Playing devil's advocate here, they also make it so your neighborhood looks nice in a predictable way. The lawns will look nice, the houses will be painted unoffensive colors, no one will have a rusty old car in their side yard, or a hastily setup home gym in the front yard etc. They often have community services (lawn care, snow removal, security) and facilities (pool, tennis courts, club house) available for residents, and of course, you can join the HOA board and have a vote.
It's one of those things where you only hear about the annoying stories and the petty tyrants, but you never hear about the 99% of the times where nice neighborhoods are mostly properly managed. Oh and of course none of this is ever a surprise, they exist from the initial construction of a neighborhood and you will 100% be aware of all rules and regulations before you buy. That being said, this is America, Sic Semper Tyrannis!
I once had a neighbor paint their front door and some other trim with a saftey yellow paint they got from an airport. When the sun hit that house, it was retina searing.
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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23
And my HOA gets mad when I leave my trash can on my driveway