Man who sold Pokemon cards to buy his house fined $11,000

Looking at the current price of Pokemon cards, we're sure many of you are cursing your mothers right now for chucking out the carefully curated collection that you gathered over the years.

Those of us who are old enough will remember the initial explosion of Pokemon cards when Wizards of the Coast released its first set in December 1998.

While most of us likely didn't have anything too special in our Pokemon card collection, the fact that Logan Paul's Pikachu Illustrator (PSA 10) sold for $16,492,000 in February 2026 might have you running back to our childhood homes and dusting off our binders.

There's also the 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Charizard Holo (PSA 10) fetching $420,000, as well as the 1998 Blastoise Commission Presentation Galaxy Star Holo (CGC 8.5) reaching $360,000, meaning there's some serious money to be made from this gaming giant.

26-year-old Carter Eck knows this all too well, using his Pokemon card sales to put a down payment on his first home.

While this might seem like a shrewd move from Eck, Action 9 News reports that he's since been fined $11,000 by his homeowners association.

Eck maintains that he assumed his HOA dues were part of his monthly escrow payment and already covered, so he admits he never paid. Added to this, the HOA apparently wants him to fix some things, although he's adamant that no one ever told him.

Discussing his predicament, Eck told the outlet: "I worked hard to get in here at 23 years old...I’m not someone that would just let something this big just kind of snowball and just surprise me like that."

With a hearing in November, Eck says he's now facing foreclosure, as he added: "I don’t really want to pay it because it’s not something I don’t believe I was in the wrong."

Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke reminds the general public that you're often fighting a losing battle when going up against your HOA.

You're effectively agreeing to live by its rules, so if you have an issue, try to get the support of your fellow neighbors, meet with the board as a group instead of on your own, and while you might need to consult a lawyer, know it’ll probably cost you.

Eck has his own Instagram under the handle collectomon_cards, and even though there's nothing for sale right now, he might be forced to try and raise funds by shifting more Pocket Monsters.

The young homeowner took his frustration to Reddit to expand on his story. Here, Eck claimed that out of the $11,000 currently owed, only $840 is dues and the rest is fines.

He thinks that part of what made his story go viral is the Pokemon aspect, stating: "Now with the 30th anniversary of Pokémon happening this year, I'm in the position of having to sell my collection just to pay for a lawyer to keep that same house. Kind of a wild full circle moment."

Eck concludes that he managed to flag someone from the management company in person, with them supposedly telling him he's also being fined for weeds in his flower beds: "No notice. No warning. No time to fix it. No hearing. Nothing. Same exact thing they did with every other fine in this case. Just shows up out of nowhere."

The hearing is scheduled for November 23, and although he has legal representation and is adamant "things are moving in the right direction," he can't say much more.

Others in the replies on Reddit were firmly behind the Pokefan, with one supporter cheering: "Contact John Oliver. Just saying, he loves this kind of shut and has already done HOA stories, but the Pokemon angle is particularly groovy. He could combine it with Bricks'n'Minifigs about collectible financing of life."

Another added: "Keep up the good fight, sorry you have to sell your cards but you’re doing really well for your age. Not to sound like an old boomer, but I am. You should be very proud of yourself."

A third said: "If you eventually win, don't expect the harrassment to stop. Have a plan in place for what comes after. Your Pokemon cards are finite, the spite of a scorned HOA is not."

Just think, what would Ash Ketchum do?