Yeah they can be nuts. Depends on the board but usually the most demanding people get on the boards. My dad lived in a Condo and the board was always redecorating the lobby and the carpet and wallpaper on the floors. Drove him nuts. My aunt has a fixed income and any assessment in her building harms her. We lived for a short while in an HOA area home - we had one of those small moving containers for 2 days in the driveway in front of the garage. By the time it was emptied out and taken away we got an HOA letter in the mail “reminding us it needed to be removed within 24 hours of occupancy”. We laughed - it was gone before they could print off and mail the letter.
This is a good first step.
It seems the nosey-est noisiest bully rises to the prez of the HOA then immediately push out all of the other board members. To appoint their gestapo psycophants.
With the aim of punishing and fining all people they don’t like in order to get them to sell and leave.
Or, in some cases, put so many fines and leins on a property that the HOA can take that property or force sale to the HOA.
and you paid for the letter...