Update #1 on the HOA drama

I've been getting pissed every time I think about the letter from the HOA. I started taking some action by getting my ducks in a row. So far I've:

1. Emailed a HS classmate who is a Harvard Law graduate for any referrals for lawyers in our area. I am also considering contacting two lawyers that I used to work with to see if they know anyone down here (Stacy, I'm talking about CL and JLM). If we have to go into mediation, I feel I need to have someone on my side. I searched fruitlessly on classmates for other classmates who went to law school. (I had sorority sisters and guys from our brother fraternity attend Cornell, Harvard and Georgetown Law schools.)
   
2. Called the woman who used to own our house. I spoke to her today and asked her about the landscaping (who installed the front and back landscaping), pool, modification approvals, and her cleaning lady. She was very nice and told me that the builder put in the front landscaping, and the lawn company that we use landscaped the back. She's pretty certain that they got approvals for the pool; the HOA person told me they have the basketball hoop approval on record.

This afternoon I had DH print off the Modification Application. Then he reviewed the letter and called Heidi. DH has been rather blase about this whole thing and keeps telling me not to worry about it. So it was a good thing he called, since he could play "good cop" to my "bad cop" call last Friday. DH explained to Heidi that he couldn't understand why there was a problem with the landscaping since it has been here for SEVEN years. He further added that we had confirmed this with the former owner, since we had only been in this house for about six months. Providing us with a glimmer of hope, Heidi said she'd mention this to her boss. She also asked if we had any pictures of the house from closing. I now must scour the house to find the color printout of the MLS listing, showing the front exterior. I do hope that they get this information and decide to approve the existing landscaping treatment.

On another note, I told DH today that if we ever move to another HOA-controlled community, I am going to demand that the HOA inspect the property before we close. I refuse to have this happen twice. Methinks I'll also google the HOA so I can get familiar with the covenants before moving.