Terribly strict HOA - how to protect myself

[Cheryl R.]

I bought a house and moved a renter into the house, then realized the HOA is terribly strict. There were posts in their neighborhood website about people having liens on their home for not doing what the HOA wanted and they seemed unrealistic. One person said that she was being threatened for a "crooked mailbox flag", and others seemed just as petty. Some people said that they had liens put on their home for things that were not wrong with their home. They claimed they thought the process was "silly" and did not go to their "hearing" and got slapped with a lien.

The HOA responded harshly that these people need to follow the rules.

Yikes! I have renters! I did put in my rental agreement that HOA guidelines must be followed, but do I need to put in anything else next time? I am redoing an agreement and will be showing the home later this week. Do I need to state that they will have to pay fines? How do you deal with a very strict hoa?