It has been almost three months since residents of Doral Place lost the use of their community swimming pool -- a pool that was auctioned off by Miami-Dade County because back property taxes had not been paid for years.

Since May, the new owners of the pool, R-U-4 Real Inc. and For Sale By Owner Realty Inc., have ordered the more than 300 families who call Doral Place home to ``keep out.''

Doral Place residents know whom to blame: Their community's management company, the Continental Group, has admitted at a homeowners association meeting it ignored repeated warning signs that the county was about to sell the pool and a surrounding half-acre of property.

Continental is trying to buy the property back.

The next stage is a Sept. 9 court hearing over use of the pool and, soon after, a separate court battle between Continental and the homeowners association, which is planning to sue for damages.

But when residents will be able to go swimming again remains a mystery. The new owners have yet to start formal sale-price negotiations with Continental. Both sides are waiting to see whether a judge will allow residents to use the pool while the real estate tug of war works itself out.

There is no certainty, though, that a decision will come Sept. 9, since it was delayed twice before.

And now comes a new wrinkle. Attorney W. Todd Boyd, who is representing the homeowners in their battle to regain use of the pool, announced at a special homeowner's meeting Thursday that the county may have erred in the way it levied taxes in Doral Place. County officials are examining this possibility, Boyd said, and could potentially decide that clerical mistakes, if any, invalidate the sale of the pool.

If that happened, the pool would be back in the hands of its original owners -- and swimmers.

''That would be the end of all of this,'' Boyd told a group of about a dozen residents.

The back taxes on the pool property date to 1998 and 1999 and total nearly $8,000. By paying roughly that plus an additional $44,000, R-U-4 Real and For Sale By Owner Realty were able to scoop up the land.

Miami-Dade County tax figures peg the value of the property at nearly $96,000 -- almost double what it was sold for.

Deborah Marks, an attorney representing the new owners, did not return two phone calls Friday.

In a previous interview, she said her clients typically sell properties but were ''looking at a number of options'' for the pool site.

Whether any development could take place there is doubtful because the property is relatively small and is specified for recreational use.

But as residents continue to wait for some form of resolution, some are demanding quick legal action. On Thursday, the Doral Place Master Homeowners Association made plans to file a lawsuit against Continental, the management company that neglected to pay the tax bill.

Jerry Palacios, a property manager for Continental, could not be reached for comment Friday. He has previously declined to comment on the matter.

The homeowners board set Sept. 10 -- the day after their next court hearing -- to begin legal proceedings against Continental for damages. Some wanted a lawsuit filed even sooner.

''They should be sued right away,'' resident Nelson Rodríguez-Varela urged. ``Continental has to be brought to task.''