I hate it for the homeowners, sounds like they are pretty much screwed! There are pros and cons about purchasing into a HOA subdivision. And yes, the HOA can put a lien on your property if past due on fees as the HOA covenants are apart of your closing documents on the property. When I moved to PC, what sold me on the subdivision was how well kept and manicured the neighborhood was. The first year the fees were only around $210/yr I believe which included common area maint, use of the pool, tennis courts, basketball court, playground, pavillion, lake, etc. Which all of those were well kept up.
On the downside, every year there was a slight increase in dues, but the tension in the hood with the folks on the HOA board and property owners got extremely heated (one HOA mtg they actually hired an offduty PCSO to standby outside!!!) It got to the point no one would run for President of the HOA, and prior to my move they were getting bids to outsource the HOA to a management company which would've AT LEAST doubled the annual fees.