Lighter shade ends homeowner dispute

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque woman who was threatened with eviction from her own home for painting her garage door red is now painting it a new--and similar--color her homeowners association chose.

There's no question Sonja Waldrop's red garage stands out in a sea of neutrals in the Volterra neighborhood near Kirtland Air Force Base.

A few weeks ago she painted her garage and front door with "red hawk" red. Some of her neighbors liked it; some of them didn't including the homeowners association.
 
"They came to my door and said that I was in violation and that I needed to change it back to the original color," Waldrop told KRQE News 13. "They did say if I stayed in violation they could actually put a lien on my house."
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HOA channels the Rolling Stones: We see a red door and we want it painted black.

HOA Fires Back at Fla. Man Who Said He Was Fined $5K Short Trees - Yahoo

HOA Fires Back at Fla. Man Who Said He Was Fined $5K Short Trees - Yahoo: After a Florida man says he was fined $100 a day, or $5,000, for having two Magnolia trees that were too short, his homeowners association is defending itself, saying it's not just the height that's the problem, but the number of trees.

Patrick Fitzgerald, 51, said he planted two small trees by his home in Merritt Island, Fla. a year ago. Now he and the River Grove Homeowners Association have undergone legal mediation and some heated words in which he has called the board "idiots."

"This has gotten so carried away it is absolutely ridiculous," the HOA president told ABCNews.com. "To me it's ludicrous."
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As media coverage of accounts of HOA follies has grown in recent years, HOA officials and managers usually remain mum and avoid reporters. But sometimes as in this case they do comment.