My neighbor told me his HOA fined him $200 for painting his front door the wrong shade of blue

He just wanted a darker navy but apparently the approved color list only has one specific blue and now I'm double checking my own paint cans before I even touch a brush, has anyone else had their HOA get that picky about something so small?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_carr725d ago

Hang on, $200 for a paint shade? That feels a little over the top. I've lived under HOA rule for years and yeah they're picky but usually they give you a warning first unless you painted it day-glow orange or something. Maybe he ignored a letter or two. The whole "approved color list" thing gets absurd though. My buddy got flagged because his trim was "too warm" compared to the swatch but it was literally the same can. People get scared about paint chips and then end up with a beige neighborhood where every house looks like a dental office. I'd double check your stuff sure but I bet there's more to this story.

eva_thompson1025d ago

Exactly the same thing happened to my friend Jenna last year. She picked a color right off the approved list and they still hit her with a $150 fine for the shade being "off" from what they had on file. Now her whole block is beige and grey and nobody even bothers looking at the color chips anymore.

bettywilson25d ago

Roll my eyes a little at this. If your neighbor got fined $200 straight off the bat he either painted the door with glow-in-the-dark paint or he's leaving out a couple warnings. My old HOA sent three letters before they even talked about fines for someone who painted their shutters pink. People get all worked up about paint swatches but nine times out of ten they just ignored a first notice.