HOA Harassment?

[FelixDraconis]

I live in Washington state, first off.

We had a house fire a year and a half ago. Still going through legal wranglings on that as they want me to pay some rather massive amount of money, but that's kind of beside the point.

Right afterwards I received a death threat from one of the association members, who said an awful lot of very nasty things to some friends of mine who went back to pick up some things. Stuff like I'm not Christian and he'd break my neck if I went back, bad people, etc. We filed a report immediately with the police. A phone message followed which stated he never wanted to talk to me again, and then harassing phone calls to my emergency contact.

This guy isn't huge, but he's ex military and was in charge of the finances, and I have a rather heightened worry about people who drink heavily. I've never actually set foot in the complex again and it took a year to fix the place, anyway, though I've never seen it. Now, whenever I think about moving back I'm just terrified by the idea, rationally or not, and so I rented it out to some nice people but I've just come to face the facts that I should sell it because I don't want to deal with it again. Of course their lawsuit might mean I'd be forced to sell it anyway unless I took out another loan, in order to cover things.

So, I feel somewhat paralyzed by this and aside from letting my insurance company handle the other matter I don't really know what to do about it aside from staying in hiding like I have been. I talked to a lawyer but he wasn't sure what to do about it because it's not slander, and I don't really know what to do, either. I don't want to put myself in a position that I have to drive by or see the place again as I start to get really nervous and shake, which isn't like me at all, normally.

So maybe just cutting my losses, selling the place off, and spending a year or two to 'rebuild' my finances after this mess and get back on the horse to find someplace else and all that might be the best choice? At least I suppose that's what I'd do by default.

[BlondiePB]

Originally Posted by FelixDraconis

I live in Washington state, first off.

We had a house fire a year and a half ago. Still going through legal wranglings on that as they want me to pay some rather massive amount of money, but that's kind of beside the point.

Right afterwards I received a death threat from one of the association members, who said an awful lot of very nasty things to some friends of mine who went back to pick up some things. Stuff like I'm not Christian and he'd break my neck if I went back, bad people, etc. We filed a report immediately with the police. A phone message followed which stated he never wanted to talk to me again, and then harassing phone calls to my emergency contact.

This guy isn't huge, but he's ex military and was in charge of the finances, and I have a rather heightened worry about people who drink heavily. I've never actually set foot in the complex again and it took a year to fix the place, anyway, though I've never seen it. Now, whenever I think about moving back I'm just terrified by the idea, rationally or not, and so I rented it out to some nice people but I've just come to face the facts that I should sell it because I don't want to deal with it again. Of course their lawsuit might mean I'd be forced to sell it anyway unless I took out another loan, in order to cover things.

So, I feel somewhat paralyzed by this and aside from letting my insurance company handle the other matter I don't really know what to do about it aside from staying in hiding like I have been. I talked to a lawyer but he wasn't sure what to do about it because it's not slander, and I don't really know what to do, either. I don't want to put myself in a position that I have to drive by or see the place again as I start to get really nervous and shake, which isn't like me at all, normally.

So maybe just cutting my losses, selling the place off, and spending a year or two to 'rebuild' my finances after this mess and get back on the horse to find someplace else and all that might be the best choice? At least I suppose that's what I'd do by default.

Thanks for writing.

[FelixDraconis]

Oh, sorry, I find it hard to think regarding this as I get a little emotional.

I'm mainly wondering if I have any recourse against the association because I'm afraid to live there and have been suffering with this fear for a good while now?

I looked into it some and I'm not sure really what to look for in the first place, so I don't know how to word my questions or how to find a lawyer that would handle something like this. My friends and coworkers tell me in no way should I stand for it, but there's never anything but vague outrage. It's not like people came out and slashed my tires or threw bricks through my window. The police officer at the time agreed it was harassment and threatened the board member to stop harassing me. We filed a transcript of the death threat and that was all I did about it at the time.

Or would it be better to roll over, stay quiet, and let it all blow over and get rid of the condo? IE, would it be more trouble than it's worth to pursue something like this?