Noisy New Neighbors - Help?/Neighbors From HE** (Lincoln: lawyer, home)

[HoliWood]

Originally Posted by SandyCo

This is tough, Holi. I'd stay away from the condo owner who doesn't even want to clean the carpets. That is a major red flag, for at least a couple of reasons. 1) You're probably right that he'd be slow to deal with regular maintenance issues, 2) What is his financial situation like if he's so reluctant to improve the unit that he's possibly willing to lower the rent to avoid the current expense of fixing the condo?! I wonder if you can run a credit check on him! Of course, you'd want to bring your own refrigerator. If you're already trying to negotiate things like this, forget it. (Your instincts are already telling you this; I'm just backing you up! )

The bigger place seems like the best option for now. If she calls you back and says, "No, we can't come down $100, but we can do $50", I recommend you take it!

I think you're right, Sandy. Thanks for reaffirming; sometimes, especially in desperate situations like this (i.e., because of the noise), I ignore my instinct and that's never a good thing.

I hope that manager from the bigger place will work with me. I suppose if neither works, it wasn't meant to be - and I'm meant to lose my mind in my current place...

[SandyCo]

CalGuy, thank you for your post! Maybe Harrier should read it. This is exactly what I was thinking about in response to his post before, but I didn't want to articulate the possibility (and scare Holi half to death!).

People never cease to amaze me. Even if it's not revenge on such a grand scale, they could make more noise, key her car, be lurking around when she steps outside to do laundry or get her mail, etc.

Originally Posted by CALGUY

I have been in property management for many years, and have rented to all kinds of people, and let me tell you firsthand, these people living above you are trouble, with a capital "T".
About 20 years ago, I was asked to manage a building in Lincoln Heights.
One of the tenants were just like the one's you are now dealing with.
The owner fired the previous manager because they would not address the problem family.
There were a husband, wife, and two kids.
The owner knew of the problem, but relied on the manager to fix it.
Well, that never happened, so He contacted me.
The first thing I did was knock on their door, and introduce myself, then explained that there were numerous complaints by other tenants, and neighbors regarding the loud music, babies crying at all hours, and arguments.
I asked them to control it, and left it at that .
Two days later I was called to the property by one of the other tenants, because of the noise coming from that same apartment.
This time I came with a three day notice that they had to comply, or they would be issued a thirty day notice to vacate.
Before slamming the door in my face, the husband told me I had better "watch my back".
I knew then we were in for trouble.
I gave them a thirty day notice three days later, and the husband again was very hostile.
I still remember his words to this day, "you are going to be fuc... sorry, for this", and once again slammed the door.
I spoke with the owner and told him we are going to have real trouble with these people.
I had a hunch they were going to retalliate in a big way, and they held true too form.
The day we got our judgement in court against them, the house was set deliberately on fire, and was a total loss.
I knew they did it, but couldn't prove it.
So Holli, take head, these fools are not to be screwed with.
You have no idea what people like that are capable of.
They may not burn the building down, but you can bet you will be on their ***** list of things to "take care of".
Bob.

[JanND]

Originally Posted by blueyes2

I have a neighbor upstairs who is obviously mentally ill and displays consistently disturbing and rude behavior in spite of my complaints. His neighbor across the hallway yelled at him when he was running his vacuum cleaner at 5:30 in the morning one time after taking a noise break from about 2:30 to 5:00. I can not describe how he annoys me. He stomps from room to room if he thinks he hears that I am home. I can't stand it when I go to use my bathroom and that means he has to stomp into his. It is creepy and affects my health. I decided some time back that my only recourse is to move, unfortunately I do not have the means to move. I intend to send my doctor bills to the management company. They will probably evict me instead of doing anything about him. I can't understand why I am not allowed to change apartments to get away from this sick behavior. I sympathize with you, but bottom line, you have to move and hope you don't get a situation that is worse. Good luck.

Are you on any sort of assistance, or have an agency or caseworker that you work w/. If you do talk to them about this situation, they may be able to pull strings on your behalf if this is stressing you and effecting your health. If you have any sort of diagnosis, talk to your Dr. dm me.

[JanND]

Holiwood, didn't I see you have a thread talking about a place you found? Guest cottage? Are you taking it?

[HoliWood]

Originally Posted by JanND

Holiwood, didn't I see you have a thread talking about a place you found? Guest cottage? Are you taking it?

I found it, but it ended up not being the right fit.

[HoliWood]

The manager from the bigger/more expensive place just called and was nice but said because the owners have done a lot of updates on piping, etc. in the unit, they have just increased rents and they won't be willing to lower it. I said I'll think about it and call her tomorrow.

But in reality, it would make things rather tight! $200/month is a big jump if you hadn't planned on moving....

[SandyCo]

I'd rather live on a tight budget than with constant noise, but of course, I don't know just how tight your budget would be. If it means you'd be living on ramen, then you definitely can't take that place! I'm sorry they're not willing to lower the rent at all.

You'll find something, but obviously not right away. I know how difficult this is, but I do believe there is that one wonderful apartment just waiting for you to find it!

[cmcgill]

Holiwood, if you have been living in the complex for 10 years and haven't had problems like this in the past, you should consider waiting it out. Tenants like the ones you describe probably won't stick around for too long. There may be a good chance that they'll leave at the end of their lease, if not sooner. It would be a shame to give up a place that you really like, only to find out that the problem neighbors moved out shortly after you did. And it's difficult to know what kind of neighbors you'd have in a new place. You could potentially go though a lot of trouble and expense for very little pay-off. If you could tolerate the current situation for a few more months, things might work themselves out.

[HoliWood]

Originally Posted by SandyCo

I'd rather live on a tight budget than with constant noise, but of course, I don't know just how tight your budget would be. If it means you'd be living on ramen, then you definitely can't take that place! I'm sorry they're not willing to lower the rent at all.

You'll find something, but obviously not right away. I know how difficult this is, but I do believe there is that one wonderful apartment just waiting for you to find it!

No, it wouldn't mean I'd live on Ramen...not right away but it is rather high even for the area; they're trying to re-coop the money they've spent on maintenance on the building, but it is rather too much.

I keep thinking about the smaller place, and the more I think over it, the less I like it. Yes, the price and location is right, but the issues that could potentially be even bigger issues with the landlord (maintenance, upkeep) don't sit well with me, esp. if he wants me to sign a 2-year lease.

In any case, I haven't heard back from him so maybe that's a blessing in disguise.

As for the bigger/pricier unit, I would pay the big $$ a little easier if I was in love with the place, but I'm not. For instance, the massive bedroom has only one use-able wall. What I mean is that there is one LONG wall where my headboard and bedside tables will go up against, but the wall across from it is - from one end to the other - all closets. The 3rd wall is all window, and the 4th wall is the exit to the hallway and the entrance to the en-suite bathroom. So I'm wondering, where would my television go? My armoire? They've made such poor use of the space.

I don't know...so far, I'm not having much luck.

[HoliWood]

Originally Posted by cmcgill

Holiwood, if you have been living in the complex for 10 years and haven't had problems like this in the past, you should consider waiting it out. Tenants like the ones you describe probably won't stick around for too long. There may be a good chance that they'll leave at the end of their lease, if not sooner. It would be a shame to give up a place that you really like, only to find out that the problem neighbors moved out shortly after you did. And it's difficult to know what kind of neighbors you'd have in a new place. You could potentially go though a lot of trouble and expense for very little pay-off. If you could tolerate the current situation for a few more months, things might work themselves out.

They only moved in 2.5 months ago - that means waiting it out another 10 months! And people like these aren't going anywhere. On top of which, since management doesn't want to fix the squeaky ceiling, the next person would also be bothersome if the current ones move out. That crackle/snap/creak sound alone is enough to prevent uninterrupted sleep and drive one insane.