[londons_explore]

Some of these things can be guaranteed by writing them into the rules of the HOA.

Eg. "The HOA shall not have income (including fines and charges) totalling greater than 0.01% of the value of the houses under its control."

"The HOA president shall sit a maximum term of 1 year, after which they shall be barred from all roles within the HOA for 3 years"

[Arainach]

Term limits don't work - in large governments or small. Some HOAs may have abusive governments (which should be voted out by the owners), but plenty of others operate fine and you don't hear about them because no one complains.

Our neighborhood has dues around $35 (they've actually dropped in the last 5 years due to sufficient reserves and lower than anticipated maintenance costs). Our HOA President has lived in the neighborhood since it was built and been the President for many years, and they do a fine job - they've been around enough to know who to talk to in city government if there's a problem, who in the neighborhood can be counted on for a quick favor (need to dig a posthole to install a new sign, etc.), contacts in nearby neighborhoods for coordination, etc. They do plenty of work, things run well, and there haven't been any issues.

The HOA in general avoids the overbearing nature described here. It mediates disputes between neighbors, approves property changes (emphasis on "approves" - I've been on the board, and while they'll often give feedback such as "please add another plant here", they almost never end up rejecting a request), and doesn't make too many demands. It recently requested the homes get repainted, but the last time it was required was 15 years ago, so that doesn't seem out of line to me. Frankly, I have no complaints.

[giardini]

london_explore "The HOA president shall sit a maximum term of 1 year, after which they shall be barred from all roles within the HOA for 3 years"

To do this would be foolish. It take years to fully understand what can happen in any HOA. A one year term limit would create problems that allow other parties to manipulate the HOA. This would also encourage the use of a "management association(MA)", an outside contractor who signs a contract with the HOA giving all HOA control to the MA.

Having an MA does allow "things to get done" but also increases costs radically and usually removes control from the HOA officers. So your choice is:

a ) Have an HOA - you must deal with crazy people (about 1/3 of your membership - seriously), or

b) Have an MA - you will have to pay more because you have given up HOA control.

The modern condominium agreement is a well-examined standard document that almost works. There is one problem with most condominium agreements: they allow owners to rent their units. Once this begins to happen, then entrepreneurs move in and work to take over the condominium, drive the condominium value down, buy everyone out at a low price and resell at a high price. This may also involve tearing down and rebuilding/repurposing land.

Altering the condominium agreement to disallow owners from renting units would correct this weakness. But most people find this an offense against ownership. Nonetheless condominium unit rental is a weakness that should be eliminated from most condominium agreements.