I agree. Just don’t buy a home where you have to join an HOA. I never have and I’ve never had a problem. Most of the issues HOA’s claim as solving are already taken care of by local ordinances. If my neighbor parks a junked car on the lawn or refuses to mow his lawn, he’ll get fined. HOA fees are exorbitant and you have no control over them. The whole point of homeownership is to be in charge. To allow other people to decide what color you can paint your front door or what species of tree you can plant or whether or not you can hang out your laundry, and pay for the “privilege” is nuts.