Now "Noisy" annoying neighbor

Some of you have read my posts regarding my neighbor who hasn't been paying his HOA dues and has generally been a complete jerk to me and to the other Board members. Unfortunately, he lives in the unit next to mine so we have an adjoining wall. For the past two nights he has either been running a fan or some other appliance in his unit which eminates a loud vibrating sound into my unit making it impossible for me to sleep. I wrote his a very polite email requesting he remove the appliance/fan which I blind-copied to the other Board members. His response to me was this, "You want my help? F*** YOU!"

I forwarded the email to our property manager and expect we'll have to send an official letter to him quoting the Bylaws in regard to obnoxious noises. Any other suggestions?

By the way, we're placing a lien against his property for the deliquent HOA dues, but in past communication he's had with other Board members, he has stated (in writing) that he intends to make the Board's life hell for the duration of his stay here.

Should I start looking for a new place to live?

We're such a small property (only 10 units) that we don't have an HOA attorney because we only hire an attorney for really critical matters due to financial reasons. Maybe having the property management company send him a letter regarding such actions and quoting the bylaws and rules/regs? I'm already saving all the emails and I don't respond to his inappropriate responses because it adds fuel to his fire. Other Board members are advising me to call the police, but it seems rather trivial for involving them?

Check your local ordinances for nuisance laws. If he is creating a nuisance that is in violation of an ordinance then the only leverage you have is to first record the noise and second call the police while the noise is happening.

They will hear the noise and can investigate the complaint. If the noise stops then you have the recording.

In our area for barking dog nuisances, there must be two witnesses to the noise, and the responding police officer can be the second witness.

Chances are that the noise bothers him as much as it does you, and if you appear to not be bothered by it then he'll stop.

Bill

Yes, I think probably the best thing to do is to send him a letter stating the noise violation, but I'm hesitant to call the police because I really don't think it's loud enough to warrant a disturbance of the peace but it's definitely annoying while I'm trying to sleep. My hope is to wait this out (and buy earplugs in the interim) and see if he'll stop.

I work in the field of mental health and I know this guy is not a well person so I'm limiting interaction with him as much as possible. People like this guy can be scary so I'm thankful I have a supportive Board and other neighbors who also know the kind of character we're dealing with; however, if it crosses over to harassment or some other legal issue, I'll definitely pursue it.

Michelle, he obviously doesn't realize "it is better to keep one's mouth shut and be thought to be a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

My wife and I are currently living with an even worse circumstance. We are owners and our “nuisance” is the renter below us. This woman has had numerous confrontations with other owners regarding and unauthorized dog and it’s barking prior to our buying in here. She likes to play jazz and leaves it playing load enough to be heard in the common area up to 50 feet away at times. I get to hear it through my floor most of the time. She even leaves it playing when she’s not at home for hours at a time. Apparently she leaves it playing “for her birds”, so I’ve been told by others. She came to our door to complain about our when we had our carpet put in and has banged and slammed around below us for almost 10 months now. She’s cursed at my wife and I out her window and yelled at our neighbor and her family who was doing nothing more than helping her move in to her new place. She yelled at a board member at the board members front door regarding numerous parking violations. She’s gone to the management company and yelled at them there as well. The most that the management has done is to fine the owner $25 a couple of times. But the “nuisance behavior” continues after a short time for me to hear. The board members, our neighbor and my wife and I do not speak to this person as she has demonstrated that she is volatile and no good would come of being confrontational with her. This woman is in her early 60’s and is about 6’2” or more. I don’t know if she’s a drinker or mentally ill, but I know she’s mentally unstable as I have both education and experience in the mental health field as does my wife and coincidently, so does our neighbor. I’m in my late 50’s and feel that the board and management company are just afraid to deal with this person out of complacency and/or fear. I’m ready to take action myself but am not sure what to do short or calling the police continually or a lawyer. My wife and I have a good relationship with the board and the management company and feel caught in the middle with no where to turn.

once heard of a problem like yours was solved when the owner was called everytime the noise was too loud tennant lasted just 30 days after that

i agree with lance, with a bit of the other advice thrown in. Call the police EVERY time. Sure, they will get to dislike you, but they are smart enough to know where the real problem is, and begin to throw tougher and tougher discipline toward the neighbor.

Notify the HOA board/MC EVERY time, and demand that they send letters, notices, etc. EACH time. Again, the owner/renter will get tired of it all, and it adds up quickly.

How trivial is is for you?

This guy has figured out how to "push your button". He wouldn't do this to you if you were a large male but he's comfortable intimidating you because you are a female.

A suggestion was made to record the noise. That won't help because the volume of the recorder can be turned up or down. Witnesses may help. You could also take a witness and go knock on his door to ask him to be quiet. A recording of that conversation would help.

I would call the police. Every time. When they come, show them the e-mails he has sent you. Print them out in advance.

Michelle:

I would bet if you were able to do a survey of victims of violent crimes (hard to do when someone is killed), you would find an astonishing percent of them had some behavior or pattern of behavior that foreshadowed what happened, but they felt it was too trivial to deal with. Most people that are victims of violent crimes knew they attacker in some way, shape or form.

IMO, there is nothing too trivial when it comes to your well being and safety. Don't worry about bothering someone, you didn't ask for this to happen to you.