Chessic Sense is correct. If the HOA would limit itself to such responsibilities there wouldn’t be any issues. The trouble arises when it uses poor judgment such as going after a homeowner for flying an arguably American flag. Had the flag been allowed to fly no ones’ property values would have been lowered. Most likely no one would have objected to it. Objections would have been raised to a Nazi, Confederate, or Oakland Raiders flag, obviously.
It’s kind of a mixed situation, but our complex consists of several multifamily buildings, with streets running between them. The complex owns those streets, and thus has to maintain them. We just repaved them a little while ago, as a matter of fact. They are hardly more than glorified driveways, but they do have curbs and streetlights.
Townhouses need less common maintenance than condos, but they do need some. A few years ago they needed to replace the roofs in our complex. The entire roof of our 12-unit townhouse row building was replaced at once. Hard to see how that could be coordinated and paid for without an HOA.
Great. I am glad you found a situation that works for you.
When I was in high school, my mom moved in to a planned community. As a single mom working long hours, she couldn’t care less about choosing paint color. She wanted a regular suburban home, but without having to worry about landscaping and roof replacement and pool maintenance. She worries about the inside, they worry about the outside, and it’s absolutely perfect for her.