A little bit of hard work and determination can go a long way. The protagonist of this story shows us how patience and unwavering resolve can ultimately lead to success. Read on to learn about a tale of triumph over adversity!
He Lives in the City
Ant had always enjoyed living in his multi-level apartment complex in the heart of the city. He loved everything about it, the convenience, the location, the amenities, and the fact that he had not one but two dedicated parking spaces allocated to his apartment. It was a luxury that he didn’t take for granted, especially in a city where parking was notoriously expensive.
Ant had a friend who would sublease one of his parking spots to park his car on workdays. On Fridays, after a night of drinks, his friend would often taxi home and leave his car parked in Ant’s spot until he returned on Saturday or Sunday to pick it up. Sometimes his friend would even park Ant in, but that wasn’t an issue as they had access to each other’s cars.
Enter the New Neighbor
However, things started to take a turn for the worse when a new neighbor moved into the complex. This neighbor turned out to be a real pain in the neck.
They would often see Ant’s free parking spaces or tell their visitors to park in them. Ant would often have to call or go see them and ask them to move their cars. It became such an issue that Ant had them on speed dial.
Ant and his friend tried several things to stop them from parking in their spots, such as putting in bollards or parking in the front spot and moving the cars when they needed to park. However, their neighbor would always find a way to park them in and park illegally.
They Kept Taking His Carpark
Eventually, Ant’s friend got so frustrated that he said he would stop subleasing from him. It wasn’t a big deal as it was only an arrangement of convenience for both of them. However, the problem persisted.
In Australia, it is very difficult to enforce parking on private property. It is illegal to tow, clamp or detain a car, so building management couldn’t help besides putting warning stickers and writing letters.
Ant talked to many of the residents in the complex and found out they were having the same problems. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands and seek revenge. He joined the strata committee, which consisted of all the owners in the complex, and after six months, he got elected as the president. It wasn’t hard, as only a handful of residents actively participated in the committee.
He Became President of the Strata Committee
As the president of the strata committee, Ant was able to get the common areas, which included visitor parking, to be managed by the council. They had to pay a fee, but it was worth it.
When the council started patrolling the common areas, the offending cars got fined heavily until the council removed them. Ant saw at least five tickets, each approximately $250, on three of the cars. In addition, one of the cars wasn’t even registered and was ticketed for abandonment and eventually removed.
He Drafted New By-laws
However, this still didn’t resolve the private car parking issues. So, Ant had by-laws drafted, stating that if residents let visitors into the private car park instead of using the visitor parking, their access would be “reassessed.” This meant that their access to FOBs (keys) would be disabled until the residents confirmed and accepted the by-laws.
The offending residents, who were renters, were constantly calling their landlord and complaining, as Ant’s committee disabled their FOBs every time they caught them using them to let visitors in. Of course, it took 24 hours and an administrative fee to reactivate the FOBs.
Eventually, Ant upgraded the car park, and the car park key FOB system was removed and replaced with number plate identification instead. He has since moved out but is still well-informed, as he still owns the property and is still on the strata committee. He is happy to report that there are no more parking issues!
He Still Keeps an Eye on Things
Ant’s petty revenge may have caused some headaches for his neighbors, but it was a necessary step in putting an end to their inconsiderate behavior. With his persistence and cunning, Ant proved that sometimes the best way to deal with a difficult situation is to take matters into your own hands.
Redditors loved this guy’s tale of petty revenge. One user said, “Well, you are certainly persistent, and I give you a lot of credit for that! I will never understand why some people don’t think the rules apply to them. They are really MUCH less than special.”
Was his revenge justified? Would you have done the same in his shoes?
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The post His Neighbor Kept Stealing His Parking Space, so He Became President of the Strata Committee first appeared on Wealthy Living
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / pathdoc. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit