[jessaustin]

You've explained why there are HOAs, and your explanation makes sense, but it doesn't address my point. GP was complaining that HOAs cause shit neighborhoods, which from a temporal perspective is unlikely. HOAs don't exist before homes get built. Cheap-ass, insufficiently-regulated property developers build shit neighborhoods (and, as you observe, often set up the HOAs that infest them). HOAs are merely the crabs in the bucket, pulling down neighbors who attempt to live better lives in the horrible suburban neighborhoods that already exist.