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Disturbed neighbor

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What is the name of your state? Minnesota
The complex is made up of several building 4 units to a building 2 up 2 down each has a driveway to with 4 garages and a small guest lot . There is a women in the complex that is really causing problems. She has very real mental health issues, it s really quite sad. But she is making things very unpleasant and at times dangerous for the other residents. She frequently can be found wandering the grounds of property ( we have quite a bit of common green space ) yelling and screaming even though no one is there. More than once she has had some sort of metal pole and swings It around like a sword hitting and poking plants, trees the ground etc. screaming “where are you little f***k*r, die” She throws things off her balcony quite often. She wanders the street in her underwear. She has been seen peeking in peoples windows and trying to open there doors. Her guests are seedy and sketchy, they drive beat up, banged up, old cars with junk strapped to them, sometimes sleeping in them. Though it’s not a “senior only complex” About 85-90 % of the residents are retired with probably 30% of them I would classify as elderly and vulnerable. Many have expressed feeling fearful, scare and unsafe. Others find her irritating and disruptive. I live two buildings down and I can hear ranting and raving constantly screaming explicit and vulgar things. The neighbor underneath her has started calling the police on her because bangs on things and stomps around at all hours of the night claiming the women never sleeps. But the biggest issue is the women who lives beneath crazy well her ceiling is leaking either from her overflowing her tub or her toilet, possibly on purpose and she refuses to fix it and refuses to let several plumbers that we (the board) have hired to repair whatever is leaking So the women below has to live with her only bathroom being destroyed and no way to fix it. We (the board) have sent her several notices demanding entry. But she refuses to open the door and though it written in the hoa handbook we have the right to enter we actually kick the door down and force entry. Or can we? What can we legally do? I feel bad for this women, she really is not playing with a full deck and needs help.But I also have to respect the many, many, many residents who have sent letters, came to meetings and called to report problems with this women.
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Minnesota
The complex is made up of several building 4 units to a building 2 up 2 down each has a driveway to with 4 garages and a small guest lot . There is a women in the complex that is really causing problems. She has very real mental health issues, it s really quite sad. But she is making things very unpleasant and at times dangerous for the other residents. She frequently can be found wandering the grounds of property ( we have quite a bit of common green space ) yelling and screaming even though no one is there. More than once she has had some sort of metal pole and swings It around like a sword hitting and poking plants, trees the ground etc. screaming “where are you little f***k*r, die” She throws things off her balcony quite often. She wanders the street in her underwear. She has been seen peeking in peoples windows and trying to open there doors. Her guests are seedy and sketchy, they drive beat up, banged up, old cars with junk strapped to them, sometimes sleeping in them. Though it’s not a “senior only complex” About 85-90 % of the residents are retired with probably 30% of them I would classify as elderly and vulnerable. Many have expressed feeling fearful, scare and unsafe. Others find her irritating and disruptive. I live two buildings down and I can hear ranting and raving constantly screaming explicit and vulgar things. The neighbor underneath her has started calling the police on her because bangs on things and stomps around at all hours of the night claiming the women never sleeps. But the biggest issue is the women who lives beneath crazy well her ceiling is leaking either from her overflowing her tub or her toilet, possibly on purpose and she refuses to fix it and refuses to let several plumbers that we (the board) have hired to repair whatever is leaking So the women below has to live with her only bathroom being destroyed and no way to fix it. We (the board) have sent her several notices demanding entry. But she refuses to open the door and though it written in the hoa handbook we have the right to enter we actually kick the door down and force entry. Or can we? What can we legally do? I feel bad for this women, she really is not playing with a full deck and needs help.But I also have to respect the many, many, many residents who have sent letters, came to meetings and called to report problems with this women.
Is this a condo complex where everyone owns their own unit and there are no master keys? Does she own her unit or is she renting it? If she is renting it have you contacted the owner of the unit about the problems she is causing?

Do the police do nothing when you contact them? Have you considered calling adult protective services?

I would not recommend forcing entry to her unit (even with a master key) without having police present for a civil standby since she might get violent.

Would it be possible to fix a leak by going up through the ceiling of the apartment below?
 

quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Minnesota
The complex is made up of several building 4 units to a building 2 up 2 down each has a driveway to with 4 garages and a small guest lot . There is a women in the complex that is really causing problems. She has very real mental health issues, it s really quite sad. But she is making things very unpleasant and at times dangerous for the other residents. She frequently can be found wandering the grounds of property ( we have quite a bit of common green space ) yelling and screaming even though no one is there. More than once she has had some sort of metal pole and swings It around like a sword hitting and poking plants, trees the ground etc. screaming “where are you little f***k*r, die” She throws things off her balcony quite often. She wanders the street in her underwear. She has been seen peeking in peoples windows and trying to open there doors. Her guests are seedy and sketchy, they drive beat up, banged up, old cars with junk strapped to them, sometimes sleeping in them. Though it’s not a “senior only complex” About 85-90 % of the residents are retired with probably 30% of them I would classify as elderly and vulnerable. Many have expressed feeling fearful, scare and unsafe. Others find her irritating and disruptive. I live two buildings down and I can hear ranting and raving constantly screaming explicit and vulgar things. The neighbor underneath her has started calling the police on her because bangs on things and stomps around at all hours of the night claiming the women never sleeps. But the biggest issue is the women who lives beneath crazy well her ceiling is leaking either from her overflowing her tub or her toilet, possibly on purpose and she refuses to fix it and refuses to let several plumbers that we (the board) have hired to repair whatever is leaking So the women below has to live with her only bathroom being destroyed and no way to fix it. We (the board) have sent her several notices demanding entry. But she refuses to open the door and though it written in the hoa handbook we have the right to enter we actually kick the door down and force entry. Or can we? What can we legally do? I feel bad for this women, she really is not playing with a full deck and needs help.But I also have to respect the many, many, many residents who have sent letters, came to meetings and called to report problems with this women.
Anyone can ask their Minnesota county to investigate whether someone is in need of mental health intervention and commitment. I suggest you and the other residents do this, sooner rather than later.

https://mncourts.gov/Help-Topics/Civil-Commitments.aspx
 
Is this a condo complex where everyone owns their own unit and there are no master keys? Does she own her unit or is she renting it? If she is renting it have you contacted the owner of the unit about the problems she is causing?

Do the police do nothing when you contact them? Have you considered calling adult protective services?

I would not recommend forcing entry to her unit (even with a master key) without having police present for a civil standby since she might get violent.

Would it be possible to fix a leak by going up through the ceiling of the apartment below?
The women below has had them look at fixing it through her ceiling since it is exposed now anyways. But nothing is wrong there which is they think she either overflows her bath tub or showers without a curtain up. Or it’s her toilet overflowing. She is not the owner of the unit, a man is, whom we have never seen or heard from. Her immediate neighbors are convinced that she lives alone? We have contacted mental health services and since she won’t communicate with them there’s nothing they can do. Same with the police, when they come she runs in her house and won’t open the door and like I said they can’t force the door open without just cause, so they say - give us a call if it happens again.
 

bcr229

Active Member
If the man owns the unit then the HOA needs to send him the letters, not just to the woman who resides in the unit. Does he live at that address or does he live elsewhere?

Also the way HOA's get the attention of homeowners is by fining them. Is there anything in the bylaws about penalties for unit owners who block the HOA from making necessary repairs?
 
If the man owns the unit then the HOA needs to send him the letters, not just to the woman who resides in the unit. Does he live at that address or does he live elsewhere?

Also the way HOA's get the attention of homeowners is by fining them. Is there anything in the bylaws about penalties for unit owners who block the HOA from making necessary repairs?
We don’t know where the man lives, the rumor is he is a family member who is well aware of her problems, doesn’t want to deal with them and is purposefully hard to locate. But again that is just a rumor. There is not a specific penalty for blocking the hoa from making repairs, there has never been a problem like this. We are in in the beginning stages of rewriting are bylaws. Are we allowed to start fining them when it isn’t in our current bylaws and to what extent? Lastly if we need to hire a lawyer are we allowed to assess those fees to them as well?
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
We don’t know where the man lives, the rumor is he is a family member who is well aware of her problems, doesn’t want to deal with them and is purposefully hard to locate. But again that is just a rumor. There is not a specific penalty for blocking the hoa from making repairs, there has never been a problem like this. We are in in the beginning stages of rewriting are bylaws. Are we allowed to start fining them when it isn’t in our current bylaws and to what extent? Lastly if we need to hire a lawyer are we allowed to assess those fees to them as well?
Check the towns property tax records. His address will be there.
 

bcr229

Active Member
We are in in the beginning stages of rewriting are bylaws. Are we allowed to start fining them when it isn’t in our current bylaws and to what extent? Lastly if we need to hire a lawyer are we allowed to assess those fees to them as well?
Those would be a questions for your HOA's attorney.
 

festival

Member
What address do you have in your records for the owner? How is he sending in his condo assessments (fees), and what is the return address? To what address do you send the notice of the annual meeting and other communications?

The local tax assessor should have the address of the property owner. You can also do internet searches for the owner.

You may not be able to issue fines, but you can inform and send a bill to the owner for the damage. If you call a plumber, who charges a fee for coming (service charge for showing up), then send a bill to the owner. Inform the owner of the damage and the need for extensive mold remediation if the problem is not addressed right away.
 

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