Unpleaseable Neighbors

Demiurge

I live in a condo style apartment. We live above one lady who just moved in about 6 months ago. Ever since she's moved in she CONSTANTLY is complaining about stuff. At first she was whining about the 'music' (aka movies) we were playing.

I could understand that, but I also haven't been crankin' my stuff because I know that we live in an apartment and I'm not going to be able to get the full on joy out of my HT until I get a house.

I was a little mad about hearing that complaint about 5 months ago because we don't watch movies after 10 PM. That tends to be the universal 'courtesy' hour.

Then I got an exercise bike about 3 months ago and she complained about that too. Ok...I can't ride my exercise bike after work at 5 PM 5 days a week? Why not....? The landlord agreed that she was off base with that.

She'd knock on the floor when I'd ride my bike and knock on the floor when my fiance and I were making dinner and when I'd do laundry.

Doesn't that seem a TAD bit ridiculous? These are common household things...

THEN today we get a call from my landlord saying that I kept her up till 3 A.M because my computer chair was 'rolling around too much'.

How can you hear a computer chair that I'm just SITTING in through a carpeted floor below me?

This is all just getting a tad bit ridiculous besides the fact that I wasn't up till 3 AM. I was up till midnight.

My question to you guys is have you ever dealt with crap like this before? Is there action I can take to stop having to listen to this nag **** all the time? I mean seriously...I don't want to get kicked out for doing nothing while the Mexican guys across the yard are having fiestas every night. My roomate and I have had 2 SMALL parties since we've lived here 2 years.

I'm getting sick and tired of all this and I have WAY to much stuff to just move out right now. Besides the fact that I like the apartment a lot.

I guess I'm looking for advice on what to do. Like some serious comments if any of you have dealt with a person like this. I'm honestly not doing anything wrong. I should be able to listen to music, do laundry, or ride my exercise bike before 10 PM...shouldn't I?

These are common household things. I don't want to be miserable here. The way I see it is that if you don't want to hear anything.....BUY A HOUSE! Novel concept!

scottvamp

Seeing your setup - That would be loud for a condo/apartment. I think I remember you talking about this before. I live in a house and had a problem with grumpie retired next door nieghbers. It got to a point that the police were going to have to take me in for noisy back yard parties. And I was the first house built on that half of the entire block. I had to stop with the large late loud backyard parties. Understandable!!!

My "audio world" hobbie and young personality. Apartments would never be an option with me. But loud HomeTheater, partying and music inside my house - never a problem.

My advice is bad medicine but it works: Buy a house!!!!!!!!
Or walk on eggshells!!!!!!!! Sad but True.........

madmax

You won't like the solution.

You must turn this lady into a very good friend, have her over a lot, cook dinner for her, invite her to events etc. Actually, buying a new house might be more do-able...

madmax

Strong Bad

Send a couple of pipe wielding thugs over to pay a "Courtesy Call."

F1nut

I think you need to have a sit-down talk with you, the landlord and the lady. I take it the previous downstairs tenant didn't complain about you for a year and a half, so you might want to point that out to the landlord and her. Some other possible options are that the landlord might be able to relocate her if she continues to complain. Sue her for harassment, but make sure you document each and every interaction. That may start a war, but I think she already fired the first round. Sad thing is some people have no life and complain about anything...sounds like she's one of them.....a total crackpot, if you will.

Goodluck!

amulford

F1 is right. Did you have a neighbor before her? Were there ever any complaints??

Another option is for you to invite the landlord to see if her complaints have any merit. They may take you up on it. Record her knocking on the ceiling and be sure to include the "noisy" activity in the background.

But please be sure to remember this: DOCUMENTATION. Do things in writing. If the matter turns ugly and legal, the one with the best documented account will usually get the judges attention.

Try to keep a cool objective head. Kill her with kindness, but you do not have to curtail your life and walk on eggshells. Just be sure you can prove she is being unreasonable.

Good luck...

danger boy

well. it's almost Christmas.. i'd buy her a pair of ear plugs.

fireshoes

Originally posted by Demiurge
I guess I'm looking for advice on what to do. Like some serious comments if any of you have dealt with a person like this. I'm honestly not doing anything wrong. I should be able to listen to music, do laundry, or ride my exercise bike before 10 PM...shouldn't I?

My advice to you is....upgrade that receiver soon and maybe buy an SVS too. If she's bitching all the time, at least give her a reason. F*ck her.

Strong Bad

My advice to you is....upgrade that receiver soon and maybe buy an SVS too.

Yeah, try sending some 16hz shockwaves down to her for X-Mas. Perhaps the LOTR "Ring Drop" played over and over would clear it up. Make her think the building is on an active fault line and that she should move FAR AWAY as to not endanger herself.

wallstreet

I think she's the one that should get a house, not you. It's not your problem. It's hers. Don't take it personally. Make the landlord move her, not you. If she can't provide audio evidence of noise, then she's just over exagerating.

shiznit311

I like the SVS idea...Hell I had the guy below me up here wondering what the hell was going on while I was watching Star Wars Episode II. It was "rattling the pictures on the walls." LOL I'm just running a PWS 350; I wonder what he'd have said if I had an SVS...

F1nut

You know, by all accounts Demi seems to be trying to be a good neighbor. Now if I lived in an apartment type building and "rattling the pictures on the walls." was happening in my place, you'd come home and find your sub gone!!! Have some consideration. :rolleyes:

Demiurge

You're right about that F1.

I'd totally understand how she'd be pissed if I was watching movies at loud volume, but I actually unplugged my PSW-450. So yeah....I don't even watch movies with my sub on at all. It's a rare occasion that I do...and yes...that totally sucks.

I'm just mad that my roommate and I are being painted as the bad guys.

We're pretty quiet and don't have any parties. Those days are pretty much over until we each get our own houses. We're too vested in our careers right now.

danger boy

maybe.. if you have the funds.... check into renting a house instead.. it's the best of both worlds.. 1. no downstairs neighbors like your's.. and 2. renting a house.. you won't be tied down to a mortgage.. i rented houses on and off for over 12 years.. untill i had the opportunity to buy my own. Now i crank the SVS till i can't stands it no more.

just a thought. Merry Christmas!

Demiurge

Ha! Merry Christmas!

dan t

goingganzo

hey if you were close i could bring over strike force lol 120+db or get a but kicker 2 and mount it to the floor lol. brass monkey or play fight for your right. i here you i hope your problem gets better soon.

bikezappa

May I suggest that you talk to the person and listen to how loud the music is in her apartment. You can then set your volume control so that the music you hear in her apartment is ok. In other words you are calibrating her apartment level with you volume control. I know from experience that the sound in the lower apartment is very ugly and bass heavey. Listen to the noise level in her apartment at the volume levels you like in your apartment and agrre with her on a volume setting. You can also find out when she is gone and agree on a time when you can kick out the jams.

Peace

dan t

kelley

I agree with renting a house. Yes, it can be more expensive than the apartment but the freedom you get, not to mention the extra room will be worth it.

MikeURL

I live in an apt bldg in NYC with fairly thin walls. I think you need to pick your battles. Most people have a "puke point" when it comes to noise and once you go past that they will complain for every little thing. In addition people often have things that bother them a lot more than other things. Hearing voices does not bother me at all, hearing music bass (if it isn't obnoxious heavy metal) is fine but walking on bare floors with shoes on drives me up the wall.

Having neighbors does suck in a lot of ways but it is a heck of alot cheaper than a house you own, generally, so there are some tradeoffs. However, it does sound like you have a neighbor who wants to make believe she is living in her own house. Pretty much every peep you make is going to set her off. Could be worse, the guy below me works nights so he is in bed and trying to sleep by 8pm.

Demiurge

Yeah...I usually am up for work at 4 AM so this lady is out of her friggin' gord if she thinks i'm EVER up past 10PM on a weeknight.

My nights usually consist of coming home and having a little dinner and watching the news. Then I'll hit the exercise bike and the weights. Take a shower and either surf the net, read a book, or play some computer games.

Now....I've even been so kind as to shell out $300 on a pair of Sennheiser headphones for my computer so that no sound ever comes out of my computer speakers either. I just use my headphones for music, ect when I'm on the computer.

Yet what does she whine about? The friggin chair!

The floors are carpeted....and while it's cheap apartment carpeting it's not that uber-thin material....it's actually quite thick. I think I'm going to have to take pics of this place so you guys can visualize all of this.


But yeah....as I said...I realize that my biggest problem in battling this whole thing is that I actually have all this stuff. I'm going to be hard pressed to prove I was never runnin' my sub at full bore, ect...which I never did.

I always took my neighbors into consideration and realized that I wasn't going to be able to enjoy my new HT upgrades at all for awhile.

Any of you who have been paying attention to my system have seen that I've gone from having a RM6200 when I joined here last May...to having what I have now. I'm just slowly upgrading.

As far as my future living quarters....it's up in the air. I'm not sure where the woman wants to live and what her status with Veterinary school is exactly. There is so much to think about. I'm still trying to live a life I enjoy though. I should be able to watch DVD movies...even if I do have to have my sub unplugged.....and the bottom line is that this IS an apartment. I really could be an unruly little ****....but what irks me to no end is that I'm bending over backwards...

:mad:

dan t