenance, sidewalk repair if any, street lights electrical bill, and an umbrella policy for common areas like park and sidewalks. Be an HOA officer. Its 1 hour of work a year.
I live in a rural neighborhood with an HOA. The HOA here I actually support. Let me state again, this is a rural neighborhood. Very rural. There is no sewage system here. There is also no city controlled water service. our HOA controls and maintains the entire well and pipe network bringing fresh mountain water into everyone's homes. Now that may not seem like much, but its super complicated and extremely expensive if maintained by each homeowner. Its a lot cheaper when the HOA does it and each resident pays their part. Honestly, That may be the only thing they do, but its such a big deal that I absolutely support them.
While looking for a condo I found HOA fees up to 900.00 monthly. Needless to say I got a house in a non HOA . Can’t imagine paying 900 on top of a mortgage. HOAs are out of hand
I'm the HOA president of a multi-building, privately-owned condo community. The association maintains the common grounds, amenities, roofs, and building and balcony structure. You don't realize how expensive shit is until you're in charge. It's a mostly thankless, VOLUNTEER position.
Story 1: HOAs have a horrible wrap but I can say not all are bad. I work at a property management company who manages over only HOAs. Some of the associations are amazing with low fees and they spend every dime. Clubhouse, pool, basketball courts, tennis courts, lake and monthly cooking classes/ other activities. There is nothing dirty going on cause we manage their books and pay their vendors. My advice before ever buying read your CC&Rs and talk to some neighbors
Re: Taking down the HOA from the inside This confirms the HOA is just a cash huge grab by the neighborhood Karens! Re: Contractor disappears and I make him pay There are so many shady contractors out there so OP did his city a solid by getting one of those crooked contractors to pay!
Honestly, HOAs are fine for townhouse communities. Instead of having to pay such a small fee for the tiny little bit of grass, we all pay together to have someone come out to take care of the park and the pool the mow all around the townhouses everyone uses, and take care of the trees. But that's the ONLY time I'll ever say HOAs are a good thing, because if you're in stand alone houses they're parasites more often than not.
my folks are in an HOA that charges $120 per YEAR, they do contact the plows and maintain the common greens as they don't live in a real city and the township doesn't do provide such services.
One thing the HOA often does is enforce a general building code on houses around you, which makes them all look similar and keeps the value at a similar level. This means that no one person can screw everyone over by letting their lawn deteriorate or leave garbage out front, etc. In my country this is usually handled by the munincipal government, but the concept of HOAs really does fit the general "screw the gubmint" mentality of a lot of Americans ^^ It does have the one benefit of being opt-in. You can't really choose not to opt into being subject to the government of your region, but you CAN avoid an HOA. Also, if they want to establish in your area I'm pretty sure they can't force you to follow the rules unless you agree to sign.
I’m glad so many people are realizing the corruption of HOAs. I just wish more people saw that government worked the same way: taking your money and not providing nearly the same amount in benefits
Ahh yes the nuclear defense systems, city infrastructure, and highways, are not "providing" any benefits. Anyways HOAs aren't awful I have lived in a few. But it's meant for a specific type of person. Older folks generally can benefit from it because a lot of the the time they don't really want to have to worry about stuff that HOAs provide. Or newer family's who just want a stable place to live to build up to a place they can better call their own. Though yes I do agree that there are quite a few bad HOAs and they can be prown to corruption as any governing body is you just have to make sure there are by laws to remove HOA leaders if they are breaking HOA code. It's an issue with people not with the system as much. Because when it works it works. And when it doesn't well. It doesn't.
@@micolekreeves6731 I did not say zero benefit, I said not enough to justify our payments. Especially when infrastructure is collapsing and energy costs are rising.
@@justicedunham4088 I am aware of what you said but I'm pretty sure what I said alone already justifies the payments but whatever. Infrastructure in the US I'm not sure how it's collapsing but the energy costs thing is due to war which is gonna make it more expensive.
Not all HOAs are bad. Mine only costs about $250 a year which pays for our neighborhood beach property including property taxes, a maintainer, clubhouse costs, and for some neighborhood events held at the beach every summer. The HOA does not have any rules about how our properties should be kept and usually stays out of everything besides some beach related rules (except when it helped persuade the local government to re-do our awful roads).
To rSlash: Saying you don't want to be in an HOA is like saying you don't want to be in a union. As long as you're privileged enough not to need one, they're useless, but most people in most HOAs are actually benefited. Remember, you're reading Pro Revenge. Of course the stories are all negative! No one takes revenge on good HOAs. If you were reading Wholesome Stories or neighbourhood posts on Nextdoor, then maybe you'd see the good ones.
I’m moving into a community with an association. The dues cover the cost of utilities, lawn and sprinkler maintenance, and prevent neighbors from parking in their lawn or dumping furniture outside. No one tells good HOA stories because they aren’t interesting
Normally HOA's are supposed to use dues and fines to maintain community amenities, like sidewalks, play areas and landscaping. I like to think that most HOA's abide by that. It's the crappy, money embezzling, power tripping ones we read about because those are the ones that make for entertainment.
We technically have a HOA, but it's like $100 year I think through taxes. They salt the road/sidewalk for icy/snow days, maintain the roads when they get pitted, gardening, small park maintained, keep the light/posts good and on, not a whole lot else too nuts, and have the usual rules but they're basically city code, not self absorbed sponge stuff so I can't complain. Their fee also rolls up the payment for weekly trash/large item pickup. All I guess from this, a rare one who isn't destructive.
If I remember this correctly (I'm a Brit and getting this second hand as we don't have them here) HOA's were originally created as partially a kind of Homeowners union. Where they could help each other with problems and issues with local government for a small administration fee. This ended up with local government basically using them as an excuse for them to pass on the things they would do to the HOA (Like trash removal and snow plowing) Then we have the issue of many HOA's turning into their own little fiefdoms.
Where I live there is a new subdivision one block over with high end houses & an HOA. They (either HOA or some other entity) have been trying to get the other 4 areas around them to become part of the HOA. Everyone has flat out refused. So far the Karen's & Richards haven't been an issue.
I recently started living in an HOA, however we're renting. Still... I'll await stories of my own. There's got to be at least one in the year or so I'll be living here.
I worked for a storage facility for about 2-3 years and one part of my job was to call people who were past due to remind them about their balance with us. Sometimes, people would just disappear and my manager and I would search for them through Facebook. OP’s people tracker skills are quite impressive.
For the last story, the state does nothing but send a letter to the employer. It's the employer that has to do all the paperwork. It was a pain in the butt. Two checks, one that has to be mailed out, and a complaining employee.
Hey rSlash and anyone else who's curious, to shed some light on why someone would want to live in an HOA as someone who lives in one when they aren't full of greedy idiots they actually do take care of things for the betterment of the neighborhood. Mine has two pools (one has a bunch of fountains and such for kids, you pay a flat one time fee for an entry pass and can bring a guest) along with a playground, my street has a grassy place in the center of the circle of houses that they pay to maintain and treat for ants. While yes they can fine you for house colors and unkempt property they don't abuse it and give notices before issuing a fine, the house colors is for general niceness and aesthetic. It's pretty good for the couple hundred bucks a year we pay
Last story: guy just ghosted op, he should've just went with another guy sooner but no reason to just ghost on an employer. His offer at end def was better than the alt that's for sure
HOAs are good if you have one that’s not nosey. We had one for 3 years and all they did was street maintenance and keeping the public areas trimmed and tidy and maintained a public park. But other HOAs can be a pain, especially if they have Karen’s on them.
Hi rSlash! I live in an HOA, and I love it! We’ve only lived there for about a year but it’s really nice. Our HOA takes care of our neighborhood pool and basketball court, snack shack that we have next to the pool, and we’re currently building up savings in order to purchase a clubhouse for all of us in the neighborhood to potentially rent and use. The HOA isn’t perfect, But any HOA is only as good as it’s board. I have to tell you though, I live right on the border of the HOA. The buck literally stops right across the street from my house. There is a massive difference between my street, and the next street. I am really glad we live in an HOA. our neighborhood is really nice. Yes, I do have a tiny little panic attack every week when I think “did I bring the garbage cans in on time?”, and no, I didn’t get to paint my house the color I really wanted to, but I got one close to it. And then my husband got on the board, and a couple of the rules that we really didn’t like? we helped our neighborhood change them so that everyone is happier. Also, the management company handing out tickets? We’re in the process of firing them in favor of a different, less expensive, hopefully better company. HOAs themselves aren’t bad, it’s just about who runs them, whether or not their honest, how much oversight there is, and whether or not people are willing to be involved.
@@beccas.7762 we also checked with a couple neighbors before putting in an offer. “So, how bad is the HOA, really?” A lot of people complain about our HOA too- and some of the rules are DUMB. Like, I had to take down my red inside curtains. They can be seen from the street. Then, I filed to change the accent color of my house. Now I get my red curtains back. 🤣 I also got the board to change the STUPID rule about curtains, and about paint colors. Both are now much more flexible. 😊
4:25 Well, that's not entirely true. Some also nitpick every little detail about a neighborhood that isn't to their very specific, usually unreasonable standards. Which can also be for money purposes, but is also usually just a means of control.
The first story is a prime example of why I will never live in an HOA, and actively verify that there are no HOAs in a neighborhood before moving there!
I'm just picturing the mother in that first story swaggering up to the courthouse in a totally badass way while an appropriate Girl Power rock and roll song blares in the background in time to her power walk.
My neighborhood has an hoa that actually does cover painting, roofing, and landscaping... but I suspect something fishy is going on. I had 3 neighbors whose roofs were left unfinished for months... in the PNW. landscapers don't pay attention to what they're doing, and regularly empty or ashtray on the front porch for us... with a leaf blower... into our yard. Complaints fall on deaf ears.
Do these people not go to HOA meetings? My neighborhood HOA is awesome and it's a requirement to be at meetings. The small common grass areas are cut, signs are maintained, and they only step in when grass height violates County ordnance. Over one foot btw and only gets fined when rodents move in. None of the members are paid either, money just goes to maintaining the neighborhood
speaking of hoa’s, my dad just contracted a house and we took a look around the neighborhood and found out we have an hoa, i asked my dad not to join but he yelled at me for saying that so now we finna be in a stupid hoa
HOAs in extremely rural areas are good things. And I mean EXTREMELY rural....like no roads to get there rural. There are places in Alaska where you can only get there by plane, and in those areas the HOA is helpful, they really do plow the "roads" built out there for the neighborhood in the middle of nowhere ..... they also have the big excavating/construction equipment needed to prepare the land/build your cabin that needed a DC-10 to get it out there. Otherwise I haven't seen a worthwhile HOA.
The weirdest place I've seen an HOA was an apartment building ... liiike you don't even have balconies there so ... no idea what they were suppose to help with/control that the complex itself didn't already. And it was supposedly not associated with the complex. We were looking for apartments and were told about having to join the HOA and pay extra fees on top of our rent and follow their rules. Maybe they didn't let you decorate your door/windows? I'm not 100% sure what they'd enforce but it made me think of one HOA story I heard where they even tried to control arrangements/set ups of interiors of the house and made me think that maybe that HOA was going to do the same. Bleh
I always say i want to infiltrate our HOA to ruin it...like, I own my house - I'm the one paying the mortgage, property taxes and all the bills, you shouldn't be able to tell me that I can't paint it whatever heckin color I want (their options are all just varying shades of tan - boring and ugly)
OP didn't FORCE the guy to pay him $14,000. All OP did was FORCE the guy to be accountable for his actions or rather, lack of actions. OP won his claim in court, that $14,000 was rightfully his. Saying that he FORCED the guy to pay him $14,000 makes it sound like OP used less than legal means to recoop his loses.
I’m confused, aren’t there professionals who can legally do what the second OP could be charged with entrapment for doing? Like I feel like people who professionally serve court summons are like black ops parkour ninjas.
Not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure that's not entrapment. Entrapment is when a member of Law Enforcement entices someone to do a crime they would not have committed, and then charges them for the crime. Like, going up to someone and saying "Hey, I'll pay you $100 if you go steal that bike" and then arresting them when they do it. What the OP did might be considered Stalking, but depending on the state that might not actually be a crime. And yeah, OP probably could have hired a Private Investigator or something, but that would be more money he'd be spending with no guarantee on a return.
Imagine you find a nice gal on fb and she seems soo 100% interested in you. Then you get sued (rightfully so) and she stops talking to you with no explanation
OP in the second story should be arrested for stealing pictures and making someone else a possible target for revenge. There's lots of sites where you can *legally* license pictures for a small fee. This idjit chose to put another person at risk. (Just because someone's pictures on FB are set to 'public' doesn't mean they lose their copyright. FB is licensed to show them, but they're still under copyright.)
The ONLY reason you only hear bad stories about hoas is because no one is going to post a story about a good hoa. Where’s the entertainment value in a good hoa story? A large percentage of hoas are actually decent, but the fact that the only stories out there are about the select few bad hoas, makes people thing the majority of hoas are bad. It’s stereotypical.
