OT: Any Suggestions?

i always found redesky march worked great.

failing that complain to the super.

Try and be as nice as you can ... for a reasonable amount of time. Write them a note if you have to. Is there a management building to your condo? If so have them help intervene. Lastly call the police. 15 years ago I was in the exact same situation except their music was so loud I couldn't hear my own TV when it was turned up loud. I asked nicely repeatedly. I even had them come over and listen to what I had to listen to. It was two 20 something young men. Their response after listening in my apartment "I don't know what you think the big deal is. My uncle is a lawyer and says I can play my music as loud as I want until 10 pm, so you better get your laws straight." Oh really was my response. I called the police and they said that was not the case and they'd be over to help the neighbors get their laws straight. The music came down and they moved out about 3 months later. ahhhh

Lynne

If you can't get them to answer their door, try slipping a note under it. If that doesn't work, go to the condo management. There must be condo rules. If that doesn't help, call the police. I don't know about where you live, but here there is a 24/7 no noise bylaw.

Thanks, Lynne & Cleo.

While the noise was certainly loud enough to be annoying (to say the least), I doubt it was loud enough for the police to be involved. Ditto for involving the condo board, tho I may ask at this week's meeting at what point I should involve them. A note is next on my list of things to try, just wasn't sure I could write it without lots of comments I might regret later (), so thought I'd hold off on that tactic for the moment.

Since I've not met them yet I was trying to be as nice as possible, but when they wouldn't answer the door for a reasonable face-to-face request, that teed me off. They kept it up most of yesterday (I got a break in the afternoon when I left to run errands) & thankfully, didn't repeat the annoyance today. Maybe they're the type that just had to keep it up yesterday as a way of saying "you can't make me". The neighbors above them can be loud, too, (which I can hear, especially when they're playing their piano), so if the ones next to me have heard the ones above them be loud (while I was out of town for the holidays), they might assume it's "OK" (it's not, in my book).

It's just really frustrating for me since I'm the type who watches TV with the closed captioning on so that I can understand the quieter parts when if I had the TV turned up enough to hear everything, the commercials (& other loud parts) would annoy the neighbors. I also don't play my stereo since the only place to put it is on a common wall & I don't want the neighbors to have to listen to my music. In the 8.5 years I've lived here I've only had one complaint about noise from my unit & that was near midnight one night 8 years ago when my dad & I were desperately trying to finish installing kitchen cabinets (the boxes took up most of the living room) before bringing my mom home from the hospital (she'd had a heart attack & had been there for 3 weeks) the next morning. I was in tears apologizing to the neighbors that night, as it was never my intention to have to make noise at that hour.

Alicia

If it not loud enough to involve the police then there is probably nothing that can be done.

OK, this is totally off topic, but before I lose my mind & run screaming thru the halls of my condo building, I thought I'd ask if anyone here has any suggestions.

New neighbors that I haven't met yet (we share a common wall, the one right behind my couch) moved in next door a couple of months ago. A don't know if they're the owners or if they're renting from the owners. I haven't seen them.

This morning they're blasting their music loud enough that the bass is driving me nuts & so I can even hear it (not overwhelming, but hear it) in my bedroom, which is on the opposite side of the unit from them. Since sometimes it's difficult to tell whether sound is coming from next door, the unit above them, or the unit above me, I went into the hall & upstairs to make sure which unit was the offending one. Definitely heard it the loudest from next door. I knocked politely on the door. Knocked louder & louder (4 times in all), since they were either ignoring me or didn't hear it above the music. No response. I finally yelled from outside their door asking them to please turn down the bass. I would've liked to have asked them nicely face-to-face to either turn down the bass or move the speakers further from our common wall, & to please let me know if I'm ever loud & annoying them (not likely, since I don't play my music loud, but I do talk on speaker phone while sitting on the couch, so that might be annoying [the previous neighbors, who I'd lived next to for 7 or 8 years, never complained tho]).

That didn't help, so finally, in frustration, I pounded on our common wall to the beat of their music, then asked them again to please turn it down. Since it's back to booming, they're either not there or don't have any common courtesy in how to live in a multi-unit building. I'm ready to turn on a nice bagpipe & drum tune at full blast & put the CD player right up to the wall. Failing that, any better suggestions before I totally lose it?

Alicia

Most condo's have regulations for noise control. If you do not have a copy of your bilaws you're entitled to them. There is most likely "quiet hours" which they have to follow or fines and eventual eviction can be at risk. If the situation is a daytime situation only, your best bet might be to go to the neighbors you do know who might also be affected and ask them how they're dealing with it. If you're not the only one complaining that will help your cause, managment will see it as a problem and give them plenty of warnings. If you make it not worth their time they'll either stop the behavior or move out. Be persistent. Don't be embarrassed about contacting the manager (especially if they live on-site) whether it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon or 3'oclock in the morning. It's part of their job to mediate between neighbors to keep the peace for everyone. They get paid to look like the bad guy and though your naughty neighbor may suspect you're the one causing them problems, they simply cannot know for certain. If there are no regulations regarding noise, go, to the board meetings (it's your legal right to attend all/any) and complain, complain, complain. It goes into the minutes, unit # appeared to complain that ... or even tenant reported unit # noise problems, board voted to act in such a manner, etc. If that doesn't work, join the board and get the laws added/ammended/fixed. And remember, it doesn't hurt to call the police, even if you're uncertain they'll do anything. A friendly reminder from an officer should be all it takes (at least if you're dealing with reasonable people).

Good luck!

Melissa in Seattle (ex-condo'er of 9 years)

Hi Alicia, I had a similar situation with a guy above me who would turn his tv on every morning at 5 am loud enough for him to hear when he was in the shower - it was directly above my bed room and as my baby was only 3 months old at the time and I had only finished my last feed and hour before I was, to say the least, not impressed.

I confess I am a bit of a confrontational coward and desperate to keep the peace between neighbours, so I sent him a note mentioning that I thought it was his neighbours and if they it was also annoying him, perhaps he could pop downstairs for a chat and then we could confront them together - it was the last time his tv went on at that time of the morning...sometimes people just don't realise how noise travels, especially when they are new to a complex - I agree it might be too soon to involve the governing body, but you never know.

Good luck!

Now that was a creative solution!

Alicia, in the first flat we lived in, years ago, we had the same problem. Always on a Sunday night, the neighbours seemed to get the blues and then listened to blue grass country music at full blast! Back then we were still a bit immature *g* and then turned on our "Eighties" CD's just as loud. Nothing like Banarama or WHAM to get them quiet and chase those blues away in more than one way! Doubt if we would do the same thing today tho...hehehe. Hope things gets better your side.

Judy, SA

^5 Andrea! Now that is what I call diplomatic!

Judy, SA

lol

I like Andrea's solution.

Thanks, everyone!

Alicia

glad I could help - hope they turn out to be as reasonable as mine was.

Andra