now that i think about it, i am not from a family of money, but i believe my grandma lives on a small, cheap property (i grew up in this household.) that belongs to an hoa. the house is from the 40s, but the hoa has only been around for around a decade, but they're not really strict. they just want you to mow your law iirc. still, once a house belongs to an hoa, you can't really get out of it. i don't know how the whole thing was set up. i don't recall my family signing any papers when i was growing up to join the hoa, so i'm wondering if these things can pop out of mid air and terrorize a neighborhood.
United States