Local senior facing eviction

NORTH BENCH — A local woman living on Turner Hill Road is facing eviction following a contract dispute over a property she said she had a lifetime right to reside under the previous landowner. 

Terry Brannon, 64, is being evicted for violating a rental agreement because she used a gate barred to her by the current property owner. The Boundary County woman said she had always used to enter and leave the property. She lives off-grid in a cabin she and her husband built on the property. 

The history of the parcel is muddy, as Brannon claims to have had a rent-to-own agreement with the former landowners, Jerry Mortensen and Regina Adams. In exchange for their property in Newport, a 9N Ford Tractor and $10,000, Brannon said she and her husband, now deceased, signed the agreement for the 10-acre parcel in April 2014. The couple were to pay off the $10,000 balance in monthly instruments of $500 interest-free until the balance was paid in full.  

However, there is no record of the sale. 

After Mortensen died around October 2014, Terry Brannon claims a quick claim deed they had signed in October 2014 was missing or had been destroyed. 

On March 30, 2015, Terry, and her husband, Michael Ray Brannon, had notarized a homestead declaration with Boundary County for the property at 4233 Turner Hill Road. 

“At the time of making this declaration, we actually reside on the premises described below, and we claim and declare the premise; with the dwelling house and outbuildings on it, and its appurtenances, as a homestead for our joint benefit,” the Brannons said in the document. 

Brannon said when Tim Harlan, the new property owner purchased the several hundred acres around them in December 2015, he told them they could live on the property throughout their lives “if we gave up the right to purchase the 10 acres.” 

The couple signed the lease agreement provided by Harlan feeling they could trust Harlan at his word, Brannon said. Complicating matters for Brannon, who only has a third grade education, is that she signed the binding lease agreement and agreed to all the terms.

Signed Nov. 20, 2015, the original agreement was set to begin Jan. 1, 2016, and end Dec. 31, 2025. Rent was set at $500 a month with an annual increase of a minimum 3% and a maximum 5%. Additionally the landlord was not responsible for “maintaining anything in regards to the house, well, property or roads,” according to the agreement.

The agreement stipulates that Harlan is “purchasing the property with clear title and any previous real estate transaction between tenants and Jerry Mortensen and his estate or any other person claiming to own the property are now null and void as a condition of this lease.” 

The lease agreement stipulates that the Brannons have “no further legal recourse of any kind against the estate of the prior owner nor against the landlord regarding these matters.”

Harlan Properties Idaho, LLC, which owns the property, is in the process of evicting Brannon. Brannon was served with a notice of eviction on Oct. 7.

In the agreement, Harlan directed Brannon to access the property from a northern gate, requiring her to cross a narrow, approximately 200-foot-long dike that becomes muddy throughout the year. 

The dike is often impassible and does not allow her to turn around, Brannon said.

She said she has concerns crossing the dike, especially with her horse trailer as she could slide off the dike and crash on to Turner Hill Road or down the hill. Instead, she began using the southern gate, which has direct access to Turner Hill Road. 

Now, Brannon does not leave the property, due to the road conditions to the other entrance. She has resulted in having neighbors pick up her mail and groceries. She meets them at the locked southern gate, and packages and food is passed through the gate. 

She cannot open the gate, which is secured with three separate locks and the lease agreement bars her from accessing the property through the gate. 

Access issues have caused problems, Brannon said. On Jan. 24, 2020, she was bitten by a brown recluse spider and needed medical care. However, she contends a policy required the landlord be contacted to unlock the gate and when, they could not be reached, medical care was delayed for almost a month. Brannon also claims her rent had been raised twice in a one-year period, which violates the lease agreement.  

On April 5, 2023, Brannon signed a new agreement that her attorney, Jeffrey H. Boiler, and Christory Harlan, attorney for Becca Harlan and the estate of Tim Harlan agreed on. 

The new lease agreement was in response to a March 14 eviction notice due to late rent fees. The agreement “allows Brannon to stay on the property unless she breaches the terms of the lease.” 

The lease became month-to-month set to expire Dec. 31, 2025. Rent was set at $645. As in the original agreement with Harlan, Brannon is responsible for maintenance of the house, well, property and roads. She is not to access the south gate, which is parallel to Turner Hill Road “unless the north gate is inaccessible,” explicit permission or if there is an emergency. 

“In the event of an emergency, [Brannon] or an emergency service shall contact the landlord by phone to ensure the gate can be opened immediately,” according to the lease agreement. 

There is no addressing signage to 4223 Turner Hill Road on either the north or south gate. Brannon claims to have had an address on the south, but that it was removed by the landlord. 

The lease agreement makes Brannon responsible for all expenses incurred should the landlord “require the services of an attorney, file a suit, or resort to other procedures in order to complete the tenant's compliance with the tenant's obligations.” 

On Nov. 6, in a sworn affidavit, Deryk Harlan, a member of Harlan Properties Idaho LLC, said he installed a camera on the southern gate after he was told by neighbors and employees that Brannon was using the southern gate without permission. In the affidavit, Harlan said he has video of Brannon accessing the southern gate twice. 

Christopher Harlan, the attorney for Harlan Properties Idaho LLC provided comment to the Herald.

"[Bushnell Law's] office carefully observes Rule 3.6 of the Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct. Our office tries our cases in the judicial court, and not the courts of public opinion," he said. 

"It is too easy for any one person to provide unfounded or nonfactual statements, and thereby inadvertently open oneself up to defamation disputes. We respectfully recommend that anyone particularly interested in the outcome of this case to wait for the Judge's opinion based upon the facts and in the scope set therein," he said. 

A bench trial is scheduled for Nov. 27, at 10 a.m. at the Boundary County Courthouse.