HOA sounds lie some fucked up version of communism in US. Even we don't have shit like that(though there's some other idiotic stuff).
Like i said, there are pluses and minuses to it. If you have a great HOS it's wonderful, if you happen to fall in with nazis it's terrible.
The people that comprise the communities board is huge. I always try and get involved on the board because if you don't and you get some fucking assholes in there or fucks that have their own agenda of what things should be it can be a nightmare.
For example my moms HOA is pretty decent but the people on her board are fucking trash. They allow people to have huge dogs, dogs are constantly loose, you can be jogging and run into a rottweiler as if that's totally cool because 'oh it's not a vicious breed you have to raise it right" which is complete bullshit. They'll warn people about loose dogs but never do anything but they'll instantly ticket your car if you park on the side of the road at night