Neighborly Noise?

[walker1 1]

Hey fellow riders,

Hope all is well in SDAR Land.

Just an update on trail to recovery, but also a request for advice on what equiptment to use to record a neighbor who is doing a remodel on the unit above me.

Had Surgery on the foot Monday August 11th everything went well. I guess, it feels better, follow up on the 25th. But I am able to get out of bed and use wheelchair now, can't stand on crutches or walker for very long, to much pressure on foot right now.

Finally getting pain meds under control but still not more than 1 hr sleep at a time maybe 2-3 hrs per night.

As for my new neighbor who is a realestate broker and a LAWYER! Who bought the unit on the 20th floor directly above me. He picked up the unit from bank due to defaut by previous owner. An Armenian sought after by FBI for Idenity thieft, at least thats what the Feds told me when they wanted my help and let them know when someone was there.

So now the Bad Guy Armenian is gone and no one in the unit above me for at least a year.

Now enter Mr Big Real Estate Lawyer! He ownes at least one other unit in our building that he lives in.

He started the remodel on the unit above us about 3 days after my first surgery and works until 2 or 3 in the morning!

The frist time I was awoke at 2:30am buy hammering, not long but just enough to wake us up!

So I wheelchaired it down to security, who I could not find, so decided to to let him know face to face how I felt about his choice of remodeling hours!

He answerd the door with a paint brush in hand and denied any hammering 'Just Paint'n Going On Round Here' ' What's The Problem With That- Tude" Never once apologizes, but says I should get use to having some one making noise above me!

The next night! Same thing at 12:30, only this time I went up with a bottle of wine as a peace offering and request to let me send some of my construction guys that work for me to help out, at my expence, so he would not have to work such late hours. His responce was "leave now" or he was going to call police and press charges for harrasment!

Please bare with me I'm almost done!

The very next night at 11:00 pm he and some one else starts banging on pipes dropping objects on the concrete floor and all sorts of noises this goes on for over an hour but I was in such pain from my first surgery and from my foot I was enable to do anything about it. I went into surgery the next day

So a few days later after my second surgery it starts all over again! Now I'm going to record his actions and report him to the HOA Board.

That's my delima what type of recording divice should I use? Sound only or Digital camera recorder with sound or any suggestions? I know nothing of such dealings with what will be legal or acceptable in a court of law, If necessary.

Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreicated. If you believe please pray for him.

Thanks,

Gary

[dirt dame 561]

Pray for a lawyer?

Sorry you are having such problems. I don't know what to tell you about that sort of thing.

I think I will say a prayer for you, though.

[paulmbowers 236]

Start with the HOA immediately. This will only get worse. Call the city and see if permits have been pulled. Send a certified letter, and if you have a lawyer friend, have he/she write it.

Bastard.

fn

[Joliet 0]

hummm...20th floor...obnoxious lawer...I know what you guys are thinking....

My suggestion is talk to security when they are around, get his cell number or some way to contact him, and besides recording the noise invite security to your place to hear first hand. Nice to have an actual witness in addition to a recording. When you do the recording get facts like date and time. I would think a video recording would be best. You know the drill, wheel around with the video in your chair, make sure you catch the chair in a mirror on the way to show a clock or something. Good luck, keep us posted. Ken

[dirt dame 561]

hummm...20th floor...obnoxious lawer...I know what you guys are thinking....

[darylhunter 1]

Seems like a recording by itself wouldn't do a lot of good unless the device was calibrated. As was mentioned above, if the recording is backed up by another person who can give testimony as to how loud and bothersome the noise is. It seems like that would help "calibrate" the noise level in the recording.

I thought though that quiet hours generally start at 10 PM in most jurisdictions.

Seems like a call to the local zoning office would help get you pointed in the right direction WRT the rules on construction and rennovation work.

[sandiegoland 0]

Ask him if he would represent you in a dispute with a neighbor...

[Spaugh 1]

call the cops and make a noise complaint. Do it a few times if you have to, then take him to small claims and sue his ass for 5 grand. Then buy another dirt bike.

[sdklr650 0]

i do construction myself, and in san diego hours are 7am-7pm unless you have a special permit to work past 7pm and that is rare to come by in residential area's ( getting that permit ) keep calling the cops and they will hit him with a fine !

[walker1 1]

spaugh love the way you think.....

only one problem I can't even ride the bike i have now...hahaaha

me thinks i'll just take som'r of those little white pills that make me feel good.. what did fakeynam'e call them hobo heroin or some thing like that..

[dirt dame 561]

At least you have little pills that can actually make you feel good.

[RogerTOWM 0]

Use the video camera, try to get witnesses, call security every time, and call police every time. When he says he is going to call police offer him your phone! When using the video try and get things in the video that can help document the time. Such as clock, TV or radio shows, etc. When calling the Police use your phone in an area that has the noise in the background. They record everything and that will help your case. Get an attorney and have an order for him to stop now!

He ain’t much of an attorney if he is doing his own remodeling at night. A successful attorney pays for someone else to do the work. Don’t let him intimidate you. He is violating the law and he knows it. That is why he threatened you with calling the police. He is an A$$ don’t let him get away with this. You have a right to peace and quite in your home after hours.

Conversely is there a window on the 20th floor?

[bikeslut 1]

Walker- you did the right thing by confronting him... get the HOA or whatever involved

I got a call from my HOA when I lived in a condo... my neighbor downstairs was complaining about the late night piano playing

I never played at night... they have the wrong unit... i told them so... they provided me with specific dates and times... hhhmmm... I was not home those nights...

hhhmmmm... Who would be playing the piano at night... OH

BAD KITTY!!!!

[Spaugh 1]

Walker- you did the right thing by confronting him... get the HOA or whatever involved

I got a call from my HOA when I lived in a condo... my neighbor downstairs was complaining about the late night piano playing

I never played at night... they have the wrong unit... i told them so... they provided me with specific dates and times... hhhmmm... I was not home those nights...

hhhmmmm... Who would be playing the piano at night... OH

BAD KITTY!!!!

[Yeti 0]

I agree with everyone who has suggested you call the cops. The 7 to 7 construction law doesn't apply to private homeowners working in their own home. But the 10pm noise curfew does. Get a report number form the police too.

Also, immediately report him to your HOA. There should be something in your CC&R's about noise limitations, construction times, etc.

Finally, do record him using a video camera. As others have suggested, catch the news or clocks, etc on the video to show what time it is.

What you're doing is setting him up for two things, a nuisance lawsuit and action by the HOA. If the HOA is worth anything, they can make his life hell if he doesn't stop. If he tries any kind of harassment agaisnt you, you slap him with a nuisance lawsuit.

I hate lawyers. They're all a bunch of bastids. :i-m_so_happy:

[ADAM_650L 0]

Gary,

Sorry to hear this.

The best thing I can suggest is that you call the police everytime he is doing construction late like that, they can and will issue citations for construction noise.

And as far as him telling you that he is going to call the police and press charges for harassment, he is just trying to bully you into leaving him alone. As a lawyer, he should know that you knocking on your neighbors door and asking them to quite down, especially at an "unreasonable hour," is not harassment. Not to mention, that "harassment" as he is speaking of it is not a criminal matter and the police are not going to do anything about it anyhow.

Shoot me a PM if you have any questions

Best of luck,

Adam

[Chief Gunner 2]

Hopefully things have quieted down so you can mend up....

here's a little something to put a smile on yer face

Here's a truly heartwarming story about the bond formed between a

little 5-year-old girl and some construction workers that will make

you believe that we all can make a difference when we give a child

the gift of our time.

A young family moved into a house, next to a vacant lot.

One day, a Construction crew turned up to start building a house on the empty

lot.

The young family's 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in

all the activity going on next door and spent much of each day

observing the workers.

Eventually the construction crew, all of them 'gems-in-the-rough,'

more or less, adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted

with her, let her sit with them while they had coffee and lunch

breaks, and gave her little jobs to do here and there to make her

feel important.

At the end of the first week, they even presented her with a pay

envelope containing ten dollars. The little girl took this home to

her mother who suggested that she take her ten dollars 'pay'

she'd received to the bank the

next day to start a savings account.

When the girl and her mom got to the bank, the teller was equally

impressed and asked the little girl how she had come by her very own

pay check at such a young age. The little girl proudly replied, 'I

worked last week with a real construction crew building the new house

next door to us.'

'Oh my goodness gracious,' said the teller, 'and will you be working

on the house again this week, too?' The little girl replied, 'I will,

if those assholes at Home Depot ever deliver the f*ckin' sheet

rock...'

Kind of brings a tear to the eye - doesn't it?