I've had the exact opposite experience. I rented a house right after college from a couple. it was in a HOA neighborhood. Since my roommates and I weren't a "traditional family" and I drove an older car they immediately targetted us. They slandered us up and down the neighborhood, harassed us, tried to intimidate us and pulled all kinds of petty tricks. Our land lord had to eventually hire a lawyer to shut them up. We didn't do anything wrong and we didn't even own the house but they tried to force us to pay dues and when we wouldn't do that they tried to get us evicted. It was all because of a nosey old lady across the street who had too much time on her hands, didn't like people of color, had an incorrect prejudice against young men just out of college, and no grace in her heart.
This happens ALL OVER THE PLACE and my experience was quite minor. After I got married and moved out my roommate wanted to buy the house, she tried to block the sale, again to fulfill her personal vandetta. When that didn't work they voted (secretly mind you) that the rules were changed and that he had to join the HOA and pay dues in order to purchase the house. This wasn't from the sellers, it was this old lady using the HOA to deny the current owners the right to sell and my friend the right to purchase. Again the lawyers were brought in after they let his dues "he owed" secretly buld up and they tried to forclose. He never signed the covenant and it wasn't a rule UNTIL he wanted to buy. That lady made up her mind the day we were moving in that she didn't like us or want us living across the street and she used the HOA to eliminate a percieved inconvenience. She had never even met us and already wanted us out.
My friend was lucky and was able to keep the house, but this kind of crap happens often and others arent so lucky.
I don't know how often that occurs but I have never seen anything remotely like that.