There's a 16 acre lake in my backyard that's technically property of the HOA, and I can't use it. According to the paperwork left by my old neighbor, the HOA "stopped accepting applications from XXX neighborhood in 2006 due to troubles with XXX neighborhood people and their friends".
Which is what I thought, until the HOA Nazi told me I can look at the lake, and that's it. No fishing, swimming, boating, etc.
I don't mind paying. The dues are reasonable, the area is always kept nice, roads are always plowed and treated in the winter, and the CCRs aren't anything ridiculous (nobody's coming to put signs in your yard if the grass is too high), the guy is just anal about the recreational area, and it seem like the people that used to live in the area were #######s and ruined it for everyone.
I just want to use what's in my back yard.