# So an asshole moved in next door...



## MikeH (Aug 19, 2012)

This guy has literally lived here a week and has already complained about my noise level to the landlord twice. He's a cop as well, if that really helps my case at all. And the first time I was okay with it and I was very respectable. It went something like:

*Knock**Knock*
Him: "Hey, man. Can you turn the music down a bit? I just got home from work and I have to be up at 7am."
Me: "Sure, man. I apologize. I didn't realize how loud it was."

Mind you, I knew it wasn't loud, as my girlfriend was sitting on the couch (right next to my desk) and was still able to watch TV at a low level without it interfering. I just didn't want to be a dick about it because it was the first time he said anything. So the next day (yesterday), the girl and I are having a day out at the zoo and I get a call from my landlord saying that Mr. Smith (I don't know his name) said I was being very loud and rude last night. So I flipped shit and started explaining to her that as soon as he said to turn it down (at 9:30 on a Friday), I did. And nothing was said after that. She replies with "I don't want the whole 'he said, she said' routine." So I'm pissed for the rest of the evening. Come home (10:30 on a Saturday night) and start listening to Tesseract at an even lower volume than the night before:

*BANG BANG BANG*
Me: "Yeah?"
Him: "Again? You just woke my fucking kid up! I'm gonna call the fucking cops if this shit keeps up."
Me: "I'm not being loud, sir. My music is lower than what it was last night. These walls aren't very thick, so it's something we have to live with. I hear you taking a shower in the morning when you get ready for work, from my bedroom. I hear you going up and down the stairs. And I hear you watching TV. It's just something we all have to cope with."
Him: "Well I'm gonna give the landlord a call. This is fucking ridiculous. You need to learn some respect. I have a Bose sound system that I don't turn up so you can't hear it." (Bullshit. I hear it all the time.)

So tomorrow I get to speak with my landlord again about how I've probably violated my lease or some bullshit. My speakers are on the opposite side of the room from his place, and the lady on the right of me has never complained once. She's made several comments about how quiet we are and that she never hears us. I just know that if the situation escalates to him calling the cops, they're obviously going to have his back because he's a cop as well. So it's a bit of a catch 22 because I play music and record music. I do this as a means of a hobby and revenue. I also work second shift every day from 11-8:30. So when I get home and want to wind down and play music, I can't because I risk being kicked out. Has anyone ever dealt with a situation like this?


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## The Uncreator (Aug 19, 2012)

That fucking sucks man. Hopefully being reasonable and explaining the situation to your landlord will get you somewhere. I hope the cops aren't involved either.


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## CrushingAnvil (Aug 19, 2012)

What a dick.


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## Gothic Headhunter (Aug 19, 2012)

I'm guessing headphones aren't an option?


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## mr_rainmaker (Aug 19, 2012)

that sucks...
complain to your landlord and keep a record of all contact.


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## VBCheeseGrater (Aug 19, 2012)

Assholes. People with no lives and nothing to do but bitch and moan about everything. I've lived in apartments before. Like you said, you have to deal with noise. If he can't deal with the lifestyle and tenants he probably won't last long. 

On a positive note, he'll likely have a heart attack at an early age from being an uptight prick.


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## Necris (Aug 19, 2012)

Invest in a quality set of headphones and the first problem will be immediately solved, sure you should be able to listen to music through speakers in your own home but between sucking it up and getting headphones or risking being kicked out the choice is obvious.
If your amp has a headphone jack I suggest using it.
I've met assholes like this before, and the fact that yours is a cop doesn't help you at all. 
Give him no reason to complain and wait for things to cool down. 
(Then if you're feeling vindictive in a month or two feel free to complain to the landlord about the noise he makes, if he lasts that long. )


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## poopyalligator (Aug 19, 2012)

Necris said:


> Invest in a quality set of headphones and the first problem will be immediately solved, sure you should be able to listen to music through speakers in your own home but between sucking it up and getting headphones or risking being kicked out the choice is obvious.
> If your amp has a headphone jack I suggest using it.



This


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## MikeH (Aug 19, 2012)

Gothic Headhunter said:


> I'm guessing headphones aren't an option?



They are as I am currently using them. But when I have a couple people over on a Saturday night, I'm not getting a headphone jack splitter so we can all hover around the laptop and listen to some background music.  I understand that headphones are an option, and a very good one. But living between two people, prior to this guy moving in, for two months and not once having a complaint from either party while the music was much louder than it was the past two nights, it's really just a case of him being a class A dickwad.


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## BlindingLight7 (Aug 19, 2012)

I'd say just annoy the fuck out of him until he leaves. that's what I would do.


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## Valennic (Aug 19, 2012)

You're going to need more than a rock.


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## MFB (Aug 19, 2012)

BlindingLight7 said:


> I'd say just annoy the fuck out of him until he leaves. that's what I would do.



What part of "He's a cop" didn't get through? Because in a he-said-she-said with the cops, the one of them that's _also_ a cop is gonna have his side win whether it's right or not.


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## Necris (Aug 19, 2012)

MikeH said:


> They are as I am currently using them. But when I have a couple people over on a Saturday night, I'm not getting a headphone jack splitter so we can all hover around the laptop and listen to some background music.  I understand that headphones are an option, and a very good one. But living between two people, prior to this guy moving in, for two months and not once having a complaint from either party while the music was much louder than it was the past two nights, it's really just a case of him being a class A dickwad.




Let your new neighbor know that you have people coming over, he complained about you having no respect before, prove him wrong. If you tell him beforehand he has no right to complain (it's very likely he still will).

If he flips shit when you tell him you're having people over that's a sign that there is no hope for this issue to be resolved in a reasonable manner.


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## Fiction (Aug 19, 2012)

Our old neighbour called the cops for having the air conditioner on past 10pm in the middle of the summer, and came over and told us to turn the television down several times even at 6pm once.

Also used to come out and yell at us for making too much noise as I skated down the drive way to leave somewhere, at 3-4pm in the afternoon, bitch was crazy.

We even had sound analysts come and set up a meter to make sure we weren't being real loud, the real estate just started ignoring her complaints.

I feel for you brother


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## flexkill (Aug 19, 2012)

My stepdaughter just went through this exact same scenario, He too is a Cop. My stepdaughter makes very good money for her age and has a lot of expensive things and I think this cop believes her or her boyfriend deals drugs. It started with him coming over to complain and he asked for the head of the household lol. When she explained it was her apartment he wouldn't believe her. He tried to say her boyfriend wasn't on the lease so he had to leave, all kinds of petty shit like this ...all sorts of bullshit. She just rented a house like a week a go. Sorry to say man, you might need to move or put up with his shit.


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## Alpenglow (Aug 19, 2012)

Necris said:


> Invest in a quality set of headphones and the first problem will be immediately solved, sure you should be able to listen to music through speakers in your own home but between sucking it up and getting headphones or risking being kicked out the choice is obvious.
> If your amp has a headphone jack I suggest using it.
> I've met assholes like this before, and the fact that yours is a cop doesn't help you at all.
> Give him no reason to complain and wait for things to cool down.
> (Then if you're feeling vindictive in a month or two feel free to complain to the landlord about the noise he makes, if he lasts that long. )



That's what I would try to do. See if you can be as quiet as possible and if he is still being a douche, maybe you could tell the landlord about the problem and complain about how loud his TV is or something like that. It's just really hard to deal with because if he makes a deal of it to the cops then of course what he says is right, regardless of what's true. Best of luck man, that situation blows.


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## Metaloaf (Aug 20, 2012)

I think your best option here is to try to have your landlord on your side no matter what and keep your cool and decent attitude at all times. If he just moved in and your other neighbors never had a problem with you before, and your landlord hasn't received complaints about you in the past, he (the landlord) will side with you if you tell him/her that your new neighbor may be the problematic one for those reasons, not you.

One thing you shouldn't do is to start throwing rocks at him; don't start complaining about him or going back and forth about this. In your case, you need to stand in a defensive position and demonstrate that you're not the one creating the issue. That said, you shouldn't take his crap either or be forced to accommodate to his BS requests, but just don't retaliate against him with complaints.

If you've shown to your landlord and neighbors that you're not loud and obnoxious, his word shouldn't have enough (if any) weight against you; if your other neighbors can attest to your good behavior, that will help as well.

As for the cops showing up; if they're of the hypocrite kind and end up backing him up no matter what and eventually attempt to evict you, you'd have to make a formal complaint about them to their superior and take it from there... but hope it doesn't get to that.


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## morrowcosom (Aug 20, 2012)

When I was staying in a campground to go to school, I also had an annoying ass neighbor. 

In one incident, I got home from school at one a.m. and wanted to play guitar. I cut my 25 watt combo amp volume down to as low as it would go without the volume being on zero. I minimized the volume especially because camper walls are very thin. 

So, I am just sitting there playing at this ungodly volume, and all of sudden one of my neighbors comes bashing on the door screaming about how loud my amp is. I was in a state of wonder about how somebody could possibly think I was playing loud.

The next day, I asked three other surrounding campers if they heard me play the day before and they had not. I talked about the neighbor and they all said he was weird as hell and that he was a pissed off drunk. 

The campground owners knew his ways and never took much stock in what he said, so I could continue to make a reasonable amount of noise.


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## BlackMastodon (Aug 20, 2012)

I honestly don't know what to tell you. I think Necris had the best advice but this just seems like another case of cops abusing their authority, and if this escalates to involving more of his cop buddies, you aren't winning no matter what. Even assuming this shit storm blows up but the landlord sides with you and he gets evicted or something, then you can bet your ass that Officer Dickhead and his buddies are gonna make your life hell any chance they get (pulling you over, breaking tail lights, etc.).

Do people really not understand that apartments don't have that thick of walls and there isn't a whole hell of a lot that can be done about it? People can't live in their own house without having to tiptoe because the sound of footsteps is too loud?


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## Leuchty (Aug 20, 2012)

Have a baby.

That'll sort him out... ...at 2am...and...3am...and...4am...and...


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## Heroin (Aug 20, 2012)

What an asshat. I bet he feels so high and mighty just because he's a cop too. Good luck with dealing with him.


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## Blind Theory (Aug 20, 2012)

Fuck him. Out of spite just go around and be the most out standing person you can be. That way when he tries to be a giant dick and complain people be all, "What? Mike did that? I don't believe you. Go back to your troll cave and leave me the fuck alone asshole." That's what I do. People judge me for the clothes I wear. Granted, shirts with the F-bomb on them aren't really appropriate outside of concerts but still. They don't give a shit what my shirts say when I'm the only fucking person helping you push your heavy ass car across a busy intersection after it broke down. 

I like to think it falls under passive aggressive retaliation in some way.


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## Winspear (Aug 20, 2012)

That's just awful. I lost it when he mentioned his Bose sound system  Might have guessed


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## leonardo7 (Aug 20, 2012)

Man if hes a cop then he probably gets paid well enough to not have to live in a tiny apartment with thin walls Id think. Plus, if he has a serious job like that then you would think he would have thought about the fact that he needs some serious sleep and that apartments are almost always noisy, so why is he living there? I predict either you get the boot from your landlord or he moves within 2 months. But hopefully you dont get the boot and all will be well regardless of whether he moves or not.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Aug 20, 2012)

Keep the noise down and keep complaining about him being noisey


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## AliceLG (Aug 20, 2012)

I'm sort of going thru the same thing with my new flatmate. He is not a cop, many thanks to the deity of your choosing, but he is a pain in the ass as well.

Yes, the first time he complained he had good reason, it wasn't late but it was indeed a bit loud. So I apologized and promised to be more considerate. Then he complained again and told me to "please, I understand that you want to play guitar, but after work I'm tired and I just want to rest a little". OK, you got a point there, I could be even more considerate and try to give you some peace and quiet right after work. Then he complained when I was playing at about 7pm, not loud, and just for like half an hour, because he felt disturbed by the noise while having dinner. Then he complained when I was playing during the day on a Saturday. Then he complained over the noise on a Sunday. Then I stopped listening, I will not compromise my free time for this master complainer. If I can't play after work, a litlle bit later, or over the weekend, then when the hell am I allowed to play?!

The good thing is that his complains to the landlord fell pretty much on deaf ears. My landlord came upstairs once and told me "Nice playing, I dig the music a lot" 

So, stick it to him the way it has been proposed. Keep quite for a couple of days and then complain about his noise on his "Bose sound system"


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## CrushingAnvil (Aug 20, 2012)

Jizz in his mailbox.


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## avenger (Aug 20, 2012)

Respect the police man they have it really tough.

XD


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## dvon21 (Aug 20, 2012)

Hmm... This seems familiar.


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## SenorDingDong (Aug 20, 2012)

Play The Coup's _Pork and Beef_ everyday, all day.


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## MikeH (Aug 20, 2012)

Yeah, I already know that I have one neighbor on my side. And if she hasn't heard me, the people to the right of her sure as hell haven't. And just to clarify, we technically aren't in an apartment. We live in a section of townhouses. So I chose to move to the section where I would have a bit more noise freedom, and it ends up being like this. Go figure.


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## MJS (Aug 20, 2012)

MikeH said:


> But living between two people, prior to this guy moving in, *for two months* and not once having a complaint from either party while the music was much louder than it was the past two nights, it's really just a case of him being a class A dickwad.



You've only lived there for two months? If so, that doesn't help because you'd both be new tenants in the eyes of a landlord... and he has the advantage of being a cop. 

Hopefully the landlord won't think, "This guy's been here 2 months, one neighbor moved out and the new one is already complaining." 

If you'd don't get it worked out with the cop, you'll probably have to do some serious landlord ass kissing if you want to stay there. The cop's probably already doing the same and working on getting rid of you. 

It wouldn't surprise me if he has a cop buddy that's looking for a place to live and he's trying to free one up for him.


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## MikeH (Aug 20, 2012)

Well the other tenants left because the lease expired. So it obviously wasn't a situation of them being disturbed by us. I spoke with the guy's wife prior to our encounters and she was a nice person. Not someone I would typically associate with, but she chatted and was very nice to the girl and I. So it really just comes down to him being a dick. But he's gone today, and I'm off work, so I'm going to listen to the music as loud as I fucking want.


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## Mayhew (Aug 20, 2012)

If you want noise freedom then move to the country. Country folk just seem to understand that people have to make noise from time to time whilst living their lives. The occasional lawn mower, chainsaw, power tools, animals, people having fun etc. We get plenty of quiet time in between so people don't mind as much when you have to make noise. City living is more of a compromise in exchange for the convenience. You compromise how you live your life to have as little impact on others and sometimes you just can't go far enough for some people. It can suck the enjoyment out of it if you have to walk on egg shells at home when you should feel relaxed.

I'll never move back to the city. I can blast the stereo with the the big sub woofer and not feel bad and I keep the windows closed to be respectful. I can play guitar out on the deck and so does one of my neighbours and no one complains. Life is noisy sometimes and we all seem more willing to tolerate it out here. It has something to do with having your own personal space (I couldn't hit any of my neighbours with a rock) that allows you to relax as opposed to living on top of each other and being way more tense and uptight. Anyone who shares walls and expects total quiet 24/7 is not living in the real world.


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## dvon21 (Aug 20, 2012)

Yea, Mayhew is totally spot on. I lived in the middle of nowhere wth my grandparents. It's a much more understanding community because everyone's not always in a hurry to make money and get somewhere. People are people and not automatons!


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## MikeH (Aug 20, 2012)

That's nice and all, but I don't really have the option of moving out into the country and living the quiet life.


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## dvon21 (Aug 20, 2012)

Maybe you can file a transfer option? I also live in a townhouse where the landlord offers free transfers to other units as long as you do the moving and can assure your old unit is in good condition. (You pay for the repairs, if any.)


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## kerska (Aug 20, 2012)

I deal with a lot of landlords in my line of work, and I can tell you that nothing annoys them more than a tenant who is constantly complaining. 

It's simple. When you talk to your landlord, stay calm and don't get mad. Just state that you're not doing anything that you haven't normally done in the past with other tenants there. Tell her you don't want to cause a problem with a new tenant, but you wanna be able to enjoy your living space without too much of a compromise because you're not doing anything that's out of the ordinary since you've been living there.

You gotta kinda play the "I'm not taking sides" with this whole thing. If this guy really is a dick and he's being a jerk to you, chances are he'll do the same to the landlord. So just keep your composure, and let this guy fuck it up for himself by complaining and just seeming like a pain in the ass.


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## Mayhew (Aug 20, 2012)

Mr Policeman should realize that you don't get peace and quiet when you share walls. It's that simple.


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## Pooluke41 (Aug 20, 2012)




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## Sam MJ (Aug 20, 2012)

I agree with Kerska, If you give him enough rope he will probably hang himself. 

Maybe try getting a decibel meter, find out how loud he's being and how loud you're being. Even with a wall in the way you should be able to get an idea of how loud you are 

Over here in the UK I think you need to exceed a certain level before a complaint is taken seriously. Try and find out about the law where you are


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## MikeH (Aug 20, 2012)

That's actually smart because the law here states that I can have my music at a reasonably audible level until 11 pm. NICE.


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## Winspear (Aug 20, 2012)

After reading this this morning I went and had a dream (I work nightshifts) about some asshole with a Bose sound system  Bose is like Dre Beats for old people.


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 20, 2012)

I have a neighbor like that on one side and a pack of hoodrats on the other... I feel your pain, man.

Every day I come home from work and their entire clan is out on the front porch wasting space. As I approach my house I find bags of chips, plastic applesauce containers, juice boxes, etc. They're in my grass... My flower pots... My walk-way... Etc.

Now if they live right next door why is it so difficult to throw shit away at their own goddamn house? It seems more difficult to take something out of your own home, go outside, to consume it and throw it in someone else's yard. Not to mention it's just fucking rude.

Also, some of the younger ones over there like to go into my backyard when I have my dogs on the deck, stand a few inches away from the railings and bark at my dogs in their faces just for the sake of having something to do. 

This brings me to the neighbor on the other side. A cheap ass crochity old man... When dogs are outside they're known the bark. Fact of life. Well I feel like if it's the middle of the day you're likely to hear a plethora of noise and a dog barking in someone's backyard shouldn't be too out of the ordinary.

Well one fine Sunday afternoon (note I said SUNDAY), the old man comes over and knocks on my door. I open it and he says:

Old "Hey man, I just wanted to bring something to your attention..." (I already wanna tell him to fuck off)

"You see... I telework *during the week* and I like to keep my windows open so I can get a nice breeze going during the day. When your dogs are barking and I'm on a teleconference it's very disturbing. Can you go back there and see if you can get them to tone it down a bit?"

Yes, yes... I'll go have a talk with them... 

First of all... Stop being a fuckin' cheap ass and use your goddamn AC... Second of all how does the fact that he teleworks during the week apply to a Sunday? 

Not only that, he came over and told me he "wanted to bring it to my attention" afte first calling the police on me. In case that was unclear, he called the police on me on two separate occasions PRIOR to "bringing it to my attention" and he told them a bunch of stupid shit like I walk them outside w/o a leash and basically anything else you're "not supposed to do" and the only thing I've ever actually done is allow them to express themselves vocally... 

I *did* walk them w/o a leash for maybe 2 weeks or so when I had a torn meniscus and had to walk them while on crutches (I don't have any room mates or helpers) but I did so at like 5AM and 11PM--times when pretty much no one is outside anyway.

Oh yea... And the neighbors that throw shit in my yard? Almost certain they stole my deck furniture and grill before I even moved in. The previous owner and I had an agreement that anything she didn't want, she would leave for me. Well up until the day of the inspection the grill and deck furninture (along with several random items around the house) were on the deck. Inspection was TWO DAYS before I moved in. 

The day I come to move in, my deck furniture and grill are on my neighbor's deck. Several items that WERE in the house are now gone. The batteries from my THERMOSTAT had even been taken (the thermostat worked flawlessly the day of my inspection).

When approached about it, they said "The lady that left said we could have it." Oh right... After she signed a contract saying I could have it? I'm sure... 

Needless to say it'll be nice to build some equity and sell this fucker.


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## Amonihil (Aug 20, 2012)

Sam MJ said:


> Maybe try getting a decibel meter, find out how loud he's being and how loud you're being. Even with a wall in the way you should be able to get an idea of how loud you are



Do this and see what the allowed decibel level is and show it to your landlord.
If you stay under the allowed level then he can´t say shit since you have the law on your side.

My dads old neighbors were a pain in the ass!
He lives in an apartment and often plays music loud, nobody complains, and sometimes the neighbors play music/have parties aswell.
Before they moved out they had a baby which screamed early in the morning to wake us up. Sometimes their other child(~5 years old) would open the door and go out in the stairwell. That led to the mother started to scream at her, while still in the stairs, and NOT in the apartment where they belong. This happened more than one time. We would also hear whenever the mother were screaming at one of the children inside the apartment which happened a lot but we never said anything.

They would also leave their stroller right inside the entrance to the stairs which made it difficult to pass by(especially when carrying guitars). I thought we should have taken the stroller hostage for about a week or so since they refused to take it away. My dad told this to our landlord but he didn´t really do anything.

They also left their garbage right outside the door and let it grow for about a week. Even the cleaners complained at that point. My dad lives on the 3rd floor and they lived on the 2nd so we had to pass their smelly garbage consisting of old milk/pizza/diapers just to go home.

They moved out the same day my dad had his 50th birthday.
We weren´t sad to see them go, it was more like


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## Hallic (Aug 20, 2012)

i think the headphones are a good suggestion.
Maybe he misread the way you spoke/acted to him and concluded you as rude somehow.
anyhow, if you want to listen to music at times people go to bed/sleep, and i reckon he goes to bed earlier because he gets up at 7am, then i think its his right to have a quiet atmosphere. Even if the neighbour before had no problem with it! 

yes you have to live together in a flat, and unfortunately with thin walls, then it is you who needs keep sound levels on a minium at those times.


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## SirMyghin (Aug 20, 2012)

MikeH said:


> That's actually smart because the law here states that I can have my music at a reasonably audible level until 11 pm. NICE.




Not quite true when it comes to apartments. When you live in shared domiciles those laws are irrelevant if you are legitimately interfering with the other tenants 'enjoyment' of their property (at least in Canada). Because you both 'live' there, there are special rules, not laws, in place to ensure mutual enjoyment opposed. In other words, you can unfortunately not go out of your way to torment someone with noise, just because the law says so. You don't need to break laws to be evicted. So everyone just needs to establish boundaries and be courteous really, which he doesn't seem to understand unfortunately. 

Yes I could blast my amp at 3pm legally, yes I can still be evicted if I did it more than once  . Fortunately all my neighbours rock and I record at decent volume with no complaints.

I recommend going to talk with this guy and discussing your concerns, and working together to hammer out something you can work both work with. Yes he may seem irrational now, but if you are actually making enough noise to wake children up I would probably act similarly. As I stated somewhere else, I have been flat out told if I tried to play an amped guitar anyone could hear in a building it was likely I would be removed (during the application process). This was just the property manager too.


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## SpaceDock (Aug 20, 2012)

I had neighbors that bitched about me rocking out,they couldn't do shit since it was during the day. As long as you are within the proper hours, you can run a jackhammer on your property or crank your amp on your front porch. This is America, fuck yeah.


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## The Buttmonkey (Aug 20, 2012)

I live out in the country so I really couldn't be any help with any of my advice, but I have two neighbors as well, one is a retired firefighter and now a fire investigator (plus his family) the other is a nice old lady and her son, a sheriff.

The firefighter never makes much noise except for the occasional party with loud music, they occasionally play music in their garage when they're working and sometimes they mow the grass (their yard comes to within about 50 feet of our house or something) Plus they have a little dog that barks at me everytime I bicycle down my 1/4 mile driveway which goes right next to their house as well.

The policeman is a little bit louder, but honestly his house is too far away to bother us. He has several muscle cars, one of them a Mustang foxbody with a big block V8 with straight headers. That's pretty loud, but once again, he's far away and this is redneckland. V8 noise is a good thing...hahaha! Occasionally he comes down to the woods (close to our house) and does target practice, but guns are a fact of life here sooooo....yeah. Really the policeman is an upstanding neighbor, other than the fact that he's a little bit of a redneck hahaha.

He's been restoring a '65 Chevelle and I'm invited to freely come and watch/help whenever his garage door is open. On the fourth of july, someone several houses down was shooting SOOOOO MANY huge illegal fireworks (in Georgia professional-grade fireworks are quite illegal without the correct permits, but people go out-of-state and buy them anyway, in the end no one really cares) and you could hear what sounded like a very drunken redneck party. My family has three horses and the huge fireworks show a 1/4 mile away wasn't exactly the best for them. Believe me, I didn't want my $5,000 show horse running wildly through the night so some inbreds could go "OOOOOOOH AAAAAAAAH" Hahaha, anyways, my neighbor turns on his police car's siren at around 12:30 and it finally shuts them up. So in my book, he's a good neighbor!


I've never heard any complaints about the noise we make. We're probably the quietest neighbors actually. We occasionally play music at a moderate volume outside. And that's my life in the country! Nobody cares because everybody's got the rights to make noise YYEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAW!!!


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## squid-boy (Aug 20, 2012)

I don't like the majority of law enforcement officials. I don't mine the _law_, but I do acknowledge that humans are flawed and when given any sense of power over the public, bad things are bound to happen. That being said, my only advice is to try and live with him for as long as possible, without antagonizing or losing your cool. He'll probably have you arrested for assault - you can be arrested for assault for uttering anything these days, it doesn't even have to be a threat, if they feel or fake feeling threatened or intimidated, they can have you arrested. The way she fuckin' goes. 

I live in an apartment. When I moved in I went around to my neighbours and had a discussion with them, which detailed that I liked to play music at considerable volumes. I told them that if they wanted music lessons for their kids or for themselves, I'd be glad to give them for free. We all came to an understanding that when one tenant wanted to make noise, leeway was made for the other tenant, and so on. I've been here for over two years now, with an Axe-FX Ultra/SLA-2/Orange 212 setup, and I haven't had a complaint. 

But that approach probably doesn't work for everyone. 

The landlord will kick your ass out if they aren't happy with the relationship you have with other tenants, because it is a pain in the ass to constantly be called by an unhappy tenant. That much is obvious. If you can manage to remain in the townhouse, good. The last thing you want is to get the police involved more than they should - you don't want him pulling strings for search warrants of the property, because once one warrant is issued, the next one is a piece of cake to acquire. 

When I was certified as a Security Guard, my course was taught by an ex-constable, and it was agony. But I got the highest marks in the class.


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## canuck brian (Aug 20, 2012)

Start downloading MP3's of screaming hungry babies. Play appropriately.


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 20, 2012)

So if he does call the cops and you're making noise even at a low level at a time that's accepted based on the time of day in your area, what difference would it make? They can't really say or do anything other than intimidate you with their "authority," but they have folks they have to answer to as well. Obviously you don't want it to escalate to that, but don't let some douchebag neighbor bully you. I feel like sometimes ppl feel like they can do that to you if they've lived somewhere longer or bc they're you "elder."

Also, could it be that perhaps there's some other issue in his home for which he's using you as a scapegoat/punching bag? Not that it's your problem and not that you should investigate to better understand him since... well fuck him... but I would say just keep on keepin' on. Don't let him being miserable rub off on you.


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## axxessdenied (Aug 20, 2012)

The best thing you can do in an apartment, imo is to be friendly with the landlord. Stop, say hi, ask them how their day is going, etc. Just be nice and friendly all the time. 
I lived in an apartment. Never again. It wasn't even a shitty apartment or anything. There was pretty thick concrete walls and good windows so the noise was isolated pretty well. But, you obviously still did hear things.
Our neighbour across the hallway complained ALL the time, how do I know? The landlord and I would have a good laugh about her whenever she complained about something stupid  She even had tenants complain about the elevator being too loud!! 

We had a few incidents at the start where we were obviously too loud (an amp that isnt decoupled carries FAR ) But, we did our best. We still got noise complaints about our dog and whatnot but our landlord didn't care. She knew the tenants complained all the time.

Just be nice and do your thing. If he comes over and complains, just be nice and turn it down. I have a feeling he's coming around more because of the type of music he is hearing and not the volume!!

Do you have other neighbours on the floor? Maybe you should talk to them and see how they feel about your noise level? Document it, get them to sign it. 
Who cares if he is a cop? Fuck him, that doesn't mean he gets to push people around. Stand your ground! Fuck these assholes. It's your home and you have a right to listen to your god damn music at a reasonable level!


Oh, I'd like to add that we also got a letter for having sex too loud  I walked out to get a drink and saw a note in the hallway... my GF and I had a great laugh about it. Our last month there, we banged extra loud


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 20, 2012)

axxessdenied said:


> I have a feeling he's coming around more because of the type of music he is hearing and not the volume!!
> 
> Do you have other neighbours on the floor? Maybe you should talk to them and see how they feel about your noise level? Document it, get them to sign it.
> Who cares if he is a cop? Fuck him, that doesn't mean he gets to push people around. Stand your ground! Fuck these assholes. It's your home and you have a right to listen to your god damn music at a reasonable level!



All of this


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## F4R537KTP09 (Aug 20, 2012)

In that case I would have a try with "natural noises" to check the silliness or not of this man.
For the first experiment, eat a fairly not yet out of date but still not so fresh chili. When it comes down, fart like crazy on the wall to check wether he will dare to complain about it.
Second experiment: make love really noisily. If the girl is able to yell it helps. Then again: check the reaction.
Third one: sing while under the shower.
I guess you have the general idea.
If he ever dare to complain to the landlord well... He will be categorised as "insane".
I wonder wether the cops would come for a noisy lovemaking?


P.S. I would record him talking every time he knocks to complain. It could help if he changes what he says to you and to the others...


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## tacotiklah (Aug 20, 2012)

My advice is whenever you listen to music when he is home, videotape it so that you can prove the noise levels are not insane. Wait for him to come and complain. Now you can't record people without their permission, so when he comes over inform him that you are taping everything. Write down times and dates of when he does this crap. Also you said that you can hear him right?
Well break out that camcorder again when you notice he is getting loud. Again, write down dates and times. Be smart and organized about this. Also the decibel reader is a damn good idea. Make use of it when you record and show what the readings are on tape as you take them. 
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words so surely a video is worth entire libraries. After a while of collecting this stuff, go have a chat with the landlord. Show them what you have and just really stick it to this asshole. At all times be calm, cool and collected. Be nice and respectful; even to the dick cop. Give him no leverage against you at all. 

Best of luck to you dude!


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 20, 2012)

I feel like fumbling with pots and pans when you're about to prepare something to eat is far noisier. Not to mention, if music is playing at a low level, what you hear on the other end of the wall is nothing better than an unintelligble hum which is far more consistent than actually hearing the music right there in the room. Through my experiences, the more constant and subtle the stimulus, the easier it is to ignore.


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## ShadowFactoryX (Aug 20, 2012)

Necris said:


> Let your new neighbor know that you have people coming over, he complained about you having no respect before, prove him wrong. If you tell him beforehand he has no right to complain (it's very likely he still will).
> 
> If he flips shit when you tell him you're having people over that's a sign that there is no hope for this issue to be resolved in a reasonable manner.



This x10000 ^


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## Razzy (Aug 20, 2012)

Stealthdjentstic said:


> Keep the noise down and keep complaining about him being noisey



Yeah, every time he takes a shower, go bang on his door and complain that you can hear him showering and he needs to keep it down.


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 20, 2012)

"Could you maybe adjust your water pressure? It's hard to concentrate."


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## leftyguitarjoe (Aug 20, 2012)

I live in an apartment building filled with nothing but college students in their early 20's. I Never get noise complaints


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## ZEBOV (Aug 20, 2012)

When you're playing music from your computer, start recording with a camera, point the camera at a decibel meter, and then wait for him to come banging on the door.


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## Winspear (Aug 20, 2012)

This thread makes me eternally grateful for my apparent thick walls (or deaf neighbor)..I rock out, shower, and run the washer+dryer from 10pm to 8am on my nights off


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## BlackMastodon (Aug 20, 2012)

After reading about Konfyouzd's living situation, I think he's got you beat. Waste of carbon and air hoodrats.


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## axxessdenied (Aug 20, 2012)

Do you have a smartphone? I have an app on my android that includes a sound level meter! It's called AudioTool


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## Winspear (Aug 20, 2012)

axxessdenied said:


> Do you have a smartphone? I have an app on my android that includes a sound level meter! It's called AudioTool



Just curious - I'm sure it's been thought through but how can an App know the specifications of the phones mic?

EDIT: On second thoughts I'm not sure it's been thought through, unless it's free


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## sage (Aug 20, 2012)

Give him $2 and recommend that he purchase the White Noise app: SimplyNoise - The Best Free White Noise Generator on the Internet.

He can crank that shit on his Bose system and get his kid a small stereo to play it in her room when she's sleeping. 

Or give him a bag of earplugs. 

You mentioned that he's there with his kid. You didn't mention a wife. He may be pissed off at life in general, caused possibly by a recent divorce leading to him live somewhere he's not stoked on in general and he's taking it out on you.


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 20, 2012)

EtherealEntity said:


> This thread makes me eternally grateful for my apparent thick walls (or deaf neighbor)..I rock out, shower, and run the washer+dryer from 10pm to 8am on my nights off



Despite how shitty my neighbors seem they never complain ab me jammin w the band. We went til 3AM Friday...




I get noise complaints during the day and none at night when I'm actually noisy...


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## Winspear (Aug 20, 2012)

Maybe they are nocturnal like me?


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 20, 2012)

Good point


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## Dan_Vacant (Aug 20, 2012)

My dad lives in an apartment and he just waits till the neighbors move there is one that most likely will be gone in two weeks (thank god) but he walks in the aprtment if the door isn't looked, leaves garbage outside of his apartment and some times throws it down the stairs, kicked out the back aluminum door, and then screams at his girl friend over the phone, but the worst part is when he plays music it's "Free Falling" on repeat. I know dislike Tom Petty even more.


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## Dan_Vacant (Aug 20, 2012)

Another thing came to my head of my friend telling me his neighbor thought her room was haunted cause it's on the other side of the wall of his and he likes metal.


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## tacotiklah (Aug 20, 2012)

sage said:


> You mentioned that he's there with his kid. You didn't mention a wife. He may be pissed off at life in general, caused possibly by a recent divorce leading to him live somewhere he's not stoked on in general and he's taking it out on you.



Damn good point. 

I think a part of it is that he is just pissed off at life at the moment about something and is kinda taking it out on you. A different piece of advice I can offer is maybe try to get to know the guy and try and make friends.


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## MikeH (Aug 20, 2012)

There's a woman living there as well. At least at one point there was.


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## Eric Christian (Aug 20, 2012)

MikeH said:


> This guy has literally lived here a week and has already complained about my noise level to the landlord twice. He's a cop as well, if that really helps my case at all. And the first time I was okay with it and I was very respectable. It went something like:
> 
> *Knock**Knock*
> Him: "Hey, man. Can you turn the music down a bit? I just got home from work and I have to be up at 7am."
> ...


 
You can't win bro. Just watch the entire movie below if you haven't already and I'm sure you'll end up seeing similarities to your current situation right away. The Police have a buddy network and you're gonna end up getting burned sooner or later. I'm sure you realize that though.

Instead, quiet way down for the time being and quickly find a rental house where you can have a little freedom to make some noise. A rental house is going to be a bit more than your apt. but if you find the right place that has a huge garage or outbuilding you can turn into a mancave/studio then just think how much you're saving versus getting a rehearsal space.


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## Dr Muerte21 (Aug 21, 2012)

Pay for some gang members to shoot up his house. But make sure you give them the right address.


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 21, 2012)




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## Konfyouzd (Aug 21, 2012)

MikeH said:


> ...At least at one point there was.


Maybe you're not the only person he annoys...


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## Blind Theory (Aug 21, 2012)

Here is what you do:



PARTY ON MO'FUCKAS!


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## jwade (Aug 22, 2012)

Similar situation to the OP, I had an asshole neighbor complaining all the time, early afternoon, after supper, didn't matter. No matter what I did, it was too loud, and he considered it 'completely disruptive and unacceptable'. 

My solution was pretty simple, I called the landlord and said 'hey man, the neighbor that keeps complaining is home right now. I'd like to do a little test. if you could come stand in the hall between the doors of the apartments to listen and tell me if I'm being too loud, I would appreciate it a lot." 

He agreed and said he would text me when he was standing outside. As soon as the text came through, I turned on my amp (at the time it was a Marshall Valvestate into a 4x12 w/Vintage 30s) at the same low setting, maybe at like notch 1-2. I started to play, and literally like 15 seconds later I hear the neighbor start yelling 'fuck off you stupid cunt' at the top of his lungs, followed by a knocking. I went to the door in time to witness the landlord knocking on the neighbors door. He opened the door, clearly in the mood to fight, and instantly deflated when the landlord informed him that he "should start looking for a new residence immediately" and then turned to me and said "I have absolutely no problem with the volume level you were playing at. I had my ear at your door and could barely hear it. If your soon-to-be ex-neighbor bellows obscenities through the wall at you ever again, inform me and I will call the police myself."

The asshole never said another word to me, and the next person that moved in was a drummer that would jam along with me from his apartment


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## Winspear (Aug 22, 2012)

^ Awesome


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## ShadowFactoryX (Aug 22, 2012)

that is awesome dude^
glad things went well for you

@OP, any resolution to this at all yet?


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## MikeH (Aug 22, 2012)

Not so far. I've yet to encounter him or the landlord again, so that's a good thing. I have talked to the neighbor on the opposite side and she still attests to me that I'm quiet. I had my music cranked Monday and she said she could somewhat hear it, but this was at noon and nobody else was in our strip of townhouses (she had just gotten home), but she only said it was purely for my reference and that it wasn't bothering her.


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