A somewhat odd question about condos and HOA politics

[Jake Steven]

We recently had a family member offer to sell us his condo. It's in a great area, and the offer price is slightly below that of other comps in the area. Market price is around $180k, we can get it for $160k (using conventional loan, 20% down maybe 4.5% APR. We have good credit. He has a renter who pays $1300/month.

But the HOA is $400 a month! This seems like a lot and between HOA fees and taxes, it probably won't cash flow, but that got me wondering about something:

The condo is in a somewhat small building, only 8 condos. Should I assume that the HOA is being managed by those 8 owners? If this is the case, how much control might you be able to exert over where those HOA fees are being spent, considering you're now 1/8th of the HOA management team. Let's say you know what you're talking about and can actually spend the money wisely.