Before Shepherd could explain what he'd found on that plat map—and trust me, we'll get there—Constance made her next move, and it was a nasty one.
In April, about a week after I'd gotten the lawyer's threatening letter, Constance launched a property inspection campaign. This is technically legal: HOAs can inspect homes for covenant compliance and assess fines for violations. What's not legal, or at least what's actionable, is selective enforcement: specifically targeting one homeowner for aggressive compliance review while letting identical violations on other properties slide.
I got cited for six violations in 11 days:
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My mailbox post was 0.3 inches over the maximum height specified in the covenants.
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My driveway had a hairline crack, categorized as visible structural deterioration.
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The paint trim on my garage door was inconsistent in sheen with the approved exterior palette, meaning one section looked slightly less glossy than another after four years of sun.
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My backyard shed, which had been in place since before I bought the house, suddenly violated a setback requirement.
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A section of my gutters had visible oxidation.
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My front garden bed had a species of ornamental grass that was technically not on the HOA's approved plant list—a list that I'm pretty sure Constance had quietly updated without a membership vote, though proving that would take time.
Total fine exposure: $1,850.
I went over to Theo's house and sat at his kitchen table while he made coffee, the percolator gurgling on his avocado green stove. The man has not updated his kitchen since 1987 and is completely at peace with this. And I told him what happened.
Theo stirred his coffee slowly and said, "She did the same thing to the Merriweather family on Birchwood Court in 2020. Ran them out of the neighborhood."
That stopped me cold. "She ran them out?"
"Fine accumulation, legal threats. They had a kid starting high school, didn't want the stress, sold at a loss." Theo set down his spoon. "You're not going to do that."
It wasn't a question.
I called Shepherd that afternoon. He told me to contest every single violation in writing by certified mail within the response window specified in the covenants, usually 15 or 30 days. He also told me to photograph every other property in the neighborhood that had any of the same alleged violations, because selective enforcement is an affirmative defense against HOA fines in North Carolina, and courts take it seriously.
So, that weekend, I did something that felt slightly absurd, but was actually methodical: I walked the entire neighborhood with my phone and photographed every visible mailbox, every cracked driveway, every shed, every gutter, every garden bed with plants that might or might not be on the approved list. I made a spreadsheet. Priya helped me organize it because she has that kind of brain—the kind that looks at a data problem and starts building columns.
What we found: 41 other properties in Millbrook Pines had one or more of the same types of alleged violations I'd been cited for. Not similar violations—the exact same ones: driveway cracks, shed setbacks, mailbox heights, oxidized gutters. Constance had driven past every single one of those houses and done nothing. But my garage door sheen got its own violation notice.