They were collateral damage in a fight they did not start, but neither did I. Tuesday morning, I woke up to three voicemails. One from Daniel, one from a woman who introduced herself as vice president of the HOA, and one from someone who did not leave a name, but suggested I was endangering emergency services access. That one made me pause.
I called Denise. Can they argue public safety? They can try, she said. But unless there is a recorded easement or an emergency order from a judge, you are within your rights. That said, if this drags out, a court could impose a temporary access arrangement. So, I have leverage, but it’s on a clock. Exactly.
By Wednesday afternoon, the tone changed. Daniel called again, slower this time. Measured. Eli, we’ve consulted council, and it appears there is no recorded easement on file. I waited. However, he continued, “The association maintains that the prior owner granted verbal permission for access.
” Walter Jennings died 3 years before I bought the property. Verbal agreements don’t transfer with ghosts. That line hit harder than I intended. He did not respond right away. What would it take to resolve this? He finally asked. There it was. Not a threat, a question. I leaned back in my chair and looked out at the empty stretch where my trees used to sway.
First, you replace all six sycamores. Mature, professionally planted, guaranteed to survive. That’s significant. So, were they? He exhald slowly. All right. What else? A formal written apology from the HOA acknowledging the error and the property violation. We can draft something. And I said, if you want continued access across my land, we do it properly. Recorded easement.
