A COUPLE who sold part of their property to the city is fuming after a homeowner’s association took advantage of the now publicly owned space.

Shibu Samuels and his wife Betsy stepped outside their home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one day and saw stacks of concrete bricks and a plastic safety net stationed on their property.

The plot of land right in front of the Samuels’ property the Drake Forest Homeowner’s Association is planning to use to install a welcome signCredit: WTVC

Shibu Samuels and his wife, Betsy, are outraged with the HOA’s plans, saying it will impact the value of their homeCredit: WTVC

The Samuels sold a portion of their land to the city of Chattanooga in 2010Credit: WTVC

The Samuels were outraged at the sight after learning the Drake Forest Homeowner’s Association, which they are not a part of, was planning to install a sign on a portion of their property.

Shibu Samuels fumed, saying the sign would impact the value of their home.

However, the Samuels sold that portion of their property to the city of Chattanooga for over $113,000 in 2010.

“The property was procured by the city for the state and a federal project combined,” Shibu told ABC affiliate WTVC.

“That was the reason, it was for the benefit of the public in general.”

Shibu said the city widened the road on which the property was located.

Now, that same piece of land is the site where the Drake Forest Homeowner’s Association plans to place a sign welcoming the public to the neighborhood.

“August 10th of 2023 is when we got a phone call that, ‘Hey, we want to put a sign up,'”Betsy Samuels said.

“But the very next morning, when we woke up, we already had our land surveyed and staked.

“They did put a variant sign up here in August. We went to the meetings, and both meetings were a waste.”

The Deer Park Homeowner’s Association told the outlet they were given the green light to go ahead with construction plans by the city.

“We have been issued a permit by the city,” the HOA told WTVC in an email.

A Chattanooga spokesperson confirmed the construction plans cited the space as “public property.”

“Because the signage is on public property (the city’s right of way) and complies with zoning requirements for that public area, no special exception or variance was needed,” an email to the outlet read.

The family now fears the sign will financially degrade their property.

“Any sort of external obsolescence is going to affect your property value,” Shibu added.