Personally I prefer the HOA, even with the "friction." It gets directly debited from my checking account each money and I just don't even have to think about any of it. I'm more than happy to pay for the convenience of not having to bother with it. But that's just me.
Did you read the study that easy-pass causes road tolls to get more expensive vs. paying cash each time? it gives the management companies incentives to increase fees with regularity.
Don't ever let vendors take money from you without bitching everytime. Complaining is what keeps the prices low.
Personally, I think that citizens are stupid. Street maintenance was the cities' responsibilities. By retreating to HOA communities, citizens are giving themselves tax increases. Remember tax increases require political consensus. HOA increases happen all the time with predictable regularity.
