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Phila. condo getting noisy

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ImolaS4

Guest
What is the name of your state? PA

I have been complaining about a noise that comes from the condo above me for over three months. It is coming from the floor above my bedroom directly above the bed. It keeps me awake at night. The noise sounds like the scraping of wodden furniture across the wooden floor. The noise happens between 9PM and 2AM on most nights. It is sporadic and does not happen every night, but when it does occur it is followed by many repeated noises in the same evening. On one night I noted seventeen separate times that the noise occurred. On many occasions I would go out on my balcony and observe that the tenant above had their lights on - they were awake.

The noise is clearly a violation of the condo association rules and regulations.

{I should note that I have been living here for twelve years without any complaints or concerns until these past three to four months. I travel alot so I am not home every night and, on some nights when I am home, there are no noises at all.}

I have continually called and complained to the front desk - each time the front desk has taken a report. I complained to the Manager, after several days of suffering, with a letter and direct meeting; he said he would look into the matter. I met with the Assistant Manager (who seems to handle these items) this month and gave him a letter describing the noise and a chronological listing of the past four weeks - I have kept a log. He assured me he would deal with the problem that day. Last week, I had the front desk send up the doorman to observe. The doorman arrived and stood in my bedroom for ten minutes and witnessed three separate incidents. He commented the first time with, "What is she doing up there?"

Last week I received a letter from a lawyer claiming to represent the tenant above. He insisted the tenant was not to blame. He claimed that the tenant is very old, has been living there for years without any issues up to this point, that there have been no changes to the apartment - he claims the apartment is carpeted, and that the tenant does not keep late hours. He further insisted that by no means should I be allowed to approach or terrorize the tenant!

Now I'm being labeled the bad guy!

I came home yesterday after one weeks travel - no noise last night, but tonight there have been three incidents (so far!) - I am at my wits end!

I don't know what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
ImolaS4 said:
What is the name of your state? PA

I have been complaining about a noise that comes from the condo above me for over three months. It is coming from the floor above my bedroom directly above the bed. It keeps me awake at night. The noise sounds like the scraping of wodden furniture across the wooden floor. The noise happens between 9PM and 2AM on most nights. It is sporadic and does not happen every night, but when it does occur it is followed by many repeated noises in the same evening. On one night I noted seventeen separate times that the noise occurred. On many occasions I would go out on my balcony and observe that the tenant above had their lights on - they were awake.

The noise is clearly a violation of the condo association rules and regulations.

{I should note that I have been living here for twelve years without any complaints or concerns until these past three to four months. I travel alot so I am not home every night and, on some nights when I am home, there are no noises at all.}

I have continually called and complained to the front desk - each time the front desk has taken a report. I complained to the Manager, after several days of suffering, with a letter and direct meeting; he said he would look into the matter. I met with the Assistant Manager (who seems to handle these items) this month and gave him a letter describing the noise and a chronological listing of the past four weeks - I have kept a log. He assured me he would deal with the problem that day. Last week, I had the front desk send up the doorman to observe. The doorman arrived and stood in my bedroom for ten minutes and witnessed three separate incidents. He commented the first time with, "What is she doing up there?"

Last week I received a letter from a lawyer claiming to represent the tenant above. He insisted the tenant was not to blame. He claimed that the tenant is very old, has been living there for years without any issues up to this point, that there have been no changes to the apartment - he claims the apartment is carpeted, and that the tenant does not keep late hours. He further insisted that by no means should I be allowed to approach or terrorize the tenant!

Now I'm being labeled the bad guy!

I came home yesterday after one weeks travel - no noise last night, but tonight there have been three incidents (so far!) - I am at my wits end!

I don't know what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
**A: here's what you do. Fight fire with fire and level the playing field. Yes, hire your own attorney to respond to the letter.
 
I

ImolaS4

Guest
Jeesh... I could have come to that conclusion without posting here.
I came here for other ideas.
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
ImolaS4 said:
Jeesh... I could have come to that conclusion without posting here.
I came here for other ideas.

My response:

"Other ideas" to do what? This is a legal site. Did YOU have a legal question? We're not going to send Guido to talk with her.

It would also be helpful if you told us that DIRECT interactions you've had with the upstairs tenant.

IAAL
 
I

ImolaS4

Guest
Guido... hehehe. You're funny.

Both you and HomeGuru have been on here for over four years. You both claim to be working attorneys, yet you average 15 - 30 posts per day.

And you come up with these comments??!! Business must be slow, huh?

If I wanted the advice HomeGuru posted, then my post would be rhetorical. I could have gotten the same advice from the man on the street! Maybe I came to the wrong forum - is this a chat site or a bit more serious?

I was looking for alternative ideas/legal advice on how to approach the management and whether there is a more impressive way to word my complaint to the management. I simply wanted to know if there are legal issues here or if my problem is categorized as a nuisance issue that tends to be ignored?

For the record: There have been no "DIRECT interactions" with the tenant. Condo regulations state clearly to mediate issues through the management. Obviously, that isn't working well for me.
 
Last edited:

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
HomeGuru said:
Oh brother, not another one.

My response:

Yeah, I know. We get "new" facts with every response. And, we get new explanations of what is needed by the writer - - when such needs should have been explained and stated in their initial post. It's like they think we're mindreaders!

I'll just send Guido with his Louisville "Slugger". It's easier - - just to beat some sense into the writer.

IAAL
 
I

ImolaS4

Guest
Ohhhhhhhh... so it is a chat room. Sorry for disturbing your chatroom karma fellas.

Give it a rest IAAL. I thought I had a simple problem/request that could merit a serious response. But I guess you needed the info spoon fed. Of course, when I do give you "....new explanations of what is needed..." you resort to side commentary instead of staying on subject.

You guys are showing true colors (read: attitude) with each new post - no patience, no compassion, no manners - further evidence why many people opine attorneys with contempt. A few attorneys are great people, while many continue to spoil the apple cart. Law school must draw out these personality traits and de-emphasize general courtesy.

If you guys are on here to "help", then why don't you act like it and realize that not everyone is a clone of the "perfect" newbie. We all have unique personalities and methods by which we communicate. In my case, it should have been clear that my emotional investment was high, which influenced my initial communiqué.

Have a little patience fellas.
Oh that's right... time is money.
Wait... aren't you guys sitting in front of a computer because you have a lot of time on your hands... or are you just lazy ego-centric washouts?

I'm sure this post won't scuff your egos anyway. At best, I'm sure it will make it to the bathroom - considering your don't-give-a-s*** attitiude.

I'll find help elswhere.

By the way: I have three attorneys at my disposal through my business, but I didn't want to waste their time; they are busy with important issues.

Have a nice life fellas.
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
ImolaS4 said:
By the way: I have three attorneys at my disposal through my business, but I didn't want to waste their time; they are busy with important issues.

**A: We're glad that you finally admitted it granolaS4, that your issue is unimportant. Have a noise life.
 
D

demosthenes

Guest
I'm not sure how to solve the problem, but I have some other suggestions which might be helpful to you. First, tape record the noise. Better yet, video tape your ceiling, with one of those cameras that has the date and time on it, so you can prove when it happened. Make these tapes multiple times to show how frequent the noise occurs.

Second, consider the use of earplugs. This may not stop the noise completely, but it may make it tolerable to you.

Third, have you ever phoned the person upstairs when they were making all the noise, to ask them what was going on? How about if you roll the videotape while the noise is happening, then you phone the person to see if that stops the noise. If it does, it proves that they can easily stop the noise if they want to.

Fourth, how about just phoning them every single time they make the noise. Or, pay someone from outside your building to phone them non-stop whenever they make the noise, so you can't be connected to it. Tit for tat.
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
demosthenes said:
I'm not sure how to solve the problem, but I have some other suggestions which might be helpful to you. First, tape record the noise. Better yet, video tape your ceiling, with one of those cameras that has the date and time on it, so you can prove when it happened. Make these tapes multiple times to show how frequent the noise occurs.

Second, consider the use of earplugs. This may not stop the noise completely, but it may make it tolerable to you.

Third, have you ever phoned the person upstairs when they were making all the noise, to ask them what was going on? How about if you roll the videotape while the noise is happening, then you phone the person to see if that stops the noise. If it does, it proves that they can easily stop the noise if they want to.

Fourth, how about just phoning them every single time they make the noise. Or, pay someone from outside your building to phone them non-stop whenever they make the noise, so you can't be connected to it. Tit for tat.

**A: next time do not respond to idiots.
 

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