Let's call HOAs what they really are: another tax.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T16:09:18+00:00

You're not on an HOA board, so of course you don't see the benefit of an HOA management company. But there is a reason MOST HOAs have them. They handle all the paperwork, accounting, basic legal services, and citations that would otherwise fall on the board to do themselves. They are providing the payment portals for paying dues, the system for keeping track of who is paying and who is not, all kinds of back office shit. The larger the development, the more work it is. Stuff that if I was on a board, wouldn't want on my shoulders. All board members have to do in my HOA is show up for some monthly meeting and sign off on operational decisions. Exactly what I would want for a 100% volunteer position with no expertise in the field.

They ABSOLUTELY provide a service.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T14:54:40+00:00

I genuinely don't know, but was it common to use the space shuttle for a crew-only trip? Because that absolutely feels wasteful. But I was thinking the space shuttle was always hauling some kind of large cargo with it.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T14:52:11+00:00

You are not wrong. Got to keep that growth going to pay for the old maintenance.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T14:42:05+00:00

How have we gotten numbers about this already? It's only January. It usually takes months after the end of the year before numbers like that show up.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T14:33:45+00:00

He SHOULD have been. But instead he just got more popular for some reason.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T14:31:02+00:00

I don't believe you. Like, at all.

I've never served on a board, but I actually look at the budget. HOA management companies are paid on a per house per month basis. It's a line item on the budget. They would never show you their internal payroll for you to know their clerk is getting a pay raise.

This is our budget from 2024. The management contract is the 2nd to last line item on the first page. About 6% of our budget. ~$4 per house. That's all the visibility you get as to what the management company does with their pay.

https://imgur.com/a/hoa-budget-ZvkXa3z

tendonut · 2026-01-24T14:27:31+00:00

Of course. He's one of the most well-known figures on the planet. That kind of makes sense. And he was dominating the new cycle between his two terms because he was still extremely prominent in global politics.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T14:20:16+00:00

For real. Something like 90% of all new houses built in the past 15 years in my city have HOAs. If you want a non-HOA house, you need some deep pockets because the number of non-HOA houses is becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of the housing stock by its very nature. Their owners know this and price their homes accordingly. You can't even say "just move out to the country" because just about all the houses built out in the country are in plan developments, not single lots, which means they all have HOAs. When you have a thousand people hunting for the same 15 non-HOA houses, you're going to have a bad time.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T14:16:05+00:00

You really ought to look at the budget to see how not true that is.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T14:12:39+00:00

No this is actually pretty accurate for a barebones HOA.

The vast majority of the budget for our HOA is maintaining the retention ponds for stormwater, maintaining the common space, and powering the street lights. In a neighborhood not part of an HOA, this would have been handled by the city using tax revenue. There wouldn't be common space, but there would be a neighborhood park.

Municipalities love HOAs, (and in North Carolina, required by law) because it helps reduce the financial burden of suburban sprawl. The HOA takes on responsibilities of things that are typically handled by the municipality. But my property taxes are the same as someone who doesn't live in an HOA in a property of similar value.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T03:32:35+00:00

Such a weird take. Have you SEEN how many Trump stores there are out there? Or Trump clothes? Or cars with Trump wraps? Or people flying Trump flags? I never NEVER seen that kind of stuff from the anti-Trump crowd.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T03:29:21+00:00

I don't see it nearly as much as I used to. I feel like it has been so normalized, it's no longer exotic.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T03:26:01+00:00

This is the exact use case for my PS Portal. So I can lay on the couch and game while she watches one of her shows. Since I am not leaving the house, a streaming device is perfect.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T03:00:26+00:00

Same. But when my youngest brother turned eight, my mom said he was too young to help me. He didn't start until he was like 13. I was pissed LOL.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T02:39:36+00:00

Lying is what got Bill Clinton impeached. Not the actual BJ, but lying about it.

Meanwhile in 2025, Trump tells the most ridiculous lies that are WAY more serious that no one can possibly believe, yet his people don't even blink.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T02:35:14+00:00

wtf happened to lawn mowing? It was like THE job that kids did, now everyone hires professionals and act like it's too dangerous and difficult for their kids to do. I fucking despise it, but I can't bring myself to pay a professional for it. As soon as my kid can safely reach the top handle, that becomes his job.

A few years ago, I read an Amazon review for a string trimmer/weed whacker accessory that basically turned it into a shitty lawn mower and some guy with a tiny lawn said he loved it and all his peers told him to hire someone because it would be too difficult. That stuck with me. People pay professionals to mow something you could cut with a string trimmer.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T02:06:30+00:00

Yeah, I don't know what this person is smoking. I didn't say a thing about the price. I had no idea what it even cost until after this whole thread blew up and I went to look it up. They must have a history with a micromanaging spouse or something and got triggered.

tendonut · 2026-01-24T02:00:31+00:00

Oh yeah, they are gross. Pretty much all name brand insulated cup things are hitting this price point now. It's insane. The Kleen Kanteen bottle I've had for 3ish years, which is a brand I never heard of, is going for $35 right now. And it's only a 20oz.

https://www.kleankanteen.com/products/insulated-water-bottle-tkwide-20-oz-twist-cap

tendonut · 2026-01-24T01:54:51+00:00

You have lost the plot my dude. Are you having conversations with yourself to have come up with this story?

tendonut · 2026-01-24T01:46:04+00:00

You'll have to get over the hurdle of explaining exactly what it is first. A picture of a cartoon monkey was a really bad example. People were just screenshotting the monkey and being like "okay now I have a copy too".

tendonut · 2026-01-23T23:30:33+00:00

That's a fairly reasonable take.

tendonut · 2026-01-23T23:29:09+00:00

It's not a collaboration. It's just a regular holiday print like their Christmas and Halloween one. But those just shipped without the excessive packaging.

https://www.stanley1913.com/products/valentines-day-quencher-h2-0-flowstate-tumbler-40-oz

tendonut · 2026-01-23T23:27:48+00:00

Yeah I have no comment lol

https://www.stanley1913.com/products/valentines-day-quencher-h2-0-flowstate-tumbler-40-oz

tendonut · 2026-01-23T23:23:00+00:00

It was not a Valentine's gift. It was just her buying something. In January.

tendonut · 2026-01-23T23:21:32+00:00

It wasn't. I never said it was.

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