I need to vent about a potentially threatening situation at my apartment earlier this evening...

[JTG of the PRB]

Let me preface this by saying I was not around for this incident; I was about 20 miles away in a small little hippie community somewhere north of Boulder. What I know is from first-hand accounts from my sister.

I live with my sister and her boyfriend in a nice two-bedroom apartment. About a month after we moved in, some neighbors moved in above us. Ever since that time, we have had to deal with frequent noise from upstairs - heavy footsteps from one end of the apartment to the other, loud TV and music, loud talking, and loud parties that go on well past quiet hours.

I am not around for a lot of the stuff that has gone on, but from what I've heard and witnessed it seems like this noise happens ridiculously frequently.

My sister and her boyfriend dealt with noisy neighbors at their last apartment, so they learned to keep accurate records of the worst instances - time, date, and what sort of disturbance was going on. They have had to leave the living room countless times just to get some peace and quiet. They have also called in at least five noise complaints in the last four months to the Boulder Police Department.

In addition to the noise complaints, my roommates have turned over detailed logs of all the noise and issues we have had to the management at the property. They have given these logs at least three times to management, and management claimed in the past that they had spoken with our neighbors and that they were on their first/second/last/etc. strikes. Now, however, the management seems to blame us for the issues.

My sister and her boyfriend had a meeting back in early December and the manager at this specific property dismissed their problems and claimed that they were making much of the problems up. This woman asked why we had not called the police more frequently (my roommates are not confrontational people, and they avoid conflict if they can). She said that if the noise was such a problem, we could move to another apartment in another building for the remainder of our lease - despite the fact that we are quiet neighbors AND that we were here first.

So they've stayed quiet for now, calling the police when it's warranted (not that anything ever happens - by the time the cops show up, the apartment above is MIRACULOUSLY silent). They can't go to the managers here at the apartments, as their concerns will be dismissed like they have been for the last two months.

Tonight, however, they crossed the line (in my humble outsider's opinion.)

As I said, I was out of town tonight, but when I got home at 12:30am, there was a lot of noise coming from the apartment upstairs. The noisy neighbors were having another noisy party. The police were called earlier in the night, and yet there was still noise. My guess is that the cops never came. I turned off the lights in the apartment and watched out the peephole as the party emptied out. I counted at least THIRTEEN (13) people leaving the apartment, almost all of whom were walking and/or talking noisily on their way down the stairs.

According to my sister, when the party was beyond annoyingly noisy sometime before 10pm, she pounded on the ceiling as a hint for them to quiet down some. Instead of quieting down, three people came down from the apartment and began pounding on our door. Two things bother me about this: 1) Only two people live up in the apartment, so at least one of those people (and more likely two of them) do not live here and have absolutely no business coming down the stairs to pound on a stranger's door, and 2) why would you even come down the stairs and pound violently on the door of somebody you don't know when you're having an annoyingly noisy party?

My sister was completely freaked out by this. She bolted out of the apartment as soon as it was time to pick up her boyfriend from work, and they both went over to my parents' house to spend the night away from this damned apartment.

Honestly... What the fuck where they thinking sending three people down to violently pound on our apartment door because my sister thumped the ceiling due to the noisy, after-hours party that was going on? What the FUCK makes doing that okay? Sending at least one complete stranger to have a confrontation with a 20-year-old girl home alone with both her roommates out of the apartment? How is it POSSIBLY okay to think you could have some sort of confrontation like this?

I know nobody probably read this, but I needed to vent this. I don't exactly get along with my sister a lot, but these assholes crossed the line tonight.

[texanwitch]

1. They are cowards.

One day they will do it to the wrong person.

I hope your sister is feeling better.

Might be a good idea to keep a baseball bat by door.

[JTG of the PRB]

2. She was smart enough not to play their little game.

Like I said, she and I don't exactly get along most of the time, but this made me mad that these cowards (which is a PERFECT description!) stormed down in force and hammered on our door. It just drives me crazy that some people think they can be complete assholes and get away with it!

[texanwitch]

3. I don't miss apartment living.

Do y'all have a camcorder or something to record the sounds.

This might help.

I bet they knew your sister was home alone.

[JTG of the PRB]

4. No, no camcorder unfortunately.

And I don't think these morons are the types to know anything about anything, especially if somebody is home alone here or not. They're just noisy jerks who have somehow convinced the management that they're good neighbors and that my roommates are making everything up.

Sigh. The sooner we can get out of here, the better.

[texanwitch]

5. If you can get some kind of recorder.

All you need is the sound.

Stay safe.

[ThomCat]

6. Those assholes should rent a house, not an appartment.

They have no business making that kind of noise in an apartment building. x(

Your building management should have evicted them by now. There has to be a clause in the lease about not creating disturbances or annoyances for neighbors. I know it's in every lease I've ever signed. It's a standard clause.

I am very sorry that you have to deal with those assholes. :hug:

Have you spoken to other people in the building? If you could get a noise complaint signed by several tenants then the building might take it much more seriously.

[JTG of the PRB]

13. Yeah, it's a bit of a mess right now.

There is a clause in our lease that I remember reading about residents having a right to a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, and that anyone found in violation of that clause would be handled by the administration of the apartments.

As for the other people in the building, the neighbors directly next to these guys upstairs seem to never be home, and our neighbors next to us seem to be completely deaf, because every time I've spoken with them (only a couple times really) they say they hadn't heard anything.

Thanks for the kind words, Thom. :hug: It's just a frustrating situation right now. We're hoping that we can get out of our lease sometime soon. My sister has been in contact with somebody in the group that actually owns and manages the property (someone higher up than the jerks here) and that person seems to agree that the management here is not doing their jobs.

I guess we'll just wait and see what happens.

[Nickster]

7. "Hello Police, There are three strange men pounding on my door trying to get into my apartment.

I think they want to break in." Or something like that....

[Bertha Venation]

8. I'd be upset too, JTG. Way upset.

But I wish I had some advice. I have none.

:hug:

[JTG of the PRB]

14. I hear ya.

Thanks, though. It's nice to know there are people out there that have kind words to offer, like you. :hug:

[datasuspect]

9. from a business standpoint

the management doesn't care if the neighbors are noisy as long as they pay their rent.

that's positive cash flow for the property owners and the management company.

they did offer to move your relatives to another apartment.

i'd take them up on it.

from a police standpoint: cops hate snitches and nuisances as much as anybody does. and although their stated mission is often to protect and serve, unless people are getting shot or property is being damaged, they are more than likely to disregard the noise complaints, especially if they keep getting called to the same place over and over.

not trying to blame the victims, but we live in an idiocracy. you cannot expect people to behave rationally, civilly, or with respect anymore.

you really have to kick ass and take names to get your point across to the many almost animalistic morons we share the planet with. they only understand force.

[JVS]

10. She should have given them a lead salad

[datasuspect]

11. that click clack sound

makes many brave drunks get that "oh fuck!" look.

[Mugu]

12. Your story ever bring back memories.

If it was me, I'd start with something like butyric acid, and if they were younger than me, some high frequency audio. After a week or so I'd add ozone and microwaves. Week three I'd get just plain ornery.

[carlyhippy]

15. Those people have to sleep sometime.....during the day while they are probably sleeping

put your speakers near the ceiling, turn up the jams, just kidding...do it the right way:


Actually what I would do, is get a camcorder and make sure the date/time is correct on the display. When they have the parties/loud music/ect. camcord the event. You have evidence to give to the landlords and the police. I am not sure who you would contact, who governs the landlord/tenant, maybe the AG office would know.