I know I'm not the first to experience this, but I still struggle with what to do. Here are the facts. Apologies for the long post, just thought you might enjoy the story.
In 2009 we bought our house in a neighborhood with an HOA. We loved the house (still do), and decided it was okay because it's a small community, no pool or tennis courts, and the annual dues were only $200 a year. Everything is great.
In 2014, the spouse of the HOA president was charged with stealing $5000 from our HOA (no one else was paying attention for years).
We have a new board now, and the pendulum has swung the other way. It's not all bad though, we actually got our annual dues lowered to $180/year. We're getting lots of letters and reminders stuck to everyone's mailbox. Letters about no parking in the street, no keeping work trucks in your driveway, and banning flowers around mailboxes (seriously, it's because a mail carrier might get stung by a bee!)
The latest one is really affecting me, and it's my front lawn. We keep it watered and mowed, the occasional fertilizer treatment. However, it's maybe only 50% bermuda grass (per HOA rules). We have a ton of tall pine trees, so the majority of the lawn is shaded and that grass just won't grow. I personally think the moss and dandelions are really pretty, but apparently my neighbors disagree now. The letter I just received suggested that since some of my other neighbors pay for a lawn service, maybe we should try that. Also, my weeds are encroaching onto my neighbors's lawns.
So for MMM advice, do I buy the supplies and save receipts, then fight with the HOA to show I'm making progress? It hasn't come to threats yet, but aside from tearing out the entire lawn and starting over, it's going to take 2-3 years to get it up to their standards. I'm not giving some other company $25/month just to get them off my back. I could try seeding with fescue or another shade grass, but I know that's probably going to look even worse than it does now. What do you think?