My HOA complained about my ‘old truck’ but said I couldn’t get an EV – I found a solution they can’t do anything about

AN OWNER purchased an EV without first checking with his HOA and received a letter saying the purchase might have been denied.

This was the first of three other “hate letters” they received from the association.

two

In May, a Redditor posted his story on an anti-HOA website subreddit about an association sending what the user called “hate letters” about purchasing an EV.

“I received a letter complaining that I purchased an EV without obtaining permission. Excuse me, WHAT?!?” they he wrote.

“Oh, and the note also said, ‘May not be approved,’ like, what? Take your car back? I don’t understand.”

Their battle with the HOA began when the user’s old truck, a 1966 Ford F100, leaked oil in the garage.

“It’s an OLD TRUCK! It will leak,” they wrote.

The second letter they received from the HOA was after they beautified their home.

“I didn’t ask permission before replacing the windows in my house,” they continued.

“I was beautifying the neighborhood. To be fair, I forgot I needed to ask for permission, but still. The replacement was done. It looked great. The workers cleaned up. No big deal.”

It was telling the owner that the purchase of an EV needed to be approved, which served as the last straw.

In many states, an HOA has the legal ability to place a lien on a member’s home if they are fined a certain amount and haven’t paid, so realistically, your HOA could issue fines – with no limit in some states – to remedy these problems.

And while HOAs don’t have the power to determine what types of cars a homeowner can or cannot drive, they can certainly tell them where to park them.

Whether on the driveway, in the garage, on the street or outside the community.

According to the Redditor, the HOA’s concern was how the vehicle would be charged and how the house would handle it, since the contractor didn’t do the work.

“I pay my own electric bill and own the wiring in my home, so neighborhood load shouldn’t be a concern,” they said.

“Unless they’re worried about our network not holding up, which is absurd. And on top of that, I have a trickle charger, which literally plugs into a regular outlet and draws 12 amps per hour.”

What is an HOA?

One in five Americans lives in an area with a Home Owners Association – or HOA. But what exactly do they do?

• An HOA is a homeowners association – an organization that aims to maintain a clean, cohesive place for its residents to live.
• Entire neighborhoods, subdivisions, condominiums, single-family homes or townhouses within “a planned development” will often constitute an HOA.
• They also serve as a regulatory body for the tenants, who manage and finance the HOA through monthly fees.
• Its main goals are to keep the community functional and visually appealing and maintain property values.
• They focus primarily on a neighborhood’s common areas, like roads, parks, and pools — but they can also stipulate what residents can do with their property, like yards and sidewalks.
• These restrictions often impose uniformity on properties, for example, ensuring that most houses look the same and that all sidewalks are free of weeds.
• An HOA Rule Book of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R) is distributed to all residents, and an elected volunteer board of directors enforces these regulations.
• Violating these rules can result in penalties such as fines and even litigation – as most HOAs are incorporated and subject to state law.
• HOAs are often the subject of controversy, with some members feeling that the rules are too punitive and restrictive, or that the leadership has too much power.
• But other HOAs like this give communities the power of self-government and can ensure a degree of harmony among residents.

After an update, the Redditor said he was able to convince his association that the charge wouldn’t be an issue.

“Their concern was that I would do electrical work without the proper license,” they explained.

“Once I explained to them (it took several tries) that I didn’t put in an electrical wall or install another 240V outlet, they understood. , ‘Make a note.'”

Other Redditors were quick to add their issues with their HOA in the comments.

Many berated the poster for not repairing the old truck, even though the user indicated that he had made an appointment to have it repaired at his local dealership.