> I’m not forced to buy in a place with HOAs.

Narrow bounds would be one thing! The issue with this point is that you may unable to purchase a house _without_ an HOA:

* https://mediaroom.realtor.com/2026-01-27-Nearly-44-of-U-S-Ho...

* https://www.nahb.org/blog/2025/12/community-builds-are-on-th...

So it's not really about having a choice, it's about lack of one.