I intentionally bought this house in a small subdivision NOT in an HOA because I heard so many horror stories.
One of the tackier idiots tried to tell us we HAD to decorate for Christmas. Sorry, not in the mood and not in the budget this year.
I hate HOA’s and yet, I loved this house we now live in so much that I am willing to be in one. Soon after we moved here, one neighborhood gal asked me if I would like to be on the board. I told her that was very nice of her to think of me that way, but no thank you. I tried very hard to be polite about it. She kept on until I told her that if she knew me better, she would realize that I view people’s property as their own. She asked what if the grass grew too tall? I told her there were already city ordinances that apply to such things.
The funny thing is, there seem to be new houses being built on the few lots that didn’t sell for such a long time. Every single one of them has a variance from the restrictions that the other owners had to deal with. So the rules are meant to be broken if you can just convince someone to let you do it.