So much for the concept of a freerepublic!
Potential house buyers are free to choose to buy in a neighborhood without onerous HOA rules. We live in a neighborhood where the HOA has voluntary arbitration, but not mandatory enforcement, “powers.” I wish it had more power to enforce neighborhood covenants regarding rentals - for example, empty nesters who take on three or four (young, noisy) boarders to fill up a five-bedroom house. It's usually not in the self-interest of any one neighbor to go to the expense of filing a zoning complaint or civil lawsuit to have the neighborhood covenants enforced.