HOA Members are neighbors

HOAs will always have abusers, and complainers. Too often, the fact that after developer turnover all HOA members are neighbors is forgotten. A person who violates published rules is annoying to neighbors who have their expectations. A person who does not pay an assessment is putting their financial burden on their neighbors To pick up that share of the costs, while benefitting from the community, the roads, the common areas, the amenities. HOAs are not deep pocket corporations. They are just the other people in the neighborhood. This is the other side of the story about abuses.

I suggest that most HOAs should not self govern. And no, I do not own or work for a management company. But those companies have systems and financial safeguards, which would do much to avoid theft.