Homeowner desperate after receiving repeated HOA notices over tricky issue in front yard: 'What's my cheapest option?'

One Washington homeowner at their wit's end turned to the r/lawncare subreddit when their homeowners association got on their case about their grass.

"HOA sending me letters, what's my cheapest option?" they asked. "I can't afford to do a whole new lawn, can it be saved?"

Their post included before-and-after photos: two showing a reasonably healthy lawn that their HOA OK'd and two showing large brown patches on their main lawn and parking strip.

The original poster had already made an effort to fix the problem. "Last year I added seed I bought from Costco but over the winter the patches died again and moss has been taking over," they said. "I can't afford to do a new lawn, but I need to satisfy the HOA so I don't get fined. Any suggestions would be great."

While the problem may seem simple, this kind of lawn care puzzle is a common complaint among homeowners. The turf grasses used for lawns aren't native to the U.S., and getting them to thrive here requires generous watering, fertilizer, pesticide, reseeding, and aeration — not to mention mowing and edging to keep them neat.

This is not only time-consuming and expensive but also bad for the environment, as it wastes water and results in runoff heavy in nutrients and chemicals. Meanwhile, grass doesn't do anything to support pollinators or the wider ecosystem.

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A much better alternative is a natural lawn featuring native plants, buffalo grass, or clover. These options need less water, require less care, and are better for the ecosystem. However, you may have to change the rules of your HOA to allow natural lawns.

Commenters were not impressed with the HOA's demands. "This right here is why I refuse to live in an HOA," said one user.

"Does it need to be grass up in the front strip?" asked another Redditor. "Or could you do something different such as ground cover, wood chips, etc? If it has to be grass — go to your local co-op supply and look for a sun/shade blend of grasses as it will have fine fescues mixed in." Fescue is a shade-loving grass variety.

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