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Need Neighbor Advice!
Hi Everyone,
6 months ago, my boyfriend and I moved into a 2 bedroom apartment with my 2 year old daughter. (Brief background: My daughter has special needs, and her father left us when she was 3 months old. My amazing boyfriend has been in our lives now for about 1 year and 1/2.)
Anyway, the floors here are thin and noises do carry. However, we moved to the 2nd floor, and the only apartment below ours is a Chiropractor's office where nobody should even be after 7pm. Well, it turns out that the chiropractor is illegally letting his insane aunt LIVE in the office after hours, and she will have her tv blaring ALL NIGHT long (literally 24 hours a day with no stop). I found it impossible to sleep with the constant murmuring of the television, but, when we politely asked them to turn it down, they refused to do anything. To resolve that issue, we wound up just moving our daughter into the master bedroom (the noise doesn't bother her as she is a very deep sleeper). And we took her smaller bedroom.
Now, I have a very long commute and work long hours. I suffer from an anxiety disorder, and I find that exercise is essential to my health. To that end, we just purchased a treadmill. I tried using it this evening, and I guess the chiropractor was still in his office because he began ringing our doorbell in protest. (He was creepily ringing the bell from the outside because, when I opened our door, nobody was there).
Anyway, I am normally a very considerate person, but I am just not feeling very sympathetic to this guy after he ignored our own noise complaint. We did place a special protective mat under the treadmill, and I only plan to use it for about 30-40 minutes 4 or 5 times/week. I am going to try only using it around 7:30pm when I am pretty certain he'll be out of his office. However, I also realize that treadmills can make a ton of noise and maybe even knock his equipment off the walls. So I do feel a tad guilty.
What do you think? Am I being a total b*tch or is this treadmill thing reasonable?
Thank you, everyone!
-Dani
Re: Need Neighbor Advice!
I would be considerate with the treadmill. Run it after 7:30. And if the doctor comes to you to complain that the treadmill is knocking things off the walls (can that really happen?) I would stop using it, and chalk it up to, "Well, there's just some things I can't do in an apartment."
Having said that, if the doctor complains about the treadmill, I would respond with, "Of course I'll stop using it right away. BTW, the TV in your office is still on really loud at night, and we're having trouble sleeping. Can you please do something about that?" If the doctor rings the bell to protest the treadmill and doesn't actually approach you, I'd approach him about it ("Excuse me, did you ring our bell just now? Is something wrong?") Be polite, and don't use the treadmill as a bargaining chip, but make it clear that he shouldn't be allowed to bend the rules if won't let anyone else do the same.
Stop using the treadmill if it bothers him, no matter what he agrees to do about the TV. However, if the TV continues to be an issue, I'd report to whoever own the building. If he's got someone living their illegally after hours, maybe the landlord can do something about it.
Call your land lord, he has someone living in an office illegally & your daughter can't sleep. This is crazy that you even moved rooms with your daughter to accommodate someone who shouldn't be there in the first place. If your LL won't help, call the Police on the loud TV and someone being in a place they aren't supposed to.
With the treadmill, until his "Aunt" is out of the property I'd have that thing going 24/7. Let him call the LL, Police or move his office around. What an @$$
Thank you, Ladies! Yeah, this guy is a total creep. He's like this tiny mean old man. We did actually notify the landlord and even the police about the illegal tenant, but they didn't pursue the issue beyond officially notifying him that we had a complaint. (Everyone was very polite, but we do live in a major city, so it's like, unless it's a major crime, you get limited assistance).
Anyway, we sort of purchased the treadmill without considering the issue of potential damage to his apartment. Noise I think I can work around, given his "aunt" is apparently deaf, and he isn't there after 7pm. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that there isn't any damage to the property, so I can keep using the machine. With my daughter and long commute, having the machine right in our own living room is like a dream come true. (Before this, I'd been freezing and nervous running around our neighborhood)
Huh. I don't where you are and Texans are known for being friendly but you wake up my kid or mess with her sleep and I will cut you. Talk to your LL again, explain you had to move bedrooms and you want your rent reduced. Also, no way is a treadmill making things fall off the wall. I call double dog BS on this. It's probably making noise and he wants quite with his clients and you need quite for your kid to sleep. Just use your treadmill as you need and ignore him. Oh, don't answer when he rings the bell, he sounds like a creeper.
I'm not sure if you're a morning person, but maybe you can use the treadmill in the mornings before the office opens? That way, if he ends up staying late at the office after hours with his "live in relative", he will not hear the treadmill.
I totally agree with some others who say if he complains again, that's the perfect opportunity to call him out on the TV late at night. Also, talking to the landlord is a good idea too. It's not right that you had to move your daughter's bedroom! PLUS, if you make a record w. the landlord about complaining, that will help if you end up having to break your lease.
Have a sit down with the chiro. Ask him what specifically his issue is with the treadmill. If you are knocking things over, it's my opinion that you need to stop using it and find another way to excercise. During this conversation, tell him you will accomodate him if he makes his tenant accomodate you. If she can't keep her TV down, start filing noice complaints. Also, since she's there "illegally" you could call the police and say "The doctor is out, but I hear noise. I'm not sure anyone is supposed to be there at this hour!"
Best of luck to you.
Nestie Bestie with the lovely RockABye