Living In Harmony: Dealing With Dreadful
Neighbors
Author: Sheila Webster-Heard

Having bad neighbors is unavoidable. This, regrettably, is
universal and it stretches across all racial ethnicities. From
the nicest suburbs to the shabbiest areas of the city, the
chance that you will have an annoying person living in close
proximity to you is very high. The fact that neighbors
sometimes can't get along is a common people problem and you'd
better know how to handle people; if not, you may very well be
on your way to the big house. Let's say you worked hard all day
and have to come home to the latest pimp movie soundtrack
pulsating from your ceiling; you may not be able to keep
yourself from charging toward that upstairs apartment, round
house kicking the door down and bashing that surround sound
system in with a baseball bat. There are alternatives, you
know. Check out a list of my tips that just might keep you from
obtaining your new, pretty cell block number.

KNOW WHOM YOU'LL BE RENTING FROM

1. Before renting out an apartment, always check out the rental
agency or landlord you'll be renting from. Get online and do
some research. Online, there are a few apartment rating
websites and if you must, (and trust me, you must) talk to
people who already live there. A majority of the time, it's
simple. Bad management does even worse business. There's always
a vacancy because no one wants to live there. In my opinion, one
of the best things you can do when apartment hunting, is get a
referral from someone else, preferably a friend. Okay, so you
don't have any friends; again, check out the place as
thoroughly as possible before you make a decision that can
aggravate you for the entire length of your lease.

MOVE WITH CAUTION. THINK BEFORE ACTING

2. If you fell to your knees in praise when you saw the
apartment, moved in and didn't research your landlord, more
power to you. Your neighbors might be wonderful. That's great!
However, if you moved in and now your neighbors have become
your worst nightmare, the seemingly easy way to handle things
would be to go to them and kindly ask them to turn the music
down, but be wary about doing this. Why, because it rarely
works. Sure, you might have a good neighbor who didn't know
they were disturbing you. In that case, you knock on the door
and ask them to turn their TV down. If they apologize and turn
it down, your problem is solved and life goes on. But, if
you're like a ton of us who has experienced the person who
knows they are disturbing the peace and they really don't care,
your best bet would be to not knock on their door because it
will enrage them. More than likely, the music is going to play
louder and longer and you're going to be livid.

My suggestion is to document the time and the dates of every
disturbance. Then e-mail your landlord every time there is
commotion. The reason I say e-mail your landlord rather than
call is because your email is proof you asked the landlord to
resolve this issue. I mean, it is their job isn't it? In the
long run, it will really help to print and save all of you and
your landlord's cyber communication because watch this:

DO SAVE DOCUMENTATION

3. If your landlord responds, "I already contacted your
neighbor and you all should be able to work it out amongst
yourselves," you may need all of that documentation to help get
you out of your lease. If you're like every other person who has
ever called a Tenants Association or organizations just like it,
you may have contacted your landlord on many occasions about the
situation. Your landlord is about cashing rent checks and they
may not put out a rent paying tenant who is causing a ruckus
regardless of what your lease says about 'quiet enjoyment'.

I'm even willing to bet your landlord is sick of you and is now
labeling you as the 'troublemaker'. So don't think for one
minute if you break your lease and move, they won't still sue
you for the money owed on the remainder of the lease and you
don't want that. Here's why:

LOOK INTO BUYING OR RENTING TO OWN A HOUSE

4. You may want to concentrate on getting your credit in order.
There is nothing worse, and I speak from experience, than
wanting to make a major purchase like a car or a home and not
being able to because of a blemish on your credit. Recognize
early in the game that apartment living is not for you if you
have a problem with the sound of a herd of cattle stampeding
over you. Put yourself in the position financially and credit
wise, so when you're fed-up and ready to leave apartments
behind completely, you can make that move quickly.

MOVE ONTO BRIGHTER HORIZONS

5. Learn to let go of your place if you're unhappy. Stop going
tit for tat with your neighbors and stop calling your landlord.
If you're miserable, move. No apartment is worth the energy it
takes to complain all the time. To make matters worse, if you
start to complain too much, everything that you're fighting
against, you will start to mirror. If you're not careful,
ultimately, you will become the dreadful neighbor.

HELP OUT MANKIND. REVIEW YOUR APARTMENT

www.apartmentreviews.net
www.apartmentratings.com


About The Author: Sheila Webster-Heard is a freelance writer
and published author who was born and raised in Chicago, IL.
She is also a published poet.
http://www.sheilawebster-heard.com