Can HOA make home owners responsible for sidewalk repairs?

An HOA can make your life so miserable that you really should refuse to buy anything where it exists at all. It might be ok if you can get a seat on the board, and preferably the president, but anything less than that is a deal breaker. Yes, I know, they seem like nice people when you are buying, but it only takes one jerk to turn that around completely. My advice is sell the place and get out while they are still being nice.