HOA Board member home invasion, terrorizing resident

I moved into a 109-single-family-residence subdivision a few months ago, not as a homeowner but signing a 2-yr. lease. (Yes, I know that Renters are considered scum of the earth, bottom-dwelling slimy oozing toads because they care not for their communities!) The homes I have owned were custom built in the $800.000-900,000 range, where I served as designer and general Contractor. Now, being disabled, I am renting in a community of $195,000 private properties, with only the few common areas landscaped through HOA dues, no pool, parking lots or tennis court.

I have not met any neighbors, but last week a woman stormed into the yard, and loudly verbally attacked a visiting friend who was watering potted flowers on the front porch. My frightened friend ran inside to get me in the dining room, closing the front door behind her. My friend was so scared, she couldn't immediately find the words to have me come outside with her. There were three of us in the dining room. After about 15 seconds, the front door burst open and this angry female that I had never seen rushed 20 feet into my house, through the entry way and making a right turn into the dining room. She stopped only because she ran into my wheelchair that I was occupying, almost falling on top of me.

The raging intruder stood towering over me and kept yelling in my face, "Are YOU the renter?!" When I could get a word in and while reaching for my phone to call 911, I very calmly replied, "Yes" and gave my first name only. I quickly decided it would be best to protect my guests and myself by remaining calm and defusing the volatile situation, deflating her rage. The intruder then started screaming about pine straw in a front bed that she did not like and demanded that I IMMEDIATELY replace it, or else. Only then as she took a breath, could I ask who she was. Her reply, "The President of the Board." (I assumed the HOA Board, but I knew that the President was a man. The intruder then demanded to know what I was doing in the dining room, to which I calmly replied, "Teaching a music lesson and you are interrupting, you need to leave now." She demanded to know what kind of music and then demanded my phone number, saying she would call me that night. She never called. The next morning I delivered an Incident Report to the property management company asking for their help with this crazy person. Outside, I noticed that had someone had trespassed during the night, haphazardly throwing pine straw in part of a front planting bed. Now, the bed looks terrible! I assume it was this crazy woman. I keep the yard well-maintained with a professional landscape service, beautifully trimmed bushes, edging, etc. that strictly conforms to the covenants and with other homes.

I have done some research and learned that the home invading terrorizer is an HOA Board member. Covenants state that 10 days notice be given, and repairs, maintenance, replacement be completed 10 days after receipt of notice. If not capable of being completed within 10 days, then to be completed within a reasonable time. Only then can the HOA provide such deemed maintenance, assessing the cost to the Owner. Should I file a police report for this home invasion? Will I suffer with more Board abuse if I refuse to play a victim? I am still shaking and living as a hermit.

Thanks for any advice,
Gwen

I'm guessing when you reached for your phone to call 911 you didn't actually place the call. Douglas's advice is good, call the police now to report the trespass and, if you have 2 witnesses, home invasion.

Not all owners consider renters to be as you have characterized them. Perhaps that outlook comes from being in $800,000 communities, but it's not universal. In any case, you don't have to play the victim. Nor should you. Call the police and if people see the cop car parked outside your place and ask you about it, tell them what happened. You should also let your landlord know what happened. If I was a non-resident owner and heard that board members were harrassing my tenants I wouldn't be too happy about it.

There's no need to get hyper-aggressive, but you should stick to your guns (and not in a Florida kind of way, if you get my drift). Home invasion is a serious offense and the woman needs to have someone with a badge put the fear of God into her.

The HOA Board member who entered their residence MADE it an HOA issue.

No the HOA member made it a POLICE issue. The HOA does NOT protect you from violating laws. There is no such thing as a "HOA shield/Dome". It does not automatically allow one to walk into your home uninvited or without prior notice. You are still subject to arrest. Saying it's in the vain of "HOA business" does not shield one.

This is still a POLICE matter. Regardless HOA board member or not. Enter my home without permission and 911 will be dialed... With or without the gunshot wound...

WHAT??? You serious??? What kind of logic is that??? NO... Telling someone your a member of your HOA's board does NOT make it HOA business. It just makes you an idiot that now someone can go find you... Plus telling someone your on the board doesn't make you exempt from following the law.

Yeah, it will become HOA business later when people question about having such a person on the board. However, until then, it's still a POLICE matter.

No she was NOT representing the board or the HOA. She IDENTIFIED herself as a board member. To represent the board, the board must grant permissions to do so. She just opened the whole HOA to a possible lawsuit by mentioning she was representing them. So if you want to go with the whole "HOA issue" thing, consider the whole HOA and it's members served...

Do you really want this person representing your HOA or board? I think not. So I would still treat this as an individual issue and call the police. The board or members can then decide amongst themselves to vote this person off the board due to their actions.

May I add the fact that I was a HOA president and board member??? I may know a few things on how to represent a HOA and how to represent myself as a regular homeowner... HOA board or officer status does not make you above the law or law enforcers. The only laws I could enforce is the HOA's. Which even then had to be in accordance to the law. Representing the HOA, does not exempt me from bad behavior...

IMO:

(paraphrasing)

There's no need to get hyper-aggressive, but you should stick to your guns (in a Florida kind of way, if you get my drift). Home invasion is a serious offense and the woman needs to have someone with a badge put the fear of God into her.

I believe that Georgia is, in fact, a 'stand your ground' state.

You stated that you were, in fact, afraid.
You were, in fact, in your home.
You therefor had a legal right to use deadly force.

Done.

or

Call the police and press charges if requested.

I'm also in the somewhat skeptical camp. If it's true, though, having two witnesses should be invaluable. That police report should be filed ASAP.

Yes it is a potential civil and criminal... It is just against the individual and NOT the HOA. Otherwise, the HOA is on the hook for the lawsuit. Hence why a neighborhood watch should never ever be part of the HOA budget or supported... Some overzealous watch captain shoots a person. They are also on the board... Who gets jailed and who gets sued? The HOA and all its members gets the civil suit and the person gets time....

I agree with you Richard. What I find odd is that some people will bring up the Tray von Martin case but refuse to acknowledge any potential liability in this post. If this woman is in fact on the Board, announcing that she is on the Board as she invades the property, and insinuates that she is there for some "HOA" concern, then I wouldn't exclude the potential for liability. It is only too bad that the incident wasn't recorded on camera. In the Martin case, it wasn't even a Board member but the shooters "neighborhood watch" was Board sanctioned. If I was this tenant, I would definitely also send a certified letter to the property management. My opinion is that if the current Board and HOA refuses to rein in a rogue Board member and that Board member continues to do something illegal (while acting as a Board member) then the tenant and owner could potentially take legal action against the HOA. I am basing my opinion on the opinion of a HOA attorney when our community had a "situation" with a rogue Board member.

Pam,

Some people just post here for the shock value or to stir up controversy. It's certainly possible that the posters story is true and if it is I owe her an apology. But she's a disabled renter giving music lessons and the supposed board member/intruder ranted and raved about pine straw in a flower bed that mysteriously showed up after the confrontation and now she has to live like a hermit in HOA land. That is why I'm skeptical of the story.

Hi everyone! A UFO landed in my backyard and knocked over my fence. Can the HOA make me fix it?

Don't speculate on whether my story is true, that's not for you to sort out. I deserve an answer.

Please.

Gwen,

As others have said, yes you should file a police report on the individual.
As others have said, you should have actually dialed 911 the moment the individual entered your home without being invited in.

If you file a police report now, have your witnesses with you if possible so they can also make a statement.

Anything after that which you may or may not want to do as a civil action (order of protection, etc.) is something you may want to discuss with a local attorney.

It would be great if the police could issue some sort of a 'no trespass' order on this person, preventing her from ever entering your property again or get arrested if she does.

GwenM2 (Georgia) Could the intruder be some sort of demon ? If so could this require a religious or spiritual intervention ? Or have you considered that the 'intruder' could merely have been the HOA President himself in good faith, showing of his gender-crossing gear to make you feel welcome ? Was it merely a botched visit from the Welcome Wagon lady as here ?

Why do you need to provide a copy to anyone except yourself or your landlord? You as the renter have no responsibility to the board. You have no voting rights. If the landlord has an issue, it is up to them to bring the paperwork NOT you. Otherwise, it sounds like your "poking the bear".

I also believe that some of the version of events are a little "one sided" and up to personal perception. However, not being there can't say exactly what happened. The same for the police on why there was no arrest. They don't have grounds to press charges yet. No one was hurt and if the door was open, it's not breaking and entering. Just an uninvited guest situation.

I would also warn to be carful of having the "music lessons" in your rented home. Most HOA's do not allow such activities. Homes can NOT be used for businesses except for home/internet type. You can't put a sign out with "Dentist" and use it as a Dentist office. The music school could be the very reason some neighbors may find issue. Plus do not know what type of students you teach. The person who was "scared" could have smarted off to this neighbor not expecting them to come after them. I'd be scared if I told someone to shove it and they went off. So to assume this person wasn't provoked is also an assumption...

Let's not escalate to more than it is. Just do your best to get along and keep communicating to your PM/landlord. They are to deal with the situation. NOT YOU.

D

In this case the PM is working for the owner. They are the ones managing the property for the absentee landlord miles away. It is NOT the HOA's PM.

I think this is both a HOA matter and a police matter. Gwen reported the incident to the property management company. Although we cannot say whether or not the company contacted the board about it, it is a matter of the board's due diligence to ask about incidents and communicate with the management company and the management company to report such matters to the board.

Once Gwen reported it, it became a HOA matter. There is person going around representing herself as the president of the board. If the person is the president of the board and is doing things without the board support, the board should know this in order to prevent legal liability and must take action. If this person is actually a board director, then this also makes it a board matter. You have a board member impersonating and misrepresenting themselves as the president and attempting to enforce or intimidate others based on that misrepresentation. If someone should act upon the belief the board member is the president, then this may lead to trouble for the board. The board needs to take action and needs to inform Gwen's landlord and Gwen about that action.

At this point, Gwen doesn't actually know if the board member was acting upon something that the board discussed.

Worse, Gwen is a member of a protected minority (disabled). If Gwen can show that she is being singled out or if this particular board director has a prejudice against people in wheelchairs and the board does nothing to control it after this incident was reported or if the board actually condoned this incident, the board and subsequently the HOA can be found financially liable should a lawsuit be filed.

The renter should inform her landlord of the incident and the owner should take it up with the board and make sure it was repoted. The board itself should be proactive and communicating regularly with the property management company. However, if the management company contact on the board is the offending member or an ally of the offending member, that might be a problem (i.e. conflict of interest). If the board condoned the action, then this might be a problem.

If illegal actions, sanctioned or otherwise, by a board member prevent the member from renting and results in a loss of income, the HOA could be found liable since once the incident was reported to the management company, the board and the HOA had the option to take action. So if the board member is not warned or sanctioned that could make the board liable and if the members become aware but still support this person as an elected representative, the HOA might be found liable.

Because this person invaded Gwen's unit and because she has witnesses, Gwen should report it to the police. This is a separate issue. And she should also ask her friends to be her witnesses. From there, every suspicious incident should be recorded and reported. This is a home invasion. Should Gwen decide to take the director or the HOA to court this will be important. Should Gwen decide she is forced to break her lease, she can use these incidents reports to show cause and her landlord can use them to show cause for a case against the HOA.

I am not a lawyer, but this is how this situation appears to me.

I believe Pam indended to post an emoticon

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