Outside the courthouse, a television reporter asked whether I had defeated the HOA.
I said we had obtained temporary protection for occupied rental properties and that the underlying claims remained unresolved.
The reporter seemed disappointed.
“You own the whole block, don’t you?” she asked.
“I own seven houses and their lots,” I answered.
“The city owns the public street, and the people living in my houses have rights too.”
I hoped that distinction would survive the editing process.
On the drive home, Mara called to tell me Alton’s roses had been delivered from a nursery.
He wanted to plant them where Ruth’s old bushes had stood.
I smiled for the first time all day.
A temporary court order mattered, but a man’s decision to replant a garden seemed like an equally important sign that something was changing.
The first week under the temporary order was quieter than I expected.
No measuring crews appeared at the rear fence, and the committee stopped mailing notices to my house.
The silence should have been restful, but I had begun to distrust the sound of nothing happening.
Iris continued her inspections and discovered that the old drainage problem had already affected three of the rental properties.
Moisture had entered the Sheas’ crawlspace, and the exterior walls behind Alton’s garden showed signs of repeated water exposure.
At Janelle’s cottage, the ground beneath the rear steps had slowly settled, leaving a visible gap near the foundation.
I hired an engineer to assess the damage and requested independent estimates for the repairs.
The work would consume a larger share of the rental income than I had planned.
That was not an excuse to delay it.
I arranged a meeting with all seven households to explain the repair schedule and the inconvenience they might face.
Some families could remain safely in their houses while contractors worked outdoors.
The Sheas might need temporary accommodation if the crawlspace repair affected essential services.
Iris offered them several options instead of announcing that they had to leave.
Celeste asked whether we would cover the extra travel costs if they moved temporarily.
I said we would follow applicable obligations and make a written arrangement that did not leave them paying for a problem they had not caused.
She looked relieved but asked for everything in writing.
I agreed immediately.
I had learned that a landlord’s reassuring tone was worth far less than a clear document people could keep.
