Help Senior Fight Property Scam and Retaliatory Eviction

Dear friends and family, it is very difficult to write this message and ask for help as I am a very private person, but at this time it is necessary as I need to raise $3,800 in a very short amount of time. Below is the history and reason that we are requesting help.

In January 2021, with my failing health and the hopes of getting ahead as the prices of homes became unaffordable, a friend helped me purchase a vintage mobile home in the quaint mountains of Cleveland, Georgia. We thought that we were purchasing from an honest and reputable man, but this turned out otherwise and we were taken advantage of by an individual who thought he could scam seniors and get the home back with his schemes. We paid cash for the home and were told that we only needed a bill of sale and we pay monthly rent for the lot that the home sits on, with the promise of a long-term residency.

We soon learned that we do need a title or at least a serial number or vin number in order to get a bonded title. Without a title or bonded title we cannot insure the home, not to mentioned moving it or trying to sell it. Despite asking multiple times for the title or serial number as well as to fulfill his contract of repairs to the home and a storage building on my lot, he did nothing and if pushed he became vulgar and threatening.

Approximately one year after purchasing my home, he moved his friend onto the property and shortly afterwards the police were showing up at my door looking for this individual. Later multiple officers from several counties came looking for his friend and had mine and other’s homes surrounded with guns, because this individual was a wanted felon in several counties and had even been in a standoff before with SWAT.

This situation was very disturbing, so I wrote the property owner and expressed my concerns. Since the police continued to talk to me and other neighbors about his criminal friend, who was finally arrested and appeared on front page news, the property owner began harassing me and threatening to evict me off the property knowing that my home cannot be moved. These efforts are his hope to get the property and flip it to another unsuspecting senior.

We have been to the police and made a complaint but were pushed to handle it through the civil courts. We consulted with an attorney and paid for his consultation and had the attorney send him a letter regarding his fraud and multiple illegal infractions and even made an offer for the for the property owner who sold this home to us to buy us out. He has ignored this letter and offer. He has done the same to two other of my neighbors and one of them also hired an attorney to send him a letter. Her letter was ignored also. My attorney wanted a $10,000-$20,000 retainer to take him to superior court. I could not afford the retainer and have tried to ride out the harassment, slander and threats and my attorney said if he ever does go through with filing a formal eviction he would welcome it, because it opens the door for us to answer with our claim, have the case bound up to superior court and it will cost me a lot less to get justice this way.

This past December he shut off my power so that he could illegally hook up the line to run the community well to my electric box and steal my power. My security cameras recorded it and I was also in my home when he shut the power off to make the illegal connection.

I immediately called the power company who came out to investigate the situation and it was not only documented, but I was told to call the police. The electrical company had an engineer come out and inspect it and he was in disbelief as he looked at all the illegal wiring the landlord had done. The engineer made the statement that my home was a “death trap” and a fire waiting to happen because of the way he had hooked everything up. It was the week before Christmas and I just wanted to have peace, so I simply had the power company unhook the illegal connection which forced the property owner to come out and to reconnect his well some other way. As usual, our water was constantly cut off, due to his negligence and shoddy electrical connections, and also to his failure to pay the power bill for the pump when it was due.

Things came to a head in early January, our little community had a big snow storm and once again our water was shut off due to the improper power connection.

The landowner stated he was out of the country for the month and the only option was for me to connect the well pump to my power box again so that his seven tenants could have water. When confronted with our lack of water and his negligence, this individual immediately started verbally attacking me and cursing at me (thru text messages) and in retaliation, he has sent me an eviction notice once again, even though I had done him a favor by hooking the well to my power so that we would have water for the month, this despite the fact that in the four years that I have lived here, I have never been late on a lot rent payment nor missed a payment. My home was paid for fully in cash.

My attorney once again stated that once the landlord files an eviction, he will represent me but requires a $3,800 retainer fee to represent me and take the case to superior court to get justice. I truly hate asking for help and this is extremely embarrassing to me, but I am calling on my village to help your sister in need!

I have put all of my money into this home since it was a cash purchase and am retired with several disabilities, so I have a very small income coming in.

Any amount will help tremendously, and all prayers are appreciated. Four years of threats, bullying and harassment has taken its toll on me, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.