I have lived in my 3rd floor apartment (no one above me) for nearly 16 years. Up until 3 years ago, I had the same elderly lady underneath me. The only complaint I had was when her daughter would bring the grandchildren over and they would run and jump and stomp, which was ghastly. The woman passed away 3 years ago, and we are now on the second set of tenants underneath. These guys are from another country and there are at least three living there (in a one bedroom apartment) with people coming and going all the time.

The noise levels have gone off the charts at times and I have called both the property manager and the landlord to complain. And to be fair, they have talked to these guys each time. Things get better for a bit, then they slide again, I complain again, etc. You see the pattern.

The latest insult is that they have surround sound. However, there has been one unidentifiable sound that I've been hearing -- like a repetitive beep -- which has really been driving me insane. It's not a constant roar like that from surround sound. I think I have figured out it's from their computer and they are IMing. Each time they get or receive a message, the computer has a sound effect. (This tells you what kind of insulation we have.) Unfortunately, this is almost directly underneath my bed.

I don't want to be complaining about every little thing, and I realize that some noise is to be expected in apartment living. But what to do if this one noise drives you insane? They don't speak much English and actually, I'm somewhat intimidated at approaching them, since I'm sure they know I've complained about them. In fact, when they've had wild parties, I've been afraid to call the police for fear of retaliation. This past Saturday night, they started playing their stereo at 11 PM. I swear they do it just to irritate me. I should have called the police, but I say "oh I'm awake anyhow" but where do I draw the line? And how much IS too much?

Any suggestions? I don't want to move to another rental. My next move is going to be to something I buy.