Neighborhood drama is all fun and games until you have to be involved in it yourself. Homeowner’s Associations often provide the antidote to such drama, but in cases like this TikTok, they can also be the root of the problem. The purpose of an HOA is to provide safety, harmony, and community in a neighborhood, ideally catering to the needs of the people who live there. Unfortunately for Sarah Tatty, her HOA president wasn’t quite meeting those standards.
Her story began when she was working from home and heard a knock on her door, which she didn’t answer since she was on a phone call and wasn’t expecting anyone. When the knocking got more persistent she got up to get dressed and answer the door. Before she could, she heard the president of her HOA inserting a key and letting himself into her house. Sarah complained about the very illegal trespassing and went to the HOA board to recommend that the president step down and have the keys taken away from him.
Three months later, he was still president, and Sarah began to hear that other neighbors found out that the president had broken into their houses as well. So, she went to the state government and recommended she file a police report against the HOA president. When she brought this up in an HOA meeting she was attacked.
Commenters were in full support of Sarah filing a report against her HOA president and changing the locks on her home. Many of them had a lot of questions about why he even had keys to other people’s homes in the first place. One commenter even suggested that she get a restraining order so that he can never enter her home unwelcomed ever again. “File a police report, charge him to the max, and get a restraining order so if he ever does it again he can go to jail for more charges,” they said.
Sarah posted an update a couple of days later, letting her audience know that she got word that the HOA president officially stepped down. She was told by an HOA board member and the HOA lawyer that in order for someone to visit a neighbor’s property, there had to be two HOA members present with 24 hours’ notice.
She also received word from the HOA president who told her to take down her original video and write a letter promising not to sue him or the HOA board. Before agreeing to anything, she spoke to a lawyer who told her the former president had no right to demand anything from her and suggested she ask the HOA to put out a release stating that the president had stepped down and the issues regarding keys and home visits would be resolved.
Commenters praised the way Sarah handled the whole situation, celebrating the progress right alongside her. Others were still nervous for her safety, continuing to suggest that she change her locks and maybe even install some sort of in-home security system. “You’ve handled this in a classy and sophisticated fashion. Great way to handle this,” one viewer said.
As it turns out, the state of Florida, where Sarah lives, has an extensive Statute when it comes to Homeowner’s Associations. On top of there being several regulations regarding the HOA’s requirement to be transparent with neighborhood members, they are also required to allow any “aggrieved” parties to create written demands for pre-suit mediation. Not the other way around.
Here’s hoping that Sarah’s next HOA president is a touch more respectful and a touch less interested in entering people’s homes unannounced. And that none of us have to deal with the same shenanigans.