I stared at the handwriting.
My father had written those words nearly fifteen years earlier.
Now I was sitting at his kitchen table, holding a new HOA map that appeared to include the very strip of land he'd refused to sell.
I unfolded another survey.
The eastern boundary ran beside a narrow wooded area connecting the neighborhood's existing access road to an undeveloped parcel behind the subdivision.
I looked toward my wife.
"I think I know what they want."
She followed my finger.
"The land beside the garage?"
I nodded.
"That would give them another entrance."
She frowned.
"Why would they need one?"
I looked toward the HOA map.
"I don't know yet."
But the more I examined the documents, the more convinced I became that the Mustang was only a convenient target.
The real dispute was about control of the parcel.
On Monday, I contacted a property attorney I'd known for several years.
I didn't ask her to use my position or investigate anyone. I told her I needed independent legal advice as a private homeowner because an association was claiming authority over land I believed it did not govern.
She agreed to review the documents.
We met that afternoon in her office.
She was in her early sixties, with silver hair, rectangular glasses, and a habit of examining every page before offering an opinion. She had represented homeowners, developers, and associations for decades, and she wasn't interested in telling me what I wanted to hear.
After reviewing the deed, recorded plat, and HOA notices, she leaned back.
"The recorded documents support your position."
I nodded.
"So they can't enforce these fines?"
"Not merely because they say your house is inside their service area. We'd need to check for any later valid recorded agreement or covenant affecting the property."
She pointed toward the HOA map.
"But this isn't enough."
I looked at the document.
"What about the expansion?"
She frowned.
"An association can't just expand its private restrictions over someone else's property with a board vote."
I nodded.
"That's what I thought."
She studied the correspondence from the original developer.
Then she looked toward me.
"Have they asked to buy any land?"
"Not directly."
"Any easement?"
"No."
She tapped the map.