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Share your condo townhouse noise experiences...

Mia_
20 years ago

I would like to know from those of you who have lived in a condo townhouse (nobody lives above or below you, but they live beside you) what the noise issues are regarding next door neighbors. Can you hear through the walls, like muffled conversations, music, tv, banging cabinets, slamming doors, etc.? Is there a lack of privacy?

I live in a house now, but have been thinking for a little while about looking into buying a condo townhouse because I wouldn't have to worry about all the outdoor maintenance issues and also because now I live next to a loudmouth problematic neighbor. However, if I am probably going to be able to hear next door neighbors through the walls in a townhouse, I'll pass because I don't think I'd be happy with noise from neighbors infringing upon my personal space.

Thanks for any comments.

Comments (86)

  • paula1056
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Those are some good observations, condoperson. I'll admit I've never owned a condo, but many of the same things apply to apartments, about which I'm all-too-familiar.

    What gets me is just how oblivious some people can be about how their loud, disruptive activities affect those next to them. Or maybe they're fully aware, but just don't care in the least. Loud stereos, with POUNDING bass (people are IN LOVE with bass these days!); crowded, noisy parties, spilling out into the common areas, and going all night; kids lighting firecrackers in the hallway; etc., etc. What exactly is going through their heads?? They're like animals, or worse.

    And you people that absolutely can't eat something unless it's seared to a fare-thee-well on an outdoor barbecue, and aren't the least bit concerned about filling my home with charcoal smoke to do it... you really need to move into a house!

    There, I feel better now.

  • Condoperson
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Paula, I agree with you 100%. Everyone seemingly wants to do their "own thing" regardless of how doing their "own thing" might infringe on someone else's turf.

    Pardon the pun, but I do have a "beef" with barbecuing too. The fumes from barbecuing are a nuisance, when you live in a condo. I do not eat grilled food as it as been shown to cause cancer.

    As of yet, I have not experienced firecrackers in a hallway. Something to look forward to!!!!!!

  • neoadorable
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i think if i wrote my views on what to do with noisy "people" explicitly there'd be trouble...anyway, spent the last year suffering from noise abuse, and it's HORRIBLE. like people here said, nothing's worse than having no home to go to (while still paying for one...).

    what to do? you tell me.

  • radagast
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think the lesson is that rotten neighbors make for a rotten home life, and that there are a lost of stupid, annoying people out there. I am still stuck in an apartment (and if you think condos for $200,000 are nuts, come on down to Maryland, where we sell them for $270,000), and I've had my share of worthless neighbors... it can be very frustrating. What's really annoying is if the HOA doesn't do anything in a condo environment; you'd think they'd at least do their job since that's why they are there! Ugh...

  • pdg777
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Although I really like my townhouse, it is a "country" ghetto. However, I can say that I have been blessed to live in the older section, which is quieter. It was built in the early '80s, but there is very little noise coming from the shared walls. Just across the street in the older section is worlds apart! I understand that there is open air drug dealing, armed robberies, excessive loitering. Strange part is, they are the newer, larger, more expensive townhomes. I understand from my neighbors that it has been this way for 12 years.

  • radagast
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's the problem - it is getting harder and harder for decent folks to be able to afford life outside the ghetto. Of course, the ghetto-people make plenty of money selling drugs, so escaping them is nearly impossible.

  • Mia_
    Original Author
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, it's me again, and the loudmouth neighbor that I posted about still lives next door to me. Her house was going up for foreclosure three times so far, and she somehow managed to save the house....good for her. It's frustrating because everyone else on this street is decent and quiet, except for her and her little boy who she screams and yells at all the time. It sounds as if she is yelling inside my house, that's how piercing her voice is. On three occasions, when I was outside minding my own business last year, she made negative comments loudly in my direction to her little boy.

    I never liked winter, but it has kept this loud neighbor indoors and the noise has been bearable. But now that spring has arrived, she is bringing her loud, screaming voice outside. Her son cries and screams in response to her...I feel sorry for him. I am not looking forward to warm weather...I've never in my life felt this way.

    Why, of all the quiet neighbors on this street, did I end up next door to the one loud neighbor? And her house is so close to mine so that there's no privacy and no buffer from the noise. I just don't think I can deal with another spring and summer living next door to this neighbor. She has no respect for other people's property, like she owns the whole neighborhood. She's a bully type of person, too, as I found out a few years ago when I tried to talk to her in a friendly way about keeping her dog off my property.

    I wish I could afford a house with lots of land between my house and next door neighbors' houses...then you have a buffer for noise. With houses so close together, it can be really awful when you have a crappy neighbor.

  • ranina
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I rent a townhouse. I don't own anything yet. One thing I find amazing is that many who have posted here don't present their dissatisfactions to their neighbors within a reasonable period of time. I am a very private, non-confrontational person, but I don't let people walk over me or abuse me.

    I have lived in a rented townhome for 6 years. One of the reasons I haven't had many problems is that I let my
    neighbors know when they bother me enough.

    I have been lucky, so far. Several people have moved in to either side of me. Invariably, they all had to have a party weekend when they moved in. It never fails that on the Sunday evening after they move in I have to knock on their door and ask them to turn it all down. I know that it's a happy occasion for them, just like it was for me, so I wait a couple of days before I explain to them that the walls are paper thin and their bass is shaking my entire house.

    Just do it. Talk to them. Sometimes you will be surprised at what you can accomplish.

    I have just been approved for a mortgage, but can't afford enough to buy a single-family home in any neighborhood I want to live in because prices have become so obscenely high. Although I thought my loan limit was quite nice, I can only afford a townhouse or condo in any area I would like to live in. Based on what I'm hearing here and my own suppositions, I am very afraid to proceed.

    I know that many people are stupid and care about nothing other than themselves. Perhaps that's the most frightening and disheartening thing of all when considering community living.

    I'll proceed with caution. - Ranina

  • angel_037
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I live in rowhome and have cement walls between neighbors and yet hear there t.v, radio, talking, etc... They like to blare there music and have partys and there adults with 3 children that are young. They have no respect for others nor for themselves. There yard looks like a junkyard and could use a overhaul. If I could go back to apartment living, I would in a heartbeat. No other houses around that are in our budget. well, good luck. Kim

  • dbrookel
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I lived in a two bedroom condo for almost 2 years It was built in 1970 and for the first year I had no problems with noise. Occasionally I'd hear the neighbors stereo when they had guests over. But the neighbors on both sides were great about inviting me over when they had guests or letting me know ahead of time that they would be having company and to let them know if it got to loud.
    The second year the neighbor in the one bedroom next to me moved out and this young kid moved in I think he was about 21. He had two huge white pit bulls that he'd just let out all the time without checking to see if anyone elses dogs where outside...his dogs were the only ones in the building that would attack. The rest of our dogs played together often. He'd blast his music and after about a month his girlfriend pretty much moved in with him. Now I had 2 parking spaces b/c I had a two bedroom and most of the time would get home from work to find that he, his gf, and their friends had filled the spaces(the condo was on the side of a mountain so parking was limited) and I'd have to park down the street. I did let the landlord know about this and he talked to them. I also spotted a pot plant growing on their back porch but was trying not to cause problems so I didn't say anything. The worst though was after the gf moved in they had put their headboard against the wall that seperated our bedroom and everynight around three am they'd start rocking in.....that in itself I probably could have ignored but I guess they left their dogs in the room with them because as soon as that headboard started hitting the walls the dogs would start barking and not stop til they did. I'd bang on the walls and talked to them a couple of times but it didn't help. Finally one night I woke up to hear them threatening each other and could see from my porch that one of them had a baseball bat and the other a knife so I called the sherriff's office needless to say they were out of there within a week after that. The problems only lasted for a month or two and the people that moved in after that were extremely quiet and we were back to peaceful living again. I'd move into a condo like that again in a heart beat, I'd just check out the neighbors ahead of time and make sure that the landlord doesn't rent to college students or younger kids.

  • Mia_
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love reading all of your responses to my original post. Geeze, there are a lot of inconsiderate people in this world...wish we could house them all in one place and put the law-abiding, respectful, considerate, quieter people in another place...only in my dreams!

    I'm still dying to sell this house because of issues with the house and with the awful next door neighbor (but I don't think I want to go back to condo living...too close for comfort). My next door neighbor's house went up for foreclosure for the 5th time with an actual sale date set by the court, but the foreclosure was cancelled at the last minute. She filed for bankruptcy, so somehow she is protected. Of course, if the forecloseure went through, I wouldn't know what I would get for neighbors, and they could end up being worse than this one. Anyway, every day she yells at her boy, and sometimes it sounds like she is actually inside my house. One night she yelled at him because he wanted her to read the same story before bedtime as the night before, but she refused to read him the same story. Then she yelled at him that if he didn't get up off the floor, she would put him in her bed, and she yelled "and you know what that means!" Okay this remark really concerns me. Complaining to the dept of families and children is like complaining to a wall. Last week her boy climbed my backyard fence and was hovering over part of my backyard...he could get hurt! Her boy yells just like she does. Like mother, like son...she brought him up this way. Poor kid. I wish I could give him a hug because she never consoles him or plays with him.

    Thank goodness my other next door neighbors are great, but they installed a pool this summer, and it's right next to my property line...they used their pool every day even when it rained. You know how loud people can get when playing around in their pools? But the pool use is only for the summer, so I'll have to deal with it. At least they invited me to go in their pool...they really are nice people!

    As alway, my advice is: if you can afford it, buy a house with as much land as possible between your house and your neighbors' houses. I don't like to feel as though my neighbors are right on top of me, and that's how it feels here where I live. I'm the type of person who loves land and loves beautiful views...I'll have to win the lottery.

    Hopefully, there's a light at the end of the tunnel for all of us going through neighbor problems.

  • bobbyb1980
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I purchased a Condo In April and started to do some remodeling. I recently put in hardwood floors in my condo, which is on the second floor. I read the By-laws, and I checked with the President of the association before I did it. She said that I could do Pergo, Hardwood, or Wall-to-Wall Carpeting or even all tiles. The By laws state the floor is ready for any type of floor covering. My Neighbor below me is complaining that I am walking too much, and keeps bothering me to be considerate and walk quieter or not to walk. This Past weekend my Aunt and Uncle cam to visit and we were in the Condo for not even 15 min because we just stopped in to get a few things and go to my parents house and he is already ringing my doorbell at 2:30 in the afternoon that I am making too much noise form walking. The president of the association told me I am within my rights and that I should not have to worry. But He keeps bothering me about it. What do you all think I should do?
    He tries to make a lot of noise but it does not bother me. Like playing his Music with a lot of bass at night, and leaving the water running in the bathroom, and opening and closing his closet doors. He basically complains every time he hears a creak in the floor. I have never complained to him once yet. Also the unit I purchased was Vacant for almost 9 months before I purchased it.

  • silvertrine_yahoo_com
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    For the person who suggested complaining. Are you supposed to complain about people having normal conversations? I dont think you can grasp how poor the noise transmission is in some places.
    A lot of people get assurances about the noise isolation. Move in before their neighbors in a new complex and then find out they're in a living hell where they can hear every little noise on either side of them.
    You confront the builder and they say 'we built it to spec'. You talk to the architect and they say 'its up to code'. You find out that your corrupt locality omitted the basic noise code of the International Building Code.
    Then what? Are you supposed to complain about normal human activity? Can you whisper in your own home please?

    No you're stuck. Luckily for me I have wealthy parents and can dump this piece of crap and can live somewhere else while I wait to sell it. I really feel for people who sign 30 year leases on places like this and literally go insane because they have no privacy.
    The people who design these places and knowingly make them uninhabitable to save themselves a few thousand bucks on materials are evil, there is no other way to describe them.

  • bill_h
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i`ve never heard a sound. i share a wall, and a floor, with neighbors

  • lubna_grow
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am now in a condo and just came out of a nightmare landlady situation,funny thing is above me is someone that walks as loud as my previous landlady and you just know when someone is lonely,they make all out effort to make noise and disturb others. The person also has a spring bed that squeaks so loud,i wonder if they know we can hear,luckily its not a couple i would hate to hear that bed during a sex session.
    I would never suggest purchasing a condo to anyone.Now that i know what we can hear from others,I am aware of the level of noise we make and try to not disturb others.

  • markinca
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I moved into a condo in July last year, and for the first couple of months, it was great. I only share walls (master br/2nd br) with another condo, and I have no upstairs/downstairs neighbors, so everything was really quiet. But then after September, the parents in the condo next door thought it would be a great idea for their kid to take up drums. Then they thought it would be an even better idea to put a drum set in his bedroom (which shares a wall with my 2nd bedroom).

    I don't know if you're familiar with drums, but they're intolerably loud. While he was drumming, I literally could not go anywhere in my condo and not hear it. I went over there to talk about it and the parents first promised to only have the kid play during specific daytime hours while they found a way to soften the noise. Well, a month later, the noise was still loud, and they apparently had no intention of getting the noise level down.

    So I went over there again and said this wasn't going to work, and if I had to go to the HOA/police/etc then that's what I was going to do. Finally the father went out and bought the kid drum-mute pads for his drum set so that now I can still hear it, but only if I really strain to hear it, and it's at least at a tolerable level.

    Yesterday was a holiday (MLK), and the parents I guess still went to work, but I had the day off. The kid's in high school and he had the day off, and I guess he assumed I didn't, since he took the pads off and started banging away again. I pounded on his wall a couple times, and that stupid kid finally put the pads back on. Idiot.

    I just don't understand the common sense of people. How selfish can you be to think that moving a drum set into a condo/apartment type of setting would be a good idea? I mean, seriously. I enjoy listening to music and playing video games, but I do everything I can to make sure I'm not bothering anyone, and in my 10 years of apartment/condo living I have never had a noise complaint filed against me. Is it that hard for people to be considerate of others?

  • caroleboyer79_hotmail_com
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have neighbours from Hell on both sides of my condo townhouse, both sides are musicians & are in bands, I have to put up with their practising and playing loud music on a daily basis, day & night. The one side is a bass guitarist, has a recording studio in his basement, & I have to constantly endure the vibration from his bass, which hurts my ears, makes my ears hurt,my heart race and gives me a headache.I have anxiety attacks every time I have to be in the house, I have complained to my condo management company, they will do nothing, just tell me to call the bylaw & the police, which I do regularly, the police do not want to come out, & the bylaw say to call the police, so what do I do. I would love to move out, but cannot afford to move anywhere else around here, so would have to move further away from my job of the last eighteen years. By the way, I have been putting up with the noise & vibration from the one side for over ten years, i deserve a medal, he is very ignorant,& smirks every time I see him, his girlfriend is as bad & they have a young son, who has his friends help him to throw stones & rocks at my windows & doors.The other side the guy is retired now & has two sons between 18 & 21, they are as bad & will not stop, I am sure that they are trying to get me out,I have been living here for 21 years now, and they will not quit. The one side comes in every weekend from the bar on Fridays & Saturdays around 2.30am to 3am, and blasts his music & has his bass turned up, until after 6am the next day, so consequently I am up all night until they decide to go to bed.
    I would gladly move, if I had the money to move to another place,I am being forced out, & it is not fair, it is very depressing and is affecting my health.
    I live in Burlington Ontario Canada, & would give anything to have decent neighbours, even on one side!

  • lucky_12
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I can almost guarantee you that if the person that shares a wall with you isn�t noisy now, sooner or later a new owner, guest, or renter of that unit will make noise that will bother you. And if you�re used to living in a single family home, it�s a matter of when not if.

  • awshuckz_yahoo_com
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I bought a condo in a new building on the bottom floor. At the time I moved in I did not have anyone living above me. It was fantastic! About 3 months after I moved in, someone moved into the unit above me. They installed hardwood floors in their unit and have a young boy around 12 years old. Whenever they are home the best I can hope for is just footsteps. It seems to be a combination of banging, children running, along with wrestling, and other noises. Unfortunately these parents don't have a good set of house rules for their kid. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to work early in the morning. Sometimes these people will walk around till later in the night when there kid is in a deep sleep and then do the deed. I can hear moaning and the bed creaking. I have gone up before and mentioned that I can hear every little noise and that at times it can get pretty loud. They apologized, but it hasn't done much to quell the noise. Gonna need to get myself some sleeping pills cause I can't work if I can't sleep!!! I hope KARMA is real so these people can get a taste!!! Anyways good luck to the rest of you out there dealing with a similar problem.

  • jdusa1_yahoo_com
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i moved into a quiet condo in 2006. the first year was great. adult neighbors. quiet people. working schedules that were similar.

    Then one of the neighbors next door moved. a family of 4 foreigners moved in-2 adults and 2 boys ages 6 and 9. the only reason that i point out that they are foreigners is because of the dynamics that resulted from them moving in. first the woman was home all day and the father did not always stay with the wife and kids at night. the boys stomp and wrestle tirelessly. she -the mother doesnt or cant control them. they scream and shriek. i find out later that their bedroom is the master bedroom. the parents took the second bedroom so the boys are right on my wall wrestling all night. and they have access to a master bath door which they slam all the time. i have tried asking them to cool it and the mother told me in broken english that they werent that noisy. perhaps to a person from egypt they arent that noisy. they often have family member's children for stay overs and the noise is even worse. this tells me that some other condo or apartment community has the same issue that i have with the other family members.

    also despite the boys going to school, this family never retires for sleep until 11pm. and the mother will regularly vaccuum around 10pm.

    i realize they have no concept of a 1200 sq ft condo not being for a family. i am sure they purchased it at a high interest rate which means they will never leave even if they wanted to since they cant with only about $10 of each mortgage pmt going to the principal.

    i am now further convinced they have no concept of the HOA rules either as they had a baby last year and now are in violation of the 4 people rule for our condos.

    its a bad market right now and i dont want to hurt anyone, but i didnt move here to live next to a family of five!

    i am in a livng hell as the bad market also keeps me from selling an moving!

    never buy a condo! never! dont do it! realtors dont give a sht who they are selling to and will stick anyone next to you. they are protected by that federal rule that doesnt allow you to ask what kind of people live next door.

    as a result you are screwed and suffer eternally.

    sincerely yours,

    Wanting to Die

  • marcieas_yahoo_com
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I bought my semi-detatched house 10 years ago. I never heard the neighbors on the other side of the shared wall. This house was built in 1926 and is a stick built house. No insulation.

    Then things changed. The owners broke up, they both moved out and the property remained empty for more than four years.

    About a year ago, they started to make repairs on the house in preparation for the owner's stepson to move in with his girlfriend and THREE kids ages 4, 2, and 6 months. Bad things happened even before they moved in 7 months ago. First, they left a litter box with cat crap in my driveway one day. I was really happy about that. Then I heard a neighborhood rumor that the house was being used as a crack house.

    Then they moved in. The second night they were there they have 1/2 dozen kids running in and out of the house screaming and pounding on the floors. My kitchen cabinet doors were rattling along with the grates on my stove. The next weekend the couple argued all weekend. She was yelling at him because he didn't go to work for two days because he stayed home to smoke crack. I could hear their elevated conversations and arguments clear as day.

    It has been constant noise since then. I have been completely embarrassed when company was here because we actually had conversations interrupted by the neighbor noise. Yelling, screaming, and running on the floor which drives me absolutely insane, have been a constant. I have moved out of my living room and now seek refuge on my second floor. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THAT I CAN DO LEGALLY!!!

    I have gutted my living room and kitchen (BRAND NEW KITCHEN I FINISHED A YEAR AGO) walls in an attempt to sound proof and fireproof the walls. I discovered that my nighbor has 1/8' plywood in one section of our shared wall. AND THIS IS MY PROBLEM!!! Can't move and can't sell. I am screwed.

    DO NOT DO IT unless you have physically tested and witnessed the soundproofing yourself.

  • Karen_yahoo_com
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I own and live in a condo. The bylaws state that no owner should rent or lease a condo. The women I share a wall with rents the condo from her son. Other owners have wanted to rent their condos and are threatened with a five hundred dollar fine for each month they rent it. This women has been there to close to seven years. She slams doors constantly, and runs washers and dryers for hours and hours day after day. The owners running the association told me there are no noise ordiances in our association. In addition the nine owners that are running our association decided about six years ago that they are not going to pay their dues because they are doing enough and don't receive a 401 K plan for running the place. Alot of owners don't pick up after their dogs. The president of our association sprays orange paint around it. That is the way the solve issues.

  • grice
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh thank heaven I found this post!I was begining to believe I was the only one being tormented by inconsiderate neighbors.Let me give a little background. I lived in an apartment bldg that was over 100+years old for 15 years.I loved the place! Prior to that I'd lived in apts before so I know&knew I'd have to expect&accept a bit of noise from my neighbors(dwnstairs&couple in unit next to me). I didn't go in blind. For the first 3 or 4 years nothing too terribly noisy went on.Eventually I'd hear the stereo from the guys dwnstairs but it was a once&awhile thing. The people dwnstairs moved&so did the couple living next door to me. I had no one below or next to me for the next year&a half. It was pure joy!!Then a couple moved in dwnstairs with their 3 kids.I thought I was in for h&ll.Much to my surprise though I didn't hear a peep out of them.That couple stayed about a year or so&then moved out.Actually they had to move because their kids were next door(in bldg connected to the one I lived in)alone&started a kitchen fire trying to make something to eat. Luckily no one was injured. The 6 units in my bldg weren't damaged.The 6 units adjacent to us were heavily damaged so they were a complete loss.Anyway,in 2006 I got a new dwnstairs neighbor.I didn't hear or see her move in.In fact I didn't know she was there until a visiting friend told me he heard gospel music coming from the unit below mine. "Gospel music?That has to be a good sign" I thought to myself.Well that woman went from gospel to hip hop in no time flat.Now it wasn't the music choice that bothered me it was the volume&the hours in which she played the music.Someone gave her a stereo that had the most powerful bass I've ever heard in my life.She'd crank the volume&bass up whenever the urge struck her.Didn't matter if it was 3am,6am,or 11pm at night(or anytime in between).I went&knocked on her door one night to complain.I explained I didn't have a right to tell her how to conduct herself in her home but her loud music was disturbing me(especially when played after 11pm or early in the am).She apologized politely,promised it wouldn't happen again,and turned it off.Problem solved right?WRONG!! over the course of the next four years the music got louder&louder and played for longer periods of time.I complained to the landlord each&every time.Each time he'd speak to the woman,she'd apologize&stop for awhile.Awhile being the key word here because she'd always go back to playing that stereo on full blast whenever she wanted.December 2009 I saw her in the hall&said hello.I also thanked her for being so 'polite&kind'by not having the music playing as loudly as it had in the past&for stopping at 11pm.Just as I'm climbing the stairs to go to my home she tells me her 16 year old daughter was moving in soon. I knew that was the beginging of the end. Daughter moved in two days later(Dec21,2009).At 12:45 am I heard(and felt)that powerful bass coming from the woman's stereo. I called dwn stairs to complain but the woman wouldn't answer the phone. A few seconds later my telephone rang.It was the daughter calling from her cell to ask who had called.I asked to speak to her mother.I told the mother the music was too loud&it was too late to have it at that level. She said it was her daughter&she didn't know if she could get her to turn it down.I told the woman I'd call the police if it didn't stop. I felt horrible for threatening that but I'd put up with this for 6 years off&on. The music stopped......for 10-15 mins.Then it came back on louder coupled with loud bangs on the walls and something banging their ceilings(my floors). I called my landlord(figured why should he be allowed to sleep if I couldn't. He said he'd speak with her.He called back& said he'd spoken with her and she'd turn it off. She did,for a few minutes then it came back,loudly,and they began banging on their walls&ceiling. I got fed up&called the police.They came and heard nothing because(as is often the case)the neighbor had turned everything off when the police car pulled up. The officers left&the noise,and loud swearing at me,began all over again.I called landlord again&told him I had phoned the law.He became very angry&I was out of line.He accused me of engaing in "overkil". After having complained for on&off over the course of 4 years to him I knew this was the last straw.I told the landlord I felt well within my rights to call on the law since he wasn't able to effectively handle this situation.I told him that I'd be forwarding my notice in the not so distant future. I took my time looking for another place.I carefully(so I thought)checked everything out about each and every place I looked at.Afterall I didn't want to get into the same hellish situation I was leaving.My former landlord didn't think I was serious about moving. When I sent my notice he came to my home asking me to stay.He told me had he known I was being bothered so much by the noise he'd have evicted the woman. I told him that I didn't want anyone being evicted on my behalf(don't want that on my conscience)but wished he'd have been able to handle the situation. Well 8 months later I found a condo I liked a lot&decided to lease it. My thinking was since all but two of the condos in the bldg were owner inhabited I'd not face the same problems I'd encounter at my previous apartment(don't know what made me think that though). So after 15 years in a home I'd come to love dearly I moved out. I settled into my new condo thinking I'd found a little piece of heaven. I had three wonderful months(more or less)of bliss here.One day in January I was in my kithcen when I heard loud voices coming from the kitchen next door. I knew what it meant but was hoping I was wrong. A couple of weeks later my new next door neighbors moved in. After they'd unloaded the last batch of their stuff I heard loud talking outside in the parking lot(my 'garden style' second floor condo overlooks the parking lot)and running up&down the stairs out in the hall. I didn't say anything nor did I let it bother me too much.I figured the young couple needed time to settle in&time to explain to their friends/family that they'd only bought a unit in a communal setting instead of the entire building&parking lot.About an hour later I heard an even louder commoction outside.I look out of my bedroom window&see at least 2 dozen men lauging&talking with the doors of their cars wide open&stereos on full blast. Again,I figured this is just a fluke.I was wrong. My new neighbors,who incidently are very nice friendly people,started renovating their condo apartment 2 weeks after they moved in and didn't stop until just a week or so ago. I understand everyone wants as nice a home as possible&they've a right to it but I don't think anyone has a right to run power tools until 10-11pm at night especially in a condo/apartment with paper thin walls&floors. That wasn't the worst of it though. The woman next door is all of 5'5-5'7 and can't weigh more than 110lbs soaking wet yet walks like she's about 770lbs. Hearing her stomp through her condo reminds me of those old movies where Godzilla's storming Toyoko(sp). To make matters worse the couple decided to take up every inch of carpet in their unit despite the fact that the bylaws clearly state the units(especially upstairs units)cannot have hard flooring surfaces throughout. They got around this by telling our resident live in board member that they were pulling the carpet up with plans to put Pergo in the entrance of their home&carpet down the halls&bedrooms.Well they didn't do that. Now I have to constantly hear the wife stomp(not walk but HARD STOMPING) throughout her condo! She does this from the moment she wakes to the time she turns in for the night.If she's working this starts at 7:00am. When she comes in it goes until at least 1-2am. The husband is quiet for the most part,well aside from his nightly 12:30am-1:30am showers. I only mention the showering because our pipes rattle/bang when the hot water is turned on. When my neighbors shower I'd swear someone was in my bathroom taking a shower.The wife also can't simply put anything down or away in the closet.Oh no!She has to throw things against the wall and slam her doors with all her might. I know this because I went next door one night around 10ish&(very politely)to ask that they stop banging or slamming their doors as it was making tons of noise in my home.First they claimed not to know what I was talking about.Then,after listening to me try&explain it for about 10mins,the wife tells me it's not her husband it's her("He's quiet.I'm the loud one" she said) I told them that I've no right to tell them how to live in their home but couldn't be told I had to listn to noise,that I'm not making,in mine.They laughed,agreed,&apologized. Things quieted dwn for awhile then the let loose again.When it started again it sounded as though it was louder&being done on purpose. I even heard the wife(through our paper thin bathroom wall)say "F**k him!We live here!" Fast forward to the Sat before this Halloween. I'm sitting in my spare bedroom at my desk on the pc when I hear a lot of heels hitting the floor next door.I'd asked weeks before about the hard flooring next door but was assured they had carpeting. I knew they didn't but didn't press it(I didn't want to be labled our building's male Gladys Kravitz). This particular Saturday the heels started around 6:00ish&continued for an hour or so before they stopped.But they did stop thank goodness. Shortly after 7pm they started again only this time they'd multiplied.It sounded like a herd of cattle had been brought in. I,trying to keep in mind that I'm in communial living&everyone has a right to enjoy their home,put headphones on&started listening to music. I had the volume pretty loud trying to drown out the noise but I could still hear very loud banging on the walls&doors slamming over the music coming from my headphones. I decided to give up on the music&go watch tv.I figured I'd turn the volume up and drown out the heels,door slams,wall banging,and talking/yelling coming in. That didn't work for 2 reasons.(1)My tv was up so loud that it got on my nerves lol(2)I felt bad for subjecting my downstairs neighbors to my noise. So I turned the volume down&decided I push on through it.Afterall they couldn't keep it up much longer.I was wrong again. The group spilled out into the hallway. There was laughing,stomping,and yelling out in the hall&outside my bedroom window. That was enough for me.I called the board member to complain.She said it was getting to her too&that she'd ask them to keep it dwn&tell them to stop the hard walking/stomping because it was disturbing me&her(they live directly above her).That did the trick for 20 or so mins but they started again. So I decided I'd say nothing but I'd soon have to start looking for another place to live.A little while later I hear all the partying out in the hallway again. I open my door to see what's going on&I see the board member talking to the woman next door to me.She was telling her that the noise was out of hand&it had to stop. Before I could get back inside my home my neighbor(the board member from dwnstairs)asked me to go to the local MickeyDs with her. I thought she was attempting to get me out of the house because she knew I was upset.I said as much to her but she said she was the one who wanted to get away from the noise.It had gotten to her to. After that incident a letter was sent to the offending neighbor's via the association. As was the case before things settled dwn for a few weeks. That takes me to last night. I'm again sitting at my desk when I hear what sounds like someone trying to break down my wall. In addition there's several pairs of hard shoe soles clapping back&fourth on the floor. I,having been told that noise must cease or at least settle to a reasonable level after 9pm, grinned&did my best to bear it. When the noise hadn't subsided/settled by 9:15 I went next door. My neighbor opened the door&I told him I couldn't,wouldn't actually,take anymore of the banging on my walls.He tells me,with a smile,that the visititing kids must be the ones slamming into the walls. I told him I didn't care who it was I just wanted it to stop.Once again I told him I recognize I can't conduct affairs inside his home but pointed out that he couldn't continue to disturb the peace&quiet I've a right to. Long story short(too late I know)I had to resort to calling the police. I also emailed my landlord telling her I'd have to move.I'm blessed enough to have the most fantastic landlord in the world!She telephoned this morning with an offer to have my place sound conditioned. I told her repeatedly I didn't want her to have to bear that kind of expense(she&her husband are parents to two small children)but she insisted.I then told her I'd pay for half the work but she'd have none of that.
    So that's my long drawn out story. If given the choice I'd not recommend condo living to anyone. Apartments are no better(after all a condo is just a glorified apartment to my way of thinking)but at least in an apartment all are renters&subject to management. Condos are owned by the individuals. Unfortunately some who buy think that ownership gives them the right to let the good times roll no matter who may be infringed upon or disturbed.
    I can't understand why the concept of consideration&decency is such a foreign thing to some. I've a rule that I've always lived by:If I wouldn't want it done to me I'll not do it to anyone else.If I know I live in a place that isn't properly or sufficiently sound conditioned and I know sound travels then I'm going to make every effort I can not to make excess noise. My gosh I'm so worried about disturbing others that I turn the volume on my tv down every night at 11pm&use closed captioning!!I'm reading my entertainment lol&tipping around my carpeted home just to make sure I don't disturb those dwnstairs or next door to me.Do I like living like that?Absolutely not!! I do it out consideration.It'd be nice to get a bit of consideration thrown my way.
    Friendly advice to any who are looking to rent or buy an apartment or condo,do as much research as you can before signing anything. If possible try to visit at different times of the day&evening.You may go to the potenital place and find it blissfully quiet(as I did during my many daytime visits to my current home). Trouble is most,or all of the residents may be out for the day&that may account for the peace&quiet. If there a people next door to the unit you're considering ask if it's possible to have a radio/stereo played(loudly)from that unit.This will give you a chance to gauge how loudly the noise is when it reaches your perspective new home.
    Ask plenty of questions before signing a lease please.It may sound silly but doing so will help you avoid undue hell and torment from inconsiderate people.
    I'll post again after I have the place sound conditioned(if I do)and let you all know how that worked out.
    Thanks so much for letting me rant.I've had no one to talk to about this.Most people don't understand how trying it can be. The few times I do attempt to tell someone about this the first thing they say is "Well you have to expect some noise." That's so very true.I don't mind&do expect some(reasonable)noise.What I'm putting up with isn't reasonable and shouldn't be something I should have to put up with.At least I don't think it is.
    (again I'm deeply sorry this is so dang long lol)

  • kathydaffy
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've lived/owned a condo since I was in my late 20's and decided five months ago to leave a large complex in a busy area and relocate to a small town duplex unit. I figured that I'd be trading "dorm-like" living (I was on the third floor but you could hear cabinets slamming, people clomping up and down stairs, etc.). I was wrong! A townhouse seemed perfect but I've discovered it's all about WHO your one neighbor is. One neighbor who is awful can be worse than five or six decent ones. I now have a horrible couple who play their stereo/TV/woofer against the common wall at all hours (despite my asking them nicely to turn down the bass), who literally sound like a herd of elephants when they run around on wood floors, and let their dogs bark constantly. They do not believe condo rules apply to them. So...while I don't miss the noise at my old "dorm" condo a townhouse has proven to be not much better. Yes, you only have one neighbor but that neighbor could be the people next to us. We're thinking about putting up QuietRock to stop the thumping bass and crashing into the walls but it was not what I expected. Sorry - just need to vent. I personally liked my three shared walls at the "dorm" better than I do the one which I share with the awful people next door. We had hoped to buy a house and although I know you can have bad neighbors with a house there isn't that dreaded shared wall. The HOA can't do much due to noise ordinances but both my boyfriend and I are starting to dream about putting speakers against the shared wall and doing jumping jacks wherever we can to show the idiots next door how loud they are. We've refrained because that's not who we are but the fact that my laid-back boyfriend (who was not bothered by five/six neighbors) is ready to do whatever it takes to piss these people off speaks volumes. They slam the door so loud that it wakes him and he sleeps like a log. I'd say do a "test run" with sounds but when I looked at the place the wife was more than pleasant. The minute we moved she turned into a witch. Pluses and minuses for everything but in the three months we've been in the townhouse we are both at our wit's end.

  • blue_velvet_7
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    To kathydaffy - You have to move as soon as possible. It will not get better, it will get worse. It will drive you absolutely crazy to the point that you will not be able stand being home and will listen to every little sound they make, maybe even wait for it to happen, because you know it will. It will damage you mentally and physically (lack of sleep, etc.) The same thing happened to me, I waited for things to get better for a long time, so that maybe my neighbors come to their senses and realize there are other people living at the other side of the wall. Finally I gave up and moved, and never regret it. BUT beware - and you were right - it takes only ONE bad neighbor to make your life absolute hell, and unfortunately there is one almost everywhere you go. Good luck to you!

  • wegotout55
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We just stumbled onto this forum and are happy to see we are not alone. We wonder what became of Mia if she ended up moving into a condo. Hope she didn't. Mia you have no idea how good you have it! It's one thing to have problem neighbors outside your residence, but giving up your PRIVACY AND PEACE OF MIND INSIDE your own residence is beyond words. We had a townhouse-an end unit. our only neighbor was one woman that we shared a long wall with-a wall that included all of the rooms in our place our-bathroom, bedrooms, etc. Everything of course was fine when we first moved in. We never heard the neighbor, wouldn't even know when she was home. Then about 6 months after we moved in, everything changed. For some reason we became the woman's target. She began banging repeatedly in response to our movements. She'd bang loudly on the walls, stomp repeatedly whether we were quiet or doing normal activities. And whoever said on this forum to tell the offender that they are disturbing you was so totally wrong. We did that and boy was it a mistake, as the noise only intensified when she was confronted. You know the type of people that once they find out something bothers you or is a weakness, they prey on it. She knew every room we were in at all times, if we took a shower, she'd be right there banging on the walls, if we were in our bedroom, she'd tap on the wall as if to constantly let us know she was there. We were devastated to learn that she had been monitoring our every move from the time we moved in and wondered why she decided to reveal it to us at that point. Though my wife and I were both affected, it really took its toll on my wife. HOA was absolutely useless. Having them come into our place and stand to listen to her terrorizing us was pointless, as she always knew who was in our place, what we were doing at all times, so obviously she wasn't going to make a sound when HOA was there. We ended up moving to a small cottage and it was the best thing we could have done. We will NEVER EVER share walls with anyone All we can say is don't do the condo/townhouse thing or anything where you have to share walls with other people! That period of time was one of the darkest in our lives. No one took us seriously and that only intensified the nightmare for us. Humans were not meant to live like that.

  • Mia_
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I thought that this thread that I started was dead, but I stumbled upon it today and didn't realize that people had still been posting on it. So thanks, everyone, for sharing your experiences. I can relate with everyone here, since I've lived in different types of condos over the years with both terrific neighbors and inconsiderate, loud, obnoxious neighbors.

    I am still living in the same house as when I started this thread. I can't believe how time flies, and I had intentions of moving out years ago. Where did the time go?

    That loud next door neighbor who I wrote about moved out and in moved the real neighbors from hell...BLASTING music with very foul language ("I'm going to F*** you up/ blow your brains out" type of lyrics), being kept awake by loud argument with cursing late at night between the couple, no parental supervision of the kids, a slew of police at their house, etc. That family is gone now and we finally have nice, normal neighbors in that house.

    I definitely still want to get rid of this house (I never wanted to live here), yet I am very grateful that the neighborhood is so much better now. Anyway, after re-reading all the posts here, and based on my living in condos in the past, I know for sure that I'm NOT fond of sharing walls, because you never know what you might get for neighbors. A condo is more suitable for me in terms of not having to maintain the outside of the home, but not suitable in terms of the possible issues that may occur with living very close to neighbors and sharing walls and the yard.

    Now lots more communities are popping up where the homes (ranch homes/townhouses) have no shared walls and are separated by a small slice of land (we didn't have these types of homes years ago), though the condo fees tend to be pretty high. My concern is that there could be neighbors that often party on their deck next door and that hang around in the yard right outside my windows, and there's nothing a person can do about it; I'm used to having my own piece of land. It only takes one bad neighbor to make you regret your purchase. I'd love to hear from people who live in these homes (patio homes) that don't have shared walls and have a small bit of land that separates them from their neighbors' homes. This type of housing is an option that I would consider, as it's much better than sharing walls, however, I'm not thrilled with the high condo fees. Plus, these homes currently cost as much as many single-family houses here that have up to .75 acres of land!

    I am so sincerely sorry for any of you who are going through a bad neighbor situation. It may happen to almost anyone at any time (I've had my fair share), and it can be a difficult situation to resolve, especially with neighbors who think that they should be able to make whatever noise they want to and that the homeowners' association rules do not apply to them.

  • Mia_
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    wegotout55: Wow, what a bad situation you were in with that woman. She doesn't sound like she had all of her marbles. It's amazing that one person can cause all that trouble.

    When I lived above neighbors in a condo, the noise and problems only got worse after I tried to talk with them about their loud entertaining late at night, constant stomping, loud music, and slamming doors. First they denied that the noise came from their unit and said that the noises were coming from a store up the street (did they think I was a fool?), and then they finally admitted that they love to entertain. The condo association refused to uphold the rules, so I decided to move out. I'm so relieved that I've not had to hear another slamming door or stomping feet since then. Personally, I could never be inconsiderate of other neighbors.

    Well, I'm glad you finally have your peace back!

  • sydcase
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Iâve had experience living in both a condo and townhouse.

    1) Condo ��"lived there for 8.5 years: had neighbors above me and on both sides of me. It was an older building and the walls were not that soundproof. Lived there for 6 yrs relatively peacefully until new neighbors above me moved in. She broke the condo rules by pouring water from her balcony which ended up down on my balcony. When I reported them, claimed it was an accident. Then she started getting up at 6 a.m. to go to the gym. The problem was with all of the stomping it woke me up and I couldnât go back to sleep. Even a guest complained to me about how âhard they stomped.â When I asked if they (couple) could they walk softly, she proceeded to come home every evening and open and close her balcony door repeatedly [for no reason] and then banged on her countertop [for no reason] other than to provoke me into an argument. I never complained to her or management again because I was at a disadvantage by living below them. I knew it was time to go and a yr later I moved out. They told my renter that I made their lives miserable despite the fact that they violated the condo rules and lived above me and disturbed my peace and tranquility. Another problem was sharing the washer/dryer on the floor. One woman had the habit of leaving her clothes in the washer/dryer. Yes, I gave her enough time to come get them after the cycles stop, and then I took them out because I too needed to do my laundry. Again, it was not the structure itself but the neighbors.

    2) Townhouse- lived there currently 2013-for 13.5 years: all of TH have garages, but neighbors used their garages for storage of JUNK and occupied all of the visitor/guest parking spaces. (a) I complained numerous times, but the HOA did not strictly enforce it. It was IMPOSSIBLE to invite anyone to my home because there was no place for them to park. At 9 a.m. the lot cleared out and by 5:30pm the lot was full and on the weekends/holidays it was worse. Even though each resident had been given one visitorâs past, many residents somehow lied and obtained at least 2 additional passes so they could park their personal vehicles in the guest lot. Two of my neighbors parked 3 cars in the lot EVERY DAY. I reported them frequently but without strict enforcement it fell on deaf ears. (b) Children playing in the street in front of my home: there were play areas in the community for kids to play. Instead the parents turned them out in the street to play which happened to be at the dead end in front of my house. I was labeled a âmean personâ but sobeit because I had landscaping lights broken, flowers trampled, garage door banged up, kids leaving clothing and bikes and toys in my tiny yard. From March-October the street was a playground and the kids refused to move out of the street. When the older kids didnât think it was cool to hang out with the younger kids, there were always younger kids old enough to take their place ��" it was continuous. (c) By far the absolute worst thing were both of my neighbors playing music or installed surround sound. 1) Neighbor 1 played his stereo late in the evening and it was so loud even in the morning when he was preparing for work, I could hear the beat/vibrations while in the shower. I spoke to him at least 5 times about it. He was always apologetic, but it still happened on occasion. Then in 2012 his roommate tried out new speakers. Again I complained directly to him. 2) Neighbor 2 installed surround sound in October 2011. Instead of putting it in their basement they put it in their living room which meant the sound came through the wall into my living room and kitchen. It was so loud it sounded like a herd of elephants were coming through the wall, or a freight train or an airplane. I spoke to them 3 times about it, always apologetic, but each and every day I came home, I could hear the music, a video game or a movie. Seems like all they did when not in school/work was watch movies. It was so loud the last time I went over at 10 p.m. to ask them to turn it down, you could hear it outside of their front door, and the speakers were on the 2nd level and I was at the street level. I was so stressed and angry every day for over a year. I rarely had any peace unless I was home while they were at work or school but as soon as they came home, I ran to my bedroom to block out the NOISE. I realized once again it was time for me to go. I could no longer live there because of the NOISE. It was a blessing to me that one day in January 2013 I came home and they had a for sale sign in their yard, long story short they just moved in April 2013, after having endured their NOISE for 1.5 yrs it was truly a blessing. So you ask me why leave? Iâm still going to move and am putting my house on the market next month because no matter whom my new neighbors ar, Iâve had enough. Iâve been in my TH for over 13 years now and Iâm tired of peopleâs bad habits and disrespect. In all honesty, while Iâm not perfect I do not have surround sound and do not play loud music, donât have any kids and try to treat others the way I want to be treated. Iâve had enough. I want to be able to invite guests to my house and have them park in my driveway or on the street, I want to be able to read a book, sleep or watch a movie and not hear what my neighbors are doing next door. I feel trapped and need space. I need peace. While no neighborhood is perfect, Iâve outgrown mine. I am not happy living there. Itâs time to move and I canât do it fast enough.

    My advice to anyone moving into a condo or townhouse: BEWARE. You cannot pick your neighbors and while you may live peacefully for a while, donât get too comfortable because all it takes is for the NEIGHBOR FROM HELL to move in and life as you know it will forever change. PROBLEMS HAPPEN ANYWHERE ANYTIME in condos, townhouses, single family homes. It all depends on the type of people you have as neighbors and what you can tolerate. I know people who live in $600K single family homes and their neighbors throw parties, park numerous cars all over the street, neglect their lawns etc. Iâve learned that unless I can buy my own private island, there are some things I will have to endure, but everyone has their breaking point and I reached mine twice.

  • susanjf_gw
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    don't count on a retirement place being quiet...fil lives in a house and you can hear the tv because he's deaf...

    we had an upper unit over the garage, and the common wall was also the hall and a row of closets so buffered noise...

  • sloedjinn
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We love our condo! Not only do we save a ton of money versus what the house we used to own was costing us, our neighbors are nicer too.

    The neighbors to the north of our previous house were a nightmare. They were hoarders with two teenage sons that came and went at all hours with much slamming of car doors. The hoarding wasn't just in the house and visible through the windows but escaped into their yard. There was trash and broken furniture all over the yard. They never mowed and the grass was usually knee high. Also full of weeds like deadly nightshade which crept over to my yard. They had these weed trees in the narrow space between their garage and our fence that were slowly knocking down our fence and overhanging our garage. I had to pay several hundred dollars just to have them trimmed enough to be safe, but wasn't allowed to cut them down.

    Now we share a staircase with five neat, clean, quiet single people. All units but one are owner occupied, which I think makes a difference. All the units in our tier are 1br, so we only have single people or couples without children. There used to be another married couple, but they moved out when they had a baby. There are no issues with parking. We have a deeded space which we own (it even has it's own real estate PIN). If someone else is parked in it, I have a towing number I'm supposed to call. This has never been an issue once though.

    In short, condo living has been so much better than house living.

  • ilmbg
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh no! I have lived in two condos- one was built 1986 in Phoenix-wonderful! Could not hear anything!
    Now I have a 1985 condo that has a unit above me. I cannot tell you the many times I have been flooded-the water/ice cube connection was not installed right by Home Depot.... The bathtub drain was not lined up properly-I came down from the house up north to find the ceiling over my tub, IN the tub....their tub water went into my tub. I was thankful my drain did not fill with drywall and make my tub overflow. That happened three times. She gets her drunken uncle to ,fix' things.....
    The washer/dryer is in the bathroom. Every time new people leave, the faucets drip into my wall. People just moved out yesterday....sigh.
    The owner refuses to repair anything....
    I hear the dripping and cannot sleep... I worry about water damage...
    I have had more sex via listening to whomever lives there... You shoulda heard her first time after she had their first baby......yippee!(only a L&D nurse might understand this one!
    EVERYTHING is heard-the kids uneven legs on the high chair, little feet running, his alarm clock. He doesn't get up when it goes off! Now I am awake, and I just went to bed a couple hours ago. (I am nocturnal, they/diurnal! Some of the renters have never learned to pick up their feet while walking.....thud...thud...thud!
    These last people were great-they just did not know how flimsy the ceiling is!
    I am quiet by nature, except when dealing with idiot technical support people-who must live on another planet and are programmed to hear everything you say as the opposite of what you said...sigh...
    Anyway-cannot WAIT TO GET OUT OF HERE!

  • nosoccermom
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It depends on the building and the sound proofing that was used. Certainly something to find out before you buy/rent.

  • Rudebekia
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I hope that anyone considering buying a condo reads this thread thoroughly. As a single person with a busy lifestyle, the idea of condo living attracts me quite a bit. I lived in a beautiful 100 year old condo building for 8 years. It was hell, no different than living in an apartment. The noise level was one thing; the spying and nosy neighbors; the mean neighbors; the cooking smells; the headaches of having to go to HOA meetings with irresponsible and unreasonable people, etc. etc. Please beware. Yes, it can be wonderful, but it can change in a moment with new neighbors. It is never really your own home.

  • Mia_
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi all. I didn't realize that my thread would still be active after all these years.

    Several years ago, the condos I've lived in and visited had wall-to-wall carpeting. The only rooms that weren't carpeted were the kitchens and bathrooms. In recent years, I've noticed that the trend is hardwood floors throughout (bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms). And even if it's a condo with a unit above or below, they still have hardwood floors rather than wall-to-wall carpeting or area rugs. So I guess there's no rule here that 80% of the floor must be covered in carpeting/area rugs. I'm not sure about other areas of the country. Of course, hardwood floors are beautiful, though they aren't exactly quiet.

    I once lived in a second floor condo with a unit below me, and even with wall-to-wall carpeting, you could still hear the heavy walkers, stomping feet, running, things dropping. I'm surprised that the condo associations here don't require the use of area rugs on hardwood floors to muffle noises, or that they even allow hardwood floors in units that are above/below other units.

    So this is something to think about and to inquire about with a condo association before buying, if it concerns you. And condo associations can change their rules in the future.

  • Ben14
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We have been pretty lucky with our next door neighbors. One is louder than the other, so we made sure that the bed in that room is far away from the shared wall. On the other side, no problems at all. It can be hit and miss.

  • lorried58
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I live in a townhome in Colorado, bought it as a hud repo, got a great buy. My first neighbors were awesome. Very quiet and respectful. Then the women who owned it sold it to a mother and her 9 year old son. What a nitemare, the child didn't know how to walk. He ran, jumped, skipping stairs. It sounded like a volcano erupting in my living room. I talked to them nicely about the noise. The mother made nothing but excuses. I kept talking to them nicely, and then I blew up at them. I couldn't enjoy my own home. Thank god they sold their townhome, or I thought, Ray moved in and he was older, kids grown. I thought he would be mature and respectful. Lol, sure, he has his 20 something kid move in and has his friends over all the time and now Ray is acting like a 16 year old too. Life is just grand....

    I'm having someone come over to tell me about Quiet Rock and Green glue. If that doesn't work, I'm selling, better than going to prison, if you know what I mean. I will never live in a townhome or deal with an HOA again. You just never know who your neighbor might be. It's not worth it. The great thing is I paid 60 grand for it 5.5 years ago and got the stimulus. It's worth 135 now.

    And I will be very careful what I buy next.

  • pdg777
    8 years ago

    Wow what a difference 10 years makes! I posted up above about living in a country "ghetto". Our HOA went G and started implementing watches and off-duty cops to patrol the area. The cops implemented "neighborhood officers" that could be called for problem residences. Long story short, our entire complex has been cleaned up, all the little wanna-be thugs have grown up and moved elsewhere, massive foreclosures followed by base reassignments and influx of military has completed turned this 'hood around. In the meantime, my shared-wall neighbors remain great. I had one renter on one side who was deaf in one ear and kept his surround massively high despite my complaints. He moved a couple of years ago and a young lady bought the house some years ago. She is out of town a lot for her job. I have been blessed with the renters on the other side of me who although young, are glued to their headsets 24/7 and never play loud music. I never hear a peep out of them.

  • Lee
    8 years ago

    Our townhome was built in the late 1960s, early 1970s, and the noise is almost non existent. Our complex is primarily made up of small families, young professionals (mid 20s-mid 30s) and retired couples. we fall in the small families lot (one newborn).

    It's a very quiet, pet friendly community. The only noise that I hear is the type of noise I expect to hear in the day: people talking while walking their dogs, coming home from work, working in their gardens, neighbors visiting, etc. But I swear there is a cut off, once 5pm hits, the noise ceases.

    I also live right by the pool, and the noise carries from there, but people seem to call it a day pretty early. By 6pm, everyone is out of the pool, with the occasional straggler.

    It's a little more expensive, but it's worth it for the location.

  • linlema
    6 years ago

    Have you checked with your county code department? There are usually a set of standards regarding noise for the entire county and if nothing is specific in your condo rules, than the county code will be the standard. Where I live we can make normal noise until 11:00 pm. My neighbor down stairs send the county code person to my house because of excessive noise and they informed them that we could indeed make noise (even vacuum) until 11:00 p.m. daily. She is still trying to get me to vacuum only in the daytime (I work) and that is not possible all the time for me. She is not happy but I am within my rights. Also, a noise is only a nuisance while it is happening. There is also a time limit for a noise to go on before it becomes a nuisance and you can call the police. If a dog barks continually for hours, this is a nuisance and you can call the police. I don't recall the time allow for a dog to bark because I don't have a dog, but it is something worth looking into.

    I have lived in a condo for 15 years and have endures many neighbors who make a lot of noise, including playing a piano, 2 deaf children (they don't know how much noise they make) and barking dogs and people arguing. The best you can do is know your rights because you have a right to quiet enjoyment of your home. That means not being harassed by your neighbors.

    I wish you luck.

  • dreamladybtb
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I live in a condo which I have owned 33 years. It was built as a rental building and now that it is old, there are problems with the floor and vibration. I cannot get the HOA or management to agree, consequently I cannot resolve the problem I have with the guy who I share a bedroom wall with. I am pretty sure it is his surround sound speakers causing the vibration that affects my bed and sleep. I have been dealing with this for five years. I can’t get any resolution, as he has his landlord and HOA thinking he is Mr. Sweet guy. He gets home from work at 3:00 and turns things on and it starts. He does not sleep at night which is even stranger, so I hear him off and on walking (on a bad floor) and the floor pops. It has caused me anxiety, lack of sleep, and high blood pressure. I am retired, and I cannot afford to sell and move, as I live in CA and I have looked and never found anything as nice as my place which I have updated over the years. I was told if I can prove the vibration they will look more into it. How do you do that when they need to sleep in your bed or on your sofa, which is affected also. I would never buy in a older building if I were you. Make sure it has concrete walls and floors, as the new condos in our town do, and you do not have vibration problems. If anyone has a way to prove vibration that doesn’t cost you $2000, let me know. The glass of water thing does not work for this type of vibration.

  • marmonk88
    6 years ago

    It seems like you have to be very careful of noise issues when buying a condo. Concrete floors don't help either. I live in the bottom unit of a 2 story building and it supposedly has concrete, but I can hear the squeaky tap walking of the person above me despite the fact that the living room and bedrooms have carpeting. Plus I can hear every drawer, every cabinet door bang, every entry door banging. I can hear every time the toilet is flushed or the shower/bath water is running or the sink water is on. I can hear the heat pump unit turn on and off. I would never imagined I would be able to hear so much - maybe I was extraordinarily lucky, but I didn't experience this level of noise in 40 years of renting before buying this condo.

  • SC
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I am so happy to have come across this post! I purchased a condo 4 years ago and am now selling it. I live on the 3rd floor (1 bedroom) however the unit below me is considered one unit and is a 2 floor unit (2 bedrooms). My downstairs neighbor and I started off rocky and since then she's been constantly complaining about excessive noise from my unit. Stomping, slamming doors, using appliances etc in the late hours of the night. It's come to the point where she's escalating to the HOA BOD- however i'm also now selling my unit because I purchased a single family home in a new development and in order to save and put myself out of the misery of living with my neighbor will just live elsewhere while waiting for the new house to be built.

    If I had known what I know now I would not have opted to purchase a condo on the 3rd floor (in a 4 floor building).

    1) Living on the 3rd floor I received noise complaints from my neighbor below me while I also had to endure noise from the person above me. (Being the understanding neighbor that I was I never once complained to the person above me since they have children so I opted for earplugs instead). Mind you I live in a one bedroom and so I never purposely tried to create noise but some things are inevitable like having to walk to my bathroom. I refuse to tiptoe in my own house but I assure you i'm not stomping i'm walking regularly!

    2) As many people mentioned you cannot pick your neighbors! I'm going to be honest my community is filled with some downright nasty neighbors. If it's not me dealing with my crazy neighbor there's constantly complaints and random letters on our community corkboard. People complaining about how people park, how people throw away trash, how long the water is shut off for construction. People literally use a notice as a form of communication and will write on it and form conversations on that one piece of paper.

    3) Your condo might look/seem nice now but you never know what it'll look like 20-30 years from now. Although i've only lived in my place for 4 years I have to say that I was shocked at the lack of care for the building. My boyfriend got stuck in the elevator once for an hour with a cancer patient in our building on a very hot day and there is barely any ventilation in the elevator and no air conditioning! I later learned from a neighbor that our elevator is the wrong type of elevator for our building. Additionally I think the materials used for our building are just downright poor. I can hear the person in the unit above me snoring. I can't tell the person above me to stop snoring, but that's just to show how it could be a mix of bad materials.

    At least with an apartment you know it's a somewhat temporary situation.. if you hate it you could potentially move elsewhere with not much risk. Honestly before purchasing my single family home I even considered a townhouse as an upgrade to my condo. I figured that sharing sidewalls with individuals is a lot less worse than sharing floors/ceilings which I think are just terrible and usually amplify noise. At the end of the day i'm happy to be moving away from this situation and moving to a place where I can run the dishwasher and use the overnight cycle at night without someone berating me! It came to the point where my neighbor's requests were aggressive and rude and made me feel uncomfortable living in my own condo.

  • dreamladybtb
    5 years ago

    Has anyone reading this site been renting in a 55+ apartment. If so, what has been your experience regarding noise? Thanks.

  • HU-804434865
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    If you're noise sensitive, I would HIGHLY recommend never buying a condo or apartment, unless you can determine beforehand that it has good soundproofing.

    When I was looking at my current condo/residence, quiet people lived upstairs and the unit below was empty. I am on the middle floor of a multi-story building.

    Then the unit below was sold and gutted. Sawing sounds and loud disruptive sounds from sliding balcony doors. Same problem now with loud banging from upstairs unit (new residents) whenever the sliding door is used. Lots of thuds, thumps, drop sounds, occasional knocks throughout the day. I am using a headset right now to try and muffle some of the noise. Sliding door starts at 6AM plus and can be heard through ear plugs.

    If I had known this daily din would be part of "normal condo living," I never would have bought a condo and would have looked for a small SFH from the start.

    The condo conveniences are simply not worth the time and stress that noise will take away from your life............when you're being sold a condo, you're never told that it's never really YOUR home. It's only as nice/quiet as your surrounding neighbors or "condo roommates" and their daily routine.

    If you value your peace and quiet, for the love of God stay away from shared walls/ceilings/floors. My partner and I are looking for a SFH and hopefully we will succeed and be out of this mess in a bit!

  • John Lee
    3 years ago

    Can you hear your neighbors in a room in upstairs wooden condo, like it sounds if someone is in the room making the noise with the door closed but no one is present in your unit. does the noise travel throughout the whole building? Can someone or expert answer this?

  • jplee3
    3 years ago

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IRB0sxw-YU - basically



    I concur though, avoid living at least where there's someone above you. I feel conflicted posting/promoting this thread because eventually we are moving out and will need to rent then sell our current place, and this thread will definitely not help a potential tenant/buyer follow-through if they were to read it!!!

  • HU-368787822
    3 years ago

    I have a neighbor on the lower floor who makes me so irritable. She makes her balcony her kitchen and mine is her chimney. She always cook a foul smell food and even drying some fish on her balcony...She is so inconsiderate...

  • Mar Bica
    3 years ago

    We moved to an upper unit condo late last year from a SFH and it was one of the bad decisions we’ve ever made. We fell in love with it because it was so close to work, to the universities and the downtown area. The seller also assured us that the slab of cement used on the floor was really thick and won’t be able to hear the neighbors underneath us who happens to be renters while the rest of the tenants are all owners but everything was a lie. We were not allowed to walk, talk or even do anything because the people below us would not stop pounding on their ceiling which is our floor every time we even do anything.while we are all quiet upstair, they’re just partying it up and we couldn’t even do anythin. during the lockdown due to the pandemic was worse. the whole family was so bored that all they did was smoke cigarettes and pot day and night, slamming their doors, husband and wife would not stop fighting..... and worse they have a charcoal grill that they placed in their balcony so when they grill which is everyday, all the smoke filled our vents and entered our unit. We have nowhere to go, can’t check in the hotel because of the lockdown so we were stuck! As soon as the lockdown was over, we placed our condo for sale, grabbed the first offer and lost a lot of money just to keep our sanity. From there, we moved to a TH, which is another nightmare but not as bad as the condo. Our TH has our neighbor‘s garage attached to our unit which is underneath our kitchen. The flooring of the kitchen is all wood so when my neighbors open their garage, it makes a very loud, garage noise and our whole unit starts shaking. It so happened that our community is a non smoking one and what are the chances that we got neighbors who smokes all sorts of things! So when the management gave them warnings about their smoking, they moved to the garage to smoke and because of the pandemic, I had to work from home and my neighbors seems to be unemployed because they are all just home smoking in their garage all day and night! I’m talking about 3-5 smokers at home so imagine how many times they open and close the garage to air it out. I’m so done and over anything that’s attached. I would never recommend a condo or TH that’s attached, not worth the headache and if you love your life, you want to live in peace and these 2 is nowhere close to being peaceful.

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