If you're planning to buy a home in a subdivision, or a condo in a condo association, you should budget $250-$500 to sit down with me to talk about what you're getting into. I do a review of the HOA governing documents first, then sit down with you to discuss what living in an HOA generally, and the proposed HOA specifically, may be like. I have noticed that most people who hire me to do this end up looking for a different house -- either one not in an HOA, or else one in an HOA without much power.

Vested interests in the real estate brokerage industry aren't all that interested in making sure buyers know the risks of buying into an HOA. Sellers certainly don't want to tell you how awful their HOA may be. I have no such vested interest -- in fact, the reverse, since a large part of my practice is HOA litigation in which I represent homeowners. Trust me, you don't want to get involved with that!