Re: This is HARASSMENT by HOA BOARD MEMBER-need ad

Re: This is HARASSMENT by HOA BOARD MEMBER-need ad by NY LL on February 13, 2008 @15:45

This is the reason you want to enlist the services of an attorney before you take action to 1) permit the early lease termination and before you 2) contact the HOA Board in order to request their input to enforce the covenants in order to remedy the matter. This is not a situation that you want to pursue by trial and error. After all, these are people with jobs and a family to raise, they should be managed professionally and knowledgeably.
If the LL agrees to early termination of the lease, then there is no further recourse. The tenants will move-out and the HOA member/neighbor will have been effective. The HOA will never agree that the move was due to their actions when your actions as LL permitted the tenants to break the lease. Once the lease is broken you will be at square one in finding a new tenant. Most likely, the HOA member/neighbor will perform in the same manner to make the next tenant uncomfortable as well. Request that the current tenants allow time (at least 30-60 days) to consult with an attorney. The current tenants will probably feel more comfortable about staying in the lease knowing that the situation is being reviewed by a professional attorney and the HOA Board.
The information you send to the HOA Board should be limited to the correspondence detailing the complaints and complaint references. Do not send actual copies of the complaints to make their job any easier. Allow them to perform their own due diligence and research the matter on their own for discovery. The letter should be delivered with a specific legal remedy in mind. Without a legal recourse regarding the complaints for the HOA to consider and act upon, there will be no incentive for them to take action against the HOA member/neighbor. Please consult with several attorneys that specialize in condominium/community real estate matters before taking initiatives and matters into your own hands.

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Re: This is HARASSMENT by HOA BOARD MEMBER-need ad by Caligirl-n-ATL on February 14, 2008 @00:39	[ Reply ]

I see, you are right I will do just that. What will happen if even after I ask the tenants to stay, they end up moving? that is what I suspect will happen, I have done that and more this last week, they started talking about moving just one week after moving in and I encouraged them to stay because I was doing what I had to do to handle the problem with the HOA and if necessary through an attorney and to just work with me and give it some time. I don't want to agree to to break their lease. I want to pursue this legally. On the one hand, I feel bad as the LL that the tenant has had to endure such harassment in such a short time, but on the other hand I don't want to bite the entire bullet here either, they don't HAVE to move, I told them I would handle the situation it won't always be this bad all the time, I will take care of the situation with the HOA legally one way or another so they don't have to move right this minute so they are choosing to move so I shouldn't have to lose the deposit and the lost rent when they move out while I try to re-rent it, I just don't know what's the best thing to do I guess as it relates to me and the tenant totally separate from the HOA liability thing. I spoke with two attorneys today and both thought their was liability on the HOA because this guy keeps throwing his board position into everything he does and says to these tenants and his harassment is the direct cause of the tenants wanting to move out, so we will see. I have yet to decide which one to retain. Any suggestions of what to look for in an attorney in this matter?

Re: This is HARASSMENT by HOA BOARD MEMBER-need ad by xxx on February 14, 2008 @09:41

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Sometimes as a property owner you have to be tough, and to protect your asset you'll have to do 2 things:

1) Not let the tenants out of their lease. Tell them you'll do whatever you can to help the situation, but that they have to call the police and document the harassment. If you voluntarily let them out of their lease, it will be hard to go after the HOA, and this guy will keep doing this to future tenants.

2) Put together a file on the harassment, send it to the HOA, basically taking the position that this guy is acting under the authority of the HOA and you are going to sue them if it does not stop. Put a scare into them, and protect your assets. Make sure you do this with an attorney.

I know you feel bad for the tenants, but you're going to have to fight this out, unless you're rich enough to not care if the house sits empty indefinitely.

Keep in mind, this guy may not just be a jerk, he may be mentally ill. Have your lawyer do a search to see if there are other civil or criminal cases the guy is involved in.

Re: This is HARASSMENT by HOA BOARD MEMBER-need ad by Anonymous on February 15, 2008 @12:16	[ Reply ]

You are so right, if you only could see the email this nut job sent me BEFORE the tenants even moved in, I beleive he does have a screw loose, do you know he searched the online rental ads (over 2000+) and found my ad, then responded to it and told me who I can and cant rent to and that he's on the HOA board, blah blah blah, and the bizarre thing is he has never even said two words to me in person I'm certainly in no position to leave the house empty I'm putting together the file today, consulting with 4 attorneys, even if this tenant leaves despite my requestes for them to stay while I get this worked out, I still have to resolve this for the next tenant. Thanks for the solid advice, appreciate it all.

Re: This is HARASSMENT by HOA BOARD MEMBER-need ad by Terry (ca) on February 14, 2008 @14:53

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You need to document everything in writing, send to the board and management and then ask to be heard at a board meeting. Folks don't realize that suing an HOA is literally suing yourself and all your neighbors..their defense comes out of your dues, etc.

You need to work it out with the board/tenants. Keep in mind you are only hearing one side of the story as well. Sure it is automatic to want to defend your tenants..but..you aren't living there either. That is why the best approach is to document in writing your concerns, then ask to be heard in a board meeting, preferably a closed session one.

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