One thing I need to point out is that in our county, there really aren't any zoning laws. That was one thing about looking at property outside a subdivision for me - my next door neighbors could move in 10 trailers and rent them out and/or start a chicken farm.
My contract was contingent on my acceptance of the bylaws and IMHO, they're fine. It's mostly retirees and 2nd homes here, so they're not very strict about decorating inside/outside/etc. In fact, there's a blue log house on the top of the ridge - the Smurf house - owned by a couple of gay guys.
In a resort area, you get away with a lot more - the fake deer become cute kitsch here, but wouldn't be so cute in a neighborhood where all your lawns had to be planted with the same type of grass (and yes, there are MANY HOA's in the Atlanta 'burbs that have that requirement).
The subdivision I lived in when we were in Marietta didn't have a formal HOA, but they had "rules". Simple ones - like don't leave a dumptruck parked outside your house for more than a week
- but since there was no HOA, there was zero way to enforce anything. I like this better.
Our bylaws are basic common sense, put there for those that lack it and like Fay said, it helps with the property values.
