Noisy neighborhood

[blueinparadise]

We just bought a house in February. One of the things we specifically asked the previous owner about was the noises in the neighborhood. They insisted that this was "a quiet neighborhood" and even if there were "happy noises" during the day (children playing outside and neighbors hanging around outside their houses) they always stopped at night. Well, this is the noisiest place we have ever lived. We are not anywhere near any urban centers but up a valley next to a forest reserve in a country setting. We are in Hawaii and land is at a premium here resulting in a closer proximity of houses than most places because that's the only way most people can afford to own anything here. Mix the proximity with single wall construction and the warm weather and thus open windows you can imagine what misery ensues if you have the wrong neighbors... We have neighbors about 30 feet on either side of us and three more across the street maybe 50-60 feet away. We basically hear everything they say because they have to yell at each other to be able to communicate with each other over their blasting TVs which seem to be on when ever they are home. There are teenagers in the two noisiest of our five neighbors.


We are regularly kept up or woke up at night by one or more of our neighbors yelling, TVs and/or stereos. We have asked them to keep it down after its late. They will turn things down for a bit then wake us up again later. Even if our windows are closed and we have earplugs in we will get woken up sometimes. Last night I woke up at 2:30 am to a blasting radio coming from next door. She turned it down when I asked her to but then kept talking loudly on the phone for another 20 minutes. Just after I fell asleep she woke me up with her tv blasting. Often the noise will start loud and early in the day and go on all day, especially on the weekend. It is not unusual for it to start around 6:30 am. We are really tired of this situation and need some help figuring what direction to go now. (Short of taking our chances on buying another place...)

Now that I have described the situation here are my questions:

1) Do we have recourse with the previous owners for not disclosing honestly the noise situation? If we do what would that look like?

2) When we decide to sell what do we have to disclose? Do we have to say something like "this is the noisiest neighborhood we ever lived in so don't buy this house if you like peace and quiet...."

3) What other legal courses of action are available to us including getting the police involved? How loud does it have to be for me to legally have a complaint? If I can hear it in my house with the windows closed is that bad enough or does it have to also shake the house?

4) Do I have any civil legal course options? Can I sue them for keeping me awake? Also, we are treated to the dialogue to their TV shows which involve all kinds of explicit sexual dialogue. Is there such a thing as suing for sexual or other harassment in a private property setting? From their TV (which is parked with its backside to an open window facing our house) I have heard disturbing violent scenes including rape as well as disparaging commentary about various minorities and women.

5) Do we legally have a right to defend our auditory space by building a big, fat, dense barrier? (e.g we are thinking a two foot wide by the height of their house living fence of bamboo in containers.)

Keep in mind that this is a small, fairly tight neighborhood and we are the newcomers. Our attempts to make friends has only worked with about half of our closest neighbors. Two of the five have avoided eye contact from the begining.

Any commentary will be appreciated.

 

[loudrich]

Of course you have the right to peace and quiet, and not to hear explicit language..

I would approach them and explain things nicely then ask them to close the offending window......or just start videotaping the window...that should get their attention

But seriously, you really should have come back at night a few times and walk around or just sit in your car. You would have known...

oh well maybe the next house or apartment you buy or rent .

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by blueinparadise:
We just bought a house in February. One of the things we specifically asked the previous owner about was the noises in the neighborhood. They insisted that this was "a quiet neighborhood" and even if there were "happy noises" during the day (children playing outside and neighbors hanging around outside their houses) they always stopped at night. Well, this is the noisiest place we have ever lived. We are not anywhere near any urban centers but up a valley next to a forest reserve in a country setting. We are in Hawaii and land is at a premium here resulting in a closer proximity of houses than most places because that's the only way most people can afford to own anything here. Mix the proximity with single wall construction and the warm weather and thus open windows you can imagine what misery ensues if you have the wrong neighbors... We have neighbors about 30 feet on either side of us and three more across the street maybe 50-60 feet away. We basically hear everything they say because they have to yell at each other to be able to communicate with each other over their blasting TVs which seem to be on when ever they are home. There are teenagers in the two noisiest of our five neighbors.


We are regularly kept up or woke up at night by one or more of our neighbors yelling, TVs and/or stereos. We have asked them to keep it down after its late. They will turn things down for a bit then wake us up again later. Even if our windows are closed and we have earplugs in we will get woken up sometimes. Last night I woke up at 2:30 am to a blasting radio coming from next door. She turned it down when I asked her to but then kept talking loudly on the phone for another 20 minutes. Just after I fell asleep she woke me up with her tv blasting. Often the noise will start loud and early in the day and go on all day, especially on the weekend. It is not unusual for it to start around 6:30 am. We are really tired of this situation and need some help figuring what direction to go now. (Short of taking our chances on buying another place...)

Now that I have described the situation here are my questions:

1) Do we have recourse with the previous owners for not disclosing honestly the noise situation? If we do what would that look like?

2) When we decide to sell what do we have to disclose? Do we have to say something like "this is the noisiest neighborhood we ever lived in so don't buy this house if you like peace and quiet...."

3) What other legal courses of action are available to us including getting the police involved? How loud does it have to be for me to legally have a complaint? If I can hear it in my house with the windows closed is that bad enough or does it have to also shake the house?

4) Do I have any civil legal course options? Can I sue them for keeping me awake? Also, we are treated to the dialogue to their TV shows which involve all kinds of explicit sexual dialogue. Is there such a thing as suing for sexual or other harassment in a private property setting? From their TV (which is parked with its backside to an open window facing our house) I have heard disturbing violent scenes including rape as well as disparaging commentary about various minorities and women.

5) Do we legally have a right to defend our auditory space by building a big, fat, dense barrier? (e.g we are thinking a two foot wide by the height of their house living fence of bamboo in containers.)

Keep in mind that this is a small, fairly tight neighborhood and we are the newcomers. Our attempts to make friends has only worked with about half of our closest neighbors. Two of the five have avoided eye contact from the begining.

Any commentary will be appreciated. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[blueinparadise]

We did come back as often as we could including once late in the evening. Miraculously the neighborhood was devoid of any of the kinds of noises we experience on a regular basis. We didn't have the option of spending a full day and night there though I wish we had. I think its possible the situation was staged to give the impression that this really was a quiet neighborhood. Otherwise I would have to say they were very lucky.

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by blueinparadise:
We just bought a house in February. One of the things we specifically asked the previous owner about was the noises in the neighborhood. They insisted that this was "a quiet neighborhood" and even if there were "happy noises" during the day (children playing outside and neighbors hanging around outside their houses) they always stopped at night. Well, this is the noisiest place we have ever lived. We are not anywhere near any urban centers but up a valley next to a forest reserve in a country setting. We are in Hawaii and land is at a premium here resulting in a closer proximity of houses than most places because that's the only way most people can afford to own anything here. Mix the proximity with single wall construction and the warm weather and thus open windows you can imagine what misery ensues if you have the wrong neighbors... We have neighbors about 30 feet on either side of us and three more across the street maybe 50-60 feet away. We basically hear everything they say because they have to yell at each other to be able to communicate with each other over their blasting TVs which seem to be on when ever they are home. There are teenagers in the two noisiest of our five neighbors.


We are regularly kept up or woke up at night by one or more of our neighbors yelling, TVs and/or stereos. We have asked them to keep it down after its late. They will turn things down for a bit then wake us up again later. Even if our windows are closed and we have earplugs in we will get woken up sometimes. Last night I woke up at 2:30 am to a blasting radio coming from next door. She turned it down when I asked her to but then kept talking loudly on the phone for another 20 minutes. Just after I fell asleep she woke me up with her tv blasting. Often the noise will start loud and early in the day and go on all day, especially on the weekend. It is not unusual for it to start around 6:30 am. We are really tired of this situation and need some help figuring what direction to go now. (Short of taking our chances on buying another place...)

Now that I have described the situation here are my questions:

1) Do we have recourse with the previous owners for not disclosing honestly the noise situation? If we do what would that look like?

2) When we decide to sell what do we have to disclose? Do we have to say something like "this is the noisiest neighborhood we ever lived in so don't buy this house if you like peace and quiet...."

3) What other legal courses of action are available to us including getting the police involved? How loud does it have to be for me to legally have a complaint? If I can hear it in my house with the windows closed is that bad enough or does it have to also shake the house?

4) Do I have any civil legal course options? Can I sue them for keeping me awake? Also, we are treated to the dialogue to their TV shows which involve all kinds of explicit sexual dialogue. Is there such a thing as suing for sexual or other harassment in a private property setting? From their TV (which is parked with its backside to an open window facing our house) I have heard disturbing violent scenes including rape as well as disparaging commentary about various minorities and women.

5) Do we legally have a right to defend our auditory space by building a big, fat, dense barrier? (e.g we are thinking a two foot wide by the height of their house living fence of bamboo in containers.)

Keep in mind that this is a small, fairly tight neighborhood and we are the newcomers. Our attempts to make friends has only worked with about half of our closest neighbors. Two of the five have avoided eye contact from the begining.

Any commentary will be appreciated. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Aloha:

1) the noise that you have described is a material fact that should have been disclosed on the disclosure statement. Sounds like misrepresentation on the part of the Seller. Talk to your real estate agent and a real estate attorney about this.

2) when you sell, you have to disclose the true facts as you know them. If it is your opinion that it truly is the noisiest neighborhood, then you are not lying stating such.

3) your public library has a brochure out titled Noise. For more info contact the State Dept. of Health and the Honolulu Police Dept. If you call HPD and complain about loud noise, they have a decibel meter that can monitor the noise to see if the noise is above the State's legal limit. They use this same meter to monitor rock concerts at the Waikiki Shell and Aloha Stadium which are outdoor venues. Imagine nearby residents complaining about the Rolling Stones being too loud. I guess they couldn't get no Satisfaction.

4) you probably have little recourse. That is the problem with homes like yours and most homes built in Hawaii. Single wall construction with no insulation built on small 5000SF lots. Or if you are real lucky and want that Ohana feel, some homes are zero-lot-line on 3500SF lots with only 10-15 feet distance between homes. The homes are so close, if you fart, your neighbor gets blamed.

5) try a 6 foot high CMU or rock wall if you want a true sound barrier. For a cheaper privacy and sound calming measure plant a thick hedge of hibiscus, mock orange, panax or other fast growing hedge type plants.


Sometimes being the newcomer feels like you are the lone wolf family on the block. One weekend plan a BBQ and invite the neighbors for some pupus. Have a cooler of juice and soda for the kids and another cooler of Bud Light for the bigger kids. You need some good kine variety of Poke such as shoyu and limu. On the grill: Teriyaki chicken, Kal B Ribs and some Tri-Tips with Hawaiian salt or seasoning. Make sure you have tons of white rice. To top off the atmosphere, have some CD's playing of Bruddah Iz, Makaha Sons, Kealihi Reichel, Na Leo, Oceanside Band and any other local music groups.

You may get better results through food and meeting your neighbors than by calling Honolulu's Finest to complain about every incident. It doesn't matter if you live Kalihi, Mililani, Kapolei, Ewa, Wahiawa, Kailua, Wailua, Kaneohe, Waimanalo, Nanakuli, Waianae, Makakilo, Sunset Beach,..... well you get the point. Lucky You Live Hawaii. Mahalo.