Oh Crap--Drugs, Crime, & Landlord Drama 20 feet away--What would you do? (apartment, lease)

[Cardiff by the Sea]

We are building a custom home in a very nice part of town. The existing house is slated for demolition in the not too distant future. We were very excited to find a huge apartment, with a huge private lanai, very cheap, and within sight of our house. Very excited about getting our furniture out of storage and not sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Excited about reunited with stuff we didn't know we would miss so much.

Downstairs at the new place, the 86 year old landlords daughter is the tenant in a very tiny studio. Here estimated age is 40-50. And she has a younger male roommate (25-35). From the roommates behavior and from the sores all over his body, we think he is a meth user. And they have a 3rd friend who acts like he lives there. Makes frequent quick runs in and out that have the feel of being drug related.

We talked to the landlords secretary today about other issues and hubby mentioned the roommate and she was shocked that he was living there. The landlord is not aware of it. Ok. Not our problem. We rather suspect the relationship between the landlord and his daughter is not a joyful one. We passed her on the stairs when we were being shown the unit, and they didn't even introduce here.

But just now, other tenants in the building flagged us down and told us about bicycles and TVs being stolen from other tenants. The timing and method makes it sound like an inside job. They have also found needles on the grounds and have seen the friend who doesn't live there shooting up in the landlord's daughter's car.

We are wondering what to do. Maybe the landlord doesn't know because he doesn't want to know. We have plans to take the landlord to lunch in about a month. Should we just casually ask the landlord a question about his daughters roommate in a way that let's him know this loser is living there?

Should we get a security system. We have never had one. We don't have anything worth stealing, so the concern is more about the feeling of being violated if we are broken in to.

Hubby is a muscular horse who can look really formidable. When we lived in San Diego we didn't even lock our doors about half the time and we have never been bothered. In LA we locked our doors, but didn't have a security system even though we were on the ground floor. We have never felt threatened, but this guy makes us feel threatened. He would watch when we come and go. We don't want to spend a bunch of money on a security system since we will only be there 6-8 months. How much do the cost? Any cheap simple recommendations? No pet policy so a rottweiler is out.

We have talked with the deputy in area of the apartment building (34231) we own about one of our tenants who is dealing. (We are booting her this month). Should we talk to the deputy in our home area (34239) about this guy? What would we say? "Oh Deputy, we haven't even moved in yet and we think our neighbor is a meth user stealing from the other tenants". It is very different being the landlord and being just another tenant.

I personally sort of like the idea of having hubby pick him up with one hand and hold him up against the house and scare the %&@# out of him. (Since his is a tweaker, he doesn't weigh much). I can easily muster a look that makes people wither. Hubby is considering saying his most recent job was with the DEA or something like that. All ideas with the goal us making us too scary to steal from.

What would you do?

[beninfl]

Originally Posted by Cardiff by the Sea

What would you do?

Move.

[Mr. Conover]

MYOB if I may be so bold.

[bbronston]

Start watching episodes of Breaking Bad for ideas.

Seriously, though, sorry to hear of your predicament. Yeah, I'd tell the landlord you want to be let out of your lease and be blunt about why.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

We don't want to move. We just don't want to have to watch our back every minute.

The only place we could know that we would not run into this situation is our own building and we don't want to live in the midst of our tenants.

Besides we don't let ourselves be victimized. If we moved, we would be victimizing ourselves to give up this otherwise ideal setup because of this jerk.

[Frida7]

Definitely inform the authorities about this, as well as your landlord & keep on them about it. I wouldn't have the hubby touch this guy, that could end in charges being brought. Don't think he or the girl wouldn't do it because they're drugging, they're aren't doing a lot of thinking.
I agree you shouldn't leave. For one, it's only one couple, not as if the whole place is bad. If you leave every time an addict trouble maker lives near or moves in you'll be on the run a long, long time.

[Chester Burnett]

I would speak to the landlord immediately and I wouldn't be afraid to embellish a little to make your case. His daughter probably lies to him about the situation there every day. I would try to get the other tenants to complain as well. I would follow up the phone calls with letters sent by registered mail so you have a written record that he was made aware of the situation. Once the letters are received call and threaten to sue for something or other. Keep complaining and keep the other tenants complaining. Get photos of the boyfriend and other guy if you can. Don't be shy about it. Have your husband walk right up to them and snap a shot, smile and walk away. Get pictures of the license plate of their cars. Be a nuisance.

Digital security cameras are more affordable than they have ever been and you can bring them with you to your new home easily.

Beyond that I'm not sure what else you can do without getting into questionable legal territory. I wouldn't raise the defcon level to that point unless your home or vehicle actually gets broken into. Then it's on like Donkey Kong.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Frida you are right that Hubby shouldn't touch him. (Just the first intimidating thing that popped into my head).

Thinking about this as I was falling asleep last night made me conclude (1) short-run we have to make him afraid of us so he won't seize an opportunity should one arise and (2) longer run that I am determined to drive him out. I have to step over this piece of $#@& every time I come down the stairs. He sits in a chair there. He literately stinks.

Hubby and I have different plans on the psychological warfare front.

Hubby is going to say to him "hey, we have heard there has been some crime in this complex and we want you and landlords daughter to feel safe, so be assured if someone tries anything with our unit, it will be the last thing they do." (This is 98% talk and about 2% possibility of action). That way he gets the message but it is not like we are saying we know you are the perp.

I have a taser but it is not the kind that shoots barbs. If I can (don't know the laws) I am going to get one that shoots barbs and do target practice downstairs in front of our units. I also will put some of those Protected by Smith and Wesson bumper stickers on the relevant windows (and no we don' own any guns) but it would not hurt if scumbag thinks we do. I have chatted with scumbag a little bit coming and going. So in the future, I could be going to the nail salon, but I will say I am off to the shooting range for a little target practice.

This I probably won't do, but I am fantasizing a little industrial chic decorating for the two vulnerable windows--custom made barbed wire window insets. The idea of being forced to leave the drapes closed ticks me off. I want the light and the view of the banyon tree every minute I can get it.

We have told the landlords that we would have them back over after we moved in. The smith and wesson stickers and the barbed wire drapes might be just the conversation starter we need.

[Chester Burnett]

Smith and Wesson stickers just let them know that if your not home there might be some guns they can steal. It can make you more of a target.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Originally Posted by Chester Burnett

Smith and Wesson stickers just let them know that if your not home there might be some guns they can steal. It can make you more of a target.

That is a possibility I had not considered. When I see security system signs, I always wonder if people really have them or just have the sign. Would probably wonder the same thing about S&W signs, but the risk of testing it seems higher.

Hubby and I have totally random schedules, which would hopefully make scumbag think he is more likely to get caught/shot.