MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. — A homeowner says she was worried some of her trees might fall so she took them down, but she didn’t realize she needed approval from her Homeowners Association (HOA) first. Now, the board is requiring her to spend tens of thousands of dollars in yard work or face fines.
We’ll call her Michelle. She asked not to share her identity. She says she has a lot on her plate.
“I am a caregiver. My father requires a lot of hospital equipment. I’m just down here, he and I. I take care of him by myself,” she said.
She lives in the Stonewater neighborhood in Mount Holly. She told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke she tried to do the right thing.
She says a few of her trees were on their last legs. She was worried they’d fall on her house or her neighbor’s. So, she hired someone to take them down.
She says she found out later, she was supposed to get HOA approval first.
“I guess it is my fault because I did take the trees down unknowingly,” she said. “Should I have known? I guess I should have known.”
According to letters she says the board sent her, the HOA wants her to re-landscape the yard, including at least six trees 12-15 feet tall and other improvements. Plus, it wants proof she spent roughly $32,000 to do it.
“I don’t have $32,000. If I had $32,000, I would invest in a used wheelchair van for my dad so I could do more things with him,” she said.
She says she’s been asking the HOA for some sort of compromise but the clock is ticking. She says the $50 fines start April 4. “I am overwhelmed. I can’t sleep. I was drinking every day and not taking care of my father the proper way. And it’s just been a lot,” she said.
Stoogenke has tried multiple times to reach the HOA’s management company in various ways since March 7. A representative left a message for him Friday, but they weren’t able to connect in time for this report.
State lawmakers are considering a bill to give homeowners more recourse. It has a lot of provisions, including limits on fines. But there hasn’t been much movement since last May.
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