Have you built a case against a noisy neighbor?

[SHRED]

I am in the process here in California.

We share a wall of a townhouse. We own and so does he. No HOA.

He bought last summer and has had drunken parties almost every weekend with lots of bass notes pounding through he walls. Many times all night till daybreak. Talking to him has done little.
This was a nice family neighborhood on the coast.

I am slowly building a case with incidence numbers when I call the Sheriffs. The city's code compliance officer will be called. A certified return receipt letter will be mailed to him requesting he stop. We are going to go around to the neighbors and hopefully get them involved.

I have heard he can be sued and leans put on his property if he does not comply with the law.

Anyone have any success building this type of a case?

Thanks.

[Trailrider1951]

1. Here's how to handle the situation:

Go on Amazon.com and order a CD of Wayne Newton's greatest (?) hits. Wait until the offending neighbor has been quiet for an hour or two, so that he's probably asleep. Play that sucker just as loud as it will go. I guarantee that after the second chorus of Danke Shoen he'll be on his knees, begging for relief.

[Hubert Flottz]

13. DAMN...Now that's Mean!

I'd try it about 4 or 5 AM to make sure he was asleep! That(music)on top of a hangover would cure about anyone, of anything! Prolly even run the termites out too!

[BlueJazz]

2. I didn't ...personally ...BUT....a friend of mine did.

He (on advice from an acquaintance who was a private eye) set up a video camera by the wall, where all the noise was coming from, at 3 O'Clock in the morning.

How did he prove it was 3 O'Clock in the morning?
He taped the Television news shows (with the video camera) at the same time.
I didn't get to see the tape but he said it was pretty damning evidence.

[SHRED]

3. I like it

A video camera will help! Thanks.
BTW: what was the outcome?

[0007]

4. To do the job right ya can't spare a dime. It will cost!! Be ready

[SHRED]

5. Any tips?

On "doing the job right"?

Thanks!

[BlueJazz]

6. He (the loud prick) was thrown out of the complex cause he....

..had been warned several times before.
I'm not sure what would happen (of course) in your case but the tape would certainly be "another nail in the coffin". :)

[murray hill farm]

7. just go to the junk yard..and

buy an old gas engine..from lawn mower..or such...no muffler..when he plays the loud music...crank up the loud motor..when he turns off the music, turn off the motor. Wayne Newton music might be annoying, but this sound..the loud motor is unbearable..he will stop. Plus..he doesnt know what it is...what are you doing over there..and thats fun.

[Justpat]

8. My upstairs sob neighbor did the same thing.

hard rock trash for hours in the middle of the night (I get up at
4:30 am to go to work) so everytime she turned off her music,
I'd turn up Handels Messiah as loud as it would go. It took about
a month of her having to listen to Handel, but she now only plays
her music for 20 minutes a day. I can live with that. And I could
not afford a lawyer.

[CornField]

9. Does your town/city have a noise ordinance?

We had problems with a neighbor and were able to use the noise ordinance to force them to stop. In our case, the noise ordinance banned noises of certain volume levels (the police have a noise meter) between the evening, night and early morning hours.

Our town also has several nuisance ordinances on the books. We and our neighbors were able to file against the neighbor based on those laws as well.

It's frustrating... good luck!

Oh, BTW, if you are going to use video, be sure and check with your local police department to determine what you can film. For us, we could only film on our own property (couldn't have the neighbor's property, the street, etc. even in the background of the shot.

[mhr]

10. Yes - Downstairs Neighbor And Next Door Kids

First - Asked nicely
Second - Asked not so nicely
Third - Confronted very unnicely
Fourth - Called local security officer several times
Fifth - Called local police several times

The message seems to have finally settled in.

[bunkerbuster1]

11. Like mhr said, plus

try to get some other neighbors on your side. If you go through channels, it's best not to sound like one nut with an axe to grind.

So, if there are any others who are annoyed by this behavior, enlist their help and/or support, even if it's just to vouch for what you've described.

It might wind up becoming a good opportunity to get to know your fellow town-homers.

[mhr]

12. Yes - I Have Alliances With Several Neighbors And We Back Each

Other up in our drive to keep the neighborhood quiet and peaceful.

So far we have been pretty successful.

It is a constant fight though.

[seabeyond]

14. shit..........i have a drug dealer across the street

cops everyone know them. they are they name in town, but the black sheep

been trying to build a case since i moved in 6 years ago. tried really hard when they blocked off our neighborhood and had swat team in our back yard

yup