Crazy Neighbor. Coward Landlord.

ham

Lord Nagafen Raider
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hard to tl;dr this backstory so here it goes. I guess I'm mostly just sharing but if anyone actually knows what can or can't be done or asked of me that would be appreciated.

About 2-3 months ago, after living where I live for over 2 years, my downstairs neighbor started complaining to me about noises he was hearing. I don't listen to my shit loud but at the time apologized, plugged in headphones, turned things down, etc. But he kept complaining, even when nothing was on, he'd knock on my door/window at 2am or later in the morning, sometimes banging on the walls, etc to tell me to turn the nothing I had on down. I kept explaining to him that I had nothing on, or was asleep, I understood his frustration and kept things super nice for a long time, especially for someone regularly being accused of shit at 2 in the morning. One time things got a little more heated when I was like NOTHING IS EVEN ON inside my apt, he said he knew it was me, etc.

The day after that I told him I would unplug everything in my room and plug things back in one at a time, so we could identify the 'source'. I unplugged everything, went downstairs and he still heard the noise, problem solved, right? He now knows it's not me without a doubt. Wrong. I wish him good luck on finding the source but really want to say 'stop bothering me about this shit now'. I go on about my life for a few days, when my other neighbor, who was coming back home, stops by to pick me up so we can go watch the game together. As he's waiting for me on the road, the downstairs neighbor comes out to his car and starts accusing him of being the source of the noise (he lives upstairs and a unit over from this guy), my other neighbor is somewhat familiar what's going on with me at this point and tells him he goes to bed at 11 and is up at 6am and he doesn't know what he's talking about (he also later went on to tell me a pitbull song had just come on the radio and it's not a beat that either of us would have produced), as this is happening I'm walking down the stairs and he turns his attention back to me and says 'well if it isn't you, then it's ham!' and starts pointing and bitching at me, gets in my face and tells me 'oh and i heard you coming home last night'. At this point I've kinda had enough and told him 'congratulations. not everyone keeps the same schedule as you' (it was a sunday morning, so he heard me walk into my apartment on a saturday night I guess (alone ;_
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. He bitches as I get in the car, says that if 'i can't sleep in this apartment then nobody is going to be sleeping', I roll the window up in his face and call my landlord, leave a message about what's going on, that he tried to intimidate us.

Landlord gets in contact with me, I explain the situation, he seems like he believes me, says he'll talk to my neighbor about it and tell him if he has a problem not to come to me but to him. A day or two later I'm woken up at about 6am with my downstairs neighbor hooting and hollers and banging my floorboord every 10-15 minutes for about 45 seconds with something, he also stomps around his apartment, goes to his car, revs the engine, closes those doors, etc, truly crazy person type of shit here. The first time I bang back, but after that I pulled out my phone and started recording each session, as I knew this would turn into he said, he said type of thing. I call my landlord, tell him I want a face to face meeting. I get it, tell him everything, tell him I have video and his solution is to again talk to my neighbor. I'm upset but somehow agree. Days later he calls and wants to schedule a time he can come inspect my apartment to make sure of the facts, I'm annoyed but I agree, I don't set up the appointment to his liking and he calls me from my front door while I"m at work. I rush home as to not look like the bad guy in this situation, let him see the apartment, he agrees I'm gtg and comments on being able to smell my dog while there (I have a dog, I also paid a second deposit for him). He tells me to buy this pet deodorizer, I agree, he leaves after telling me he thinks that my neighbor is not right mentally, but he's not a doctor so he's not sure what he can do. I tell him the reaction to him hearing the noise is as bad as hearing a noise nobody else hears either. I should also mention this has been super stressful, I'd catch myself borderline tip toeing around my apartment, listening to everything in headphones, etc. Should also note the landlord never heard the sounds when inspecting his or my place, told me the dude sleeps on a box spring on the ground and that all he could hear is a refrigerator turning on and off

That next morning at about 5AM, I'm woken up by my dog going apeshit. My neighbor is banging on my doors and windows. I assumed for a second he was giving my other neighbor a hard time, I mean we just went through this shit in great detail and my landlord told him to back off. Then I hear "come outside you pussy, I caught you" or something to that manner. I'm not even dressed, walk outside and he's on my patio yelling at me, "yeah I fucking caught you, you moved your shit to another room when the landlord was here and now I've caught you doing it'. I argue back I was sleeping, don't know what the fuck he's talking about as she's shouting back, as he's shouting "he's gonna hear about this" I yell back that he's fucking crazy and close and lock the door. I call my landlord's emergency line just to leave a message, he calls me back within the hour, I tell him what just went down and he tells me I need to file a police report. I do, police come, talk to me, talk to him (away from each other), police think somethings off from him due to his behavior but he seemed normal enough during their conversation. Advise I just call if it happens again but say their hands are tied basically, I didn't expect any action.

Days later he tries to apologize in a half assed way via text, mentions I called the police on him, tells me it is his fridge and he's asking for a new one, I don't return the call. Days later again he tries to tell me where he thinks the noise is coming from now (I give him a don't care look as I continue slowly walking/half listening up my stairs with a friend), which is some construction site 3 blocks away. I haven't talked to him since. I should also mention my landlord made comments about my safety, his safety and my neighbors unpredictable behavior during all this time, and still just lets him live there. The dude is also a bit crazy, tea party stickers, shoots squirrels and possums from his porch, etc

During this time my landlord sends this request in the mail that before he renews my lease (it of course is expiring at the end of January, which is when this was wrapping up) I eliminate all pet odor, buy a pet gate so my dog isn't allowed in my bedroom when I'm not home, and put everything in my bedroom on one switch so I can turn it all off everytime i leave. I call, ask him why he's acting as if I'm doing something wrong. He says he's just protecting me and getting everything in writing. I agree, let him inspect my place, he tells me the pet smell is unacceptable (I bought deodorizer, automatic electronic filters, candles, glade scent things, etc), hasn't offered me a renewal. I paid this last month on a month-month basis without asking any questions, was happy to continue doing so due to the living circumstances until I got a letter today in the mail saying that due to recent noise complaints at our building a new paragraph will be added to our lease and he asks for it to be signed, dated, and returned. Basically it prohibits the use of any electronics from 11pm-7am, unless you are wearing headphones, television included. So this dude is still going above and beyond to appease this crazy dude, who I'm guessing is still hearing things, while alienating the rest of us. My guess at this point is he may just be trying to get me to leave, and I know many of you are probably asking why I haven't done so yet.

My rent is at least $300 cheaper than any of my friends in the area.
The location is about as good as it gets for someone in their late twenties. I can walk or ride my bike to basically anywhere I'd want to go and the surrounding neighbors have money, so the neighborhood has also become somewhat nice on top of that.
Because I shouldn't have to.

I looked, fairly hard for a while, and couldn't find a place, and before this letter came in, was just like 'fuck it, I'm not leaving this badass spot because of this dude', and now I'm not sure what to do. Obviously I could just sign the paper, return it and just live my life as I did before all this, but the whole principal of telling me I can't watch television in the apartment I pay for after 11pm really pisses me off. I don't even watch a lot of television, but what if I go out for dinner and bring a girl home for a movie, or monday night football runs late, or I buy a PPV package, when the clock strikes 11:01 I'd technically would have agreed to turning it off or plugging in headphones to the device.

Flat out refusal to sign it scares me because I'm not under a lease right now, and I guess he can just either not offer me a renewal if I don't sign it, or price me out of the place if he does offer one. I'm not sure what to do in order to stay here. It's only a fourplex, I think the other three of us may have to get together and do something as a 'team'.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
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welcome to rent world, either sign the extra detail or move out, really not much for you to fight or can fight over. stupid 11-7am? sign it and watch tv anyway, w/o blaring the sound like a deaf person. If they complain? no one can prove anything. If they're creepers and say they saw a tv on from your window say it's impossible cuz your blinds are always closed, and if they saw anything it was your computer that doesn't have speakers.

it sounds like your place has a nice deal going, what is banding together gonna do for you three? get you kicked out faster, he'll just take your security deposit and wait for new tenants, which should fill up fast, if you recognize what a "steal" this place is, others will as well.
 

ham

Lord Nagafen Raider
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welcome to rent world, either sign the extra detail or move out, really not much for you to fight or can fight over. stupid 11-7am? sign it and watch tv anyway, w/o blaring the sound like a deaf person. If they complain? no one can prove anything. If they're creepers and say they saw a tv on from your window say it's impossible cuz your blinds are always closed, and if they saw anything it was your computer that doesn't have speakers.

it sounds like your place has a nice deal going, what is banding together gonna do for you three? get you kicked out faster, he'll just take your security deposit and wait for new tenants, which should fill up fast, if you recognize what a "steal" this place is, others will as well.
Yeah that's actually what I figured but thought I better check. The place could lose all of us and fill up in two months I'm sure. I'll just sign the detail and keep my eye open for other alternatives. I've rented for ten years and this whole situation is just so surreal. Thanks for the input

I was posting in general btw, but this seemed more in line with the girls who broke your heart thread than politics.
 

khalid

Unelected Mod
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Sounds like you should just move. The landlord is catering to this guy with this new clause and it sounds like he is looking for an excuse to boot you without feeling bad. Maybe he is friends with this guy or something, or even scared of him, who fucking knows.

Either way, you are living right next to a clearly crazy person. Gtfo.
 

ham

Lord Nagafen Raider
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79
The guy has lived in this spot since the late nineties. He's probably 50 now and the neighborhood is young and came up around him. He's probably become friends with the landlord in some way over this time.

He also washes his clothes in his bath and hangs his clothes up on our stairs and trees. It looks like a tornado took away a homeless man sometimes. He's the never wears a shirt type of guy
 

Famm

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The guy has lived in this spot since the late nineties. He's probably 50 now and the neighborhood is young and came up around him. He's probably become friends with the landlord in some way over this time.

He also washes his clothes in his bath and hangs his clothes up on our stairs and trees. It looks like a tornado took away a homeless man sometimes. He's the never wears a shirt type of guy
Well there goes my thought that maybe you stick it out and he eventually gets evicted/moves/sent away to an institution. This is like deja vu all over again from some old threads in general over the years. I guess if its as primo as you say you have to sign the deal. I sympathize on the dog thing, and at the same time I don't. All my years when I was younger and renting we owned pets and if I had to do it over again I would have simply not owned pets. Its not worth it to me unless you actually own property. Cat maybe, but not dog. But that's neither here or there since you are in it already.

I don't know your lifestyle but I'd personally not really care about the curfew too much. Go to bed by 11 in time for work the next day, but you might not have an early rising job/schedule. Go out for weekends or to other people's houses, but you might like to host parties and as you alluded to there's the potential of wanting to bring a girl back. The question is, at what point does the location and price cease to outweigh the conditions. If this dude was waking me up at night when I needed to sleep for work or if you legit start to wonder what he's capable of in terms of life and property...well maybe hassles and rent are a lesser evil.

This dude will at least harass you no matter what you do, so you keep saying "what, I was using my headphones?" and as mentioned who can prove otherwise when he's off his rocker and hearing shit that doesn't exist already. I'd almost be more worried about the pet odor stuff because that makes it sound a bit like the landlord has his sights on you. I'd say sign the damn thing and be looking for other stuff, because its entirely possible this landlord is simply making a case to not renew your lease anyway.

If this nutjob dude is super redneck/teaparty AND mentally ill, you think there's potential he's racially profiling you and the landlord figures getting you out will calm his ass down just from having a different demographic in there?
 

ham

Lord Nagafen Raider
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Thanks. The sudden care of pet shit after two years makes me think the same. My other neighbor said he had a girl over when he came at me at 5am that one night and both were scared out of their mind. I'm thinking for now I'll just sign it. Continue thinking he should fuck off and be quiet like I have been

So everyone seems in agreement that talking to the landlord about this being unreasonable is a waste of time

I'm white. He's white. I think he's just a redneck crazy person. Obviously cheap rent isn't worth it if he rages with one of his many guns one day...
 

Skanda

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Is your dog large enough to eat his face next time he starts banging on your door?
 

Famm

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Edited a lot of my post.

Yeah, landlords get an idea in their head, don't really stay up front with you about it, and go about their plan stubbornly. I've seen it enough, they will pick out an issue and never let it go, and often that means they are going to ride you into the ground over it. You've already seen what the landlord is willing to do and half of it has come back on YOU, unfairly.

At this point you should definitely document the hell out of everything and continue to alert the landlord and even police again when circumstances dictate doing so. You never know what action you may want to take. At the very least this guy could terminate you and refuse your deposit, saying you've documented everything that you went through and failed to get resolution about might be enough to get that deposit back to get you to drop it and move on. (Not sure you had a refundable deposit, assuming.)

Document everything with crazyass and everything you do to appease him and all steps taken for the pet situation. Photos of carpet and stuff showing you haven't damaged.
 

Skanda

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Well if the dog is out I suggest getting a big ass sound system and developing a massive crush on dubstep music then.
 

ham

Lord Nagafen Raider
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Hardwoods. 1920-30s home. No dog could damage this place. The home isn't as great as the location and size. I can get away with living like this a few more years ;p
 

Famm

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Hardwoods
Eh, dog's nails can kinda scratch that shit up left unchecked. I'd keep em trimmed and keep record of how often you do it. Seems like overkill but these situations often favor you being anal about that stuff.
 

Quineloe

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Such a clause in a rent contract wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell in court here.