One of our AssociationHelpNow® viewers turned me onto a story that’s gone viral about an HOA that is allegedly requiring residents to have garage sales. I provided links to various articles about the post at the bottom my post.
Don’t believe everything you see on the internet.
Supposedly this started with a Facebook post that says owners are required to participate in a garage sale and donate 10% of all proceeds back to the HOA. It goes on to explain the purpose is to show the world how “How (association name) Residents Live”.
Most of the comments posted in response communicate that this was an extreme overreach by an HOA. It’s a juicy story that an HOA will not only make owners sell their possessions, but demand a cut of the profits.
I’m going to go out on a limb and call this a fairytale. But, it’s a fairytale that’s gone viral.
- All the links bring you back to an image that is claimed to be from Facebook or Reddit.
- There’s nothing even in the image that indicates it’s an official association communication
- I don’t see any indication an HOA board member posted the comments
I’m not an attorney but I’m going to guess that an association can’t force you to sell your personal belongings to raise money.
The sad part is, many people outside of this industry are going to believe this story. And unless it’s bizarrely true, I feel sorry for the board of this community.
– Raymond Dickey
Important: I’m summarizing from my perspective. Always read the article yourself and draw your own opinion.
- https://www.newsweek.com/woman-forces-residents-sell-luxury-items-raise-hoa-funds-1705711
- https://www.thecooldown.com/green-home/hoa-representative-karen-garage-sale-fundraise/
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/hoa-representative-sparks-uproar-over-ridiculous-garage-sale-request-you-cannot-force-someone-to-sell-their-personal-belongings/ar-AA1bBDIZ