I looked toward the window.
The guesthouse had been secured temporarily until the glass company could complete repairs.
My wife was arranging a professional inspection to ensure the remaining frame was safe.
I took a breath.
“What do we do next?”
The attorney outlined a careful process.
First, preserve the evidence.
Second, notify the appropriate association representatives and demand that they stop marketing our property.
Third, request the original alleged agreement, including available electronic signature records.
Fourth, evaluate possible claims concerning misrepresentation, property damage, and any unauthorized use of our personal information.
And fifth, cooperate with the authorities reviewing the police report and potential document-related wrongdoing.
She emphasized that we should avoid accusing specific people of crimes before the evidence established their individual roles.
I agreed.
Then I asked about the homeowners who had purchased access passes.
She paused.
“They may have claims of their own.”
I nodded.
“I don't want them thinking we took their money.”
“Then we need a clear written notice.”
We prepared one.
It stated that our family had never authorized the HOA to sell, rent, or otherwise provide access to our private pool.
We had not received any pass payments.
We had not signed the document being circulated.
And anyone who had purchased an access package should preserve their receipts and contact the appropriate association representatives or independent counsel about refunds.
The notice did not accuse ordinary residents of trespassing.
They had been misled.
Some had spent hundreds of dollars because they believed the association was offering a legitimate temporary facility.
My wife and I were angry with the president.
But the people who bought the passes were not automatically our enemies.
That distinction became important.
Because over the following days, several residents contacted us with apologies.
One family said they'd believed our pool had become available under an owner-approved agreement.
Another admitted they'd been uncomfortable with the arrangement but assumed the HOA had completed the necessary legal work.
A retired couple explained that they had paid because the closed clubhouse pool had been part of their retirement routine.
They were embarrassed.
I told them they didn't need to apologize for trusting information supplied through an official association program.
Then I encouraged them to preserve the documents they'd received.
Almost every passholder had something useful.
An invoice.
An email.
A digital confirmation.
A promotional brochure.
Or a payment receipt.
Together, those records began showing how extensive the operation had become.
The temporary pool program wasn't merely a proposal.
It had been sold.
Advertised.
Promoted.
And processed through an online payment portal.