I'm happy somebody has. Except for you, I have never heard anything but nightmares from the people I know who suffer under HOAs.
My building has an HOA, and the worst I can say about is that's it's pretty boring.
> They should leave if it is really that stressful and onerous.
Easier said than done. A few people I know found that it was difficult to sell their home because the existence of an HOA scares off buyers.
It can be a concern. But I actually found the opposite to be true in my case. During my house-hunt I was far more turned-off by the appearance and disrepair of several houses and properties near the places that I was looking at. So it can definitely be a consideration from both perspectives.
I didn't write those standards, so why would I agree with them? Should I be homeless now?