The HOA Cheered When She Outbid Me for the Lake—Then the Auctioneer Put the Dam Up for Sale

The HOA president raised paddle nineteen and bought Finch Lake for $240,000. She’d beaten my last bid by $5,000, and her board stood up to cheer. Then the auctioneer put the dam up for sale. This time, the treasurer took the paddle out of her hand. My family owned the canoe shop and the dock on the east shore. In a few days, our right to launch boats would expire. A twelve-year-old girl had already asked for her birthday deposit back because she’d heard the lake was going members-only. Now a $9,800 dam inspection was coming due, and the HOA’s budget had a curious line in it: $6,000 from my shop. There was one condition on that money, and it hadn’t made it onto the page residents saw. If you lived at Finch Lake, would you pay higher dues to keep it private or share the cost with families who wanted to paddle there? Tell us in the comments. Subscribe to The HOA Diaries for more neighborhood stories. This is a fictional story created for entertainment. #HOAStories #TheHOADiaries #LakeLife #NeighborDrama #Storytime