[Advice] What can I do about my condo from hell

unbelievable81 · Post by **unbelievable81** » Sun, 26 Jul 2015 2:41 pm

Dear all,

Background:
Relatively new to Singapore but unfortunately I'm having a terrible experience living here. You can never/rarely relax in my condo with excessively load noises 24/7, like rock concert levels. From alarm systems going off for days, to discos/karaoke, to non-residents entering the condo, etc, etc. I've met with my landlord to discuss the multiple issues but all she said is that she will pray for me. I'm stuck in this condo until May 2016.

Issue 1:
The people that live in the same unit above me have a young child, about 4-5 years old. It is the only child I can hear, even though there are plenty of children living here. I firmly believe the child has ADHD or Autism. The child sings the same song for the last few weeks for hours every day (I try to work from home some days). This song only goes on for 5 seconds and keeps repeating. Even with my doors closed and TV on, this noise is louder than the TV! I'm sure you can understand that this gets on my nerves, like 11:00pm at night when you want to sleep or 7:00am on a weekend morning when you just want a little extra sleep.
I have tried to approach the parents but they don't respond, hide and don't answer the door. I asked a security guard about this and one of them was kind enough to talk with the maid. The maid knows something is seriously wrong with the child but doesn't know what is wrong and the parents have never indicated anything to the maid.
The child also does other things like hitting what sounds like a metal bucket, the parents yell at the child when they leave for work but clearly the child is lost in his own world, etc. Plus the parents keep the doors and windows open 24/7.
How can I approach this issue so I can live with some peace in quite in my unit please? Plus clearly this child needs some professional care for his condition....all the parents can do is yell "HEY!".

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Sun, 26 Jul 2015 5:06 pm

Welcome to Singapore. It's part and parcel to every compact living environment in Singapore, be it private condo or HDB (although to be fair, HDBs are worse). If you don't have mass construction next door, then consider yourself luckly and count your blessings. You can move but as sure as Dog made little green apples, the place next door will be demolished for redevelopment and you will have 3 years of incessant construction noise to accompany the caterwauling of the neighbours. At the moment, count your blessings. It could be worse.

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Sun, 26 Jul 2015 6:42 pm

Does the condo have a management office?
On my last posting in SG I had issues with 1) neighbour to one side with two dogs that barked all day 2) neighbour to another side with a child who was probably practicing a piece of music for a grade exam or similar - The Entertainer, played badly, over and over for several hours a day for a few months. Their front door and windows all open, so I could hear it throughout my home. I work from home... this can be one of the down-sides, it can get to feel like 'Chinese water torture'... you sometimes feel like going and ... breaking something!
I also politely, calmly, etc visited both neighbours and made them aware of the disturbance from their units. Despite being aware how this can be taken as provocation, hence my sensitive and friendly manner... sure enough they both took it as akin to a declaration of war, and the disturbance did not change one bit. So, next stop was to report it to the condo management office, who were more responsive than I'd expected. They asked me to contact them when the disturbances were happening, this is I did (on a few occasions). They then went and physically witnessed it themselves. In fact I called them, plus backed it up with an e-mail that created an audit trail. Within a week both issues ceased, which was great. Of course I had two neighbours who liked me less that they already had, but that was irrelevant to me. They were also then very hot on reporting anything in my unit (me having a calm adult dinner party, with maybe a couple of friends in the early evening chatting on the balcony - really stupid stuff like that): But nothing that merited action or a change of behaviour, the neighbours were just being kiasu-ar$ey.

Do a forum search on 'noise neighbours' and similar. You'll see it discussed before, and if it can be addressed how people have gone about it. Noise from neighbours is easier to deal with than nearby construction IME. If you have a Management Office getting them to fight your 'war' for you is the best/simplest way to go. If so, going in calm/vvv polite but acting desperate for their help, might be the right kind of approach...

martincymru · Post by **martincymru** » Sun, 26 Jul 2015 10:25 pm

I live in an old property.
No noise, thick walls.
I knew beforehand, I was aware.
I am very noise sensitive.
Most people [like you] are lambs to the slaughter.
Seriously, look for another unit.

unbelievable81 · Post by **unbelievable81** » Fri, 22 Jan 2016 1:31 pm

Thanks all for your input!
Quick update, all the condo management would is post a notice on the board about noise after 10pm. It has been better with no major disturbances.
I've just been waiting my time so I can end my condo contract and leave.
Every other expat I talk to has never had this amount of issues. They always come out with the story "well one night". Mine is well every night.

PNGMK · Post by **PNGMK** » Sat, 23 Jan 2016 1:13 pm

Noise level is something new condo renters don't think about until they move int... watch for:

1. Road noise being masked by music played by the agent in the condo's you view.
2. Aircon noise - run them and check.
3. Visit in the evening as well. Open windows, tell the agent to shut his bloody cake hole and sit for 15 mins while your ears adjust.
4. Wander around the condo - are the neighbouring units showing signs of overcrowding (dozens of shoes and crap on the landing)?
5. Water features. These are used by shitty sinky architects to hide shitty design flaws and also to mask noise. If one is near your window you willl hear it. Now the question is; how long is it on for and what do you prefer? For it on or off? For example if it is used to mask noise from a market that closes at 10pm and the water goes off then - not a problem. If however it is used to mask road noise then the water feature may be running 24 hr a day - can you cope with that?
6. Wall construction.....glass.... angled to the road....

rajagainstthemachine · Post by **rajagainstthemachine** » Wed, 27 Jan 2016 4:35 am

the lady below our house was drilling into a wall at 3 am lol, she'd drill for 2 mins from 3:00 am to 3:02 and this would continue for 2 weeks. gave us several sleepless nights, bumped into her at the staircase and she apologized for the sounds coming and we haven't heard anything since then.
But then she has a penchant for screaming at her maid.
i'll be on the phone on a call and the person on the other end would hear a " bring my freak handbag you stupid cheebai asshole"
great lol

rajagainstthemachine · Post by **rajagainstthemachine** » Wed, 27 Jan 2016 4:43 am

another place i stayed in I swear there were shapeshifters who lived there, they had 3 static dogs and 2 dynamic dogs and an assortment of strangers who would visit that place, for a long time i had a hard time identifying who actually lived there versus the in and out people.
they had a cute maid there though

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Wed, 27 Jan 2016 5:10 am

Sounds like the place, previously, 2 floors below me in London. Pretty quickly figured it out. The black haired blue-eyed Brazilian was a hooker, along with her big-titted nubile stable-mates, who in their yard/garden only seemed to wear knickers - strange indeed.

But it's really not fun when you're living in an adjacent place right above this kind of stuff. It's your home, what they're doing is illegal, and it draws in all kinds of scum and at all hours. Sex is the least of it, all the baggage can come along-side it too, drugs, crime, police being called at all hours etc...

sgstrait · Post by **sgstrait** » Wed, 27 Jan 2016 12:42 pm

It's those who drill and renovate to then let out the unit that irk me the most. For them I'd sue them for nuisance. Once they see how much money they could lose in legal fees alone they will stop. Noisy families though is part and parcel of living here I am afraid.

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