Annoying, disgusting neighbor

[Rael007]

I have lived in the same pleasant and well-run condo in Bangkok for nearly five years.  The owner of my unit loves me because I always pay my rent on time, I take good care of the place, and I rarely complain or even ask her to pay for repairs unless it's absolutely necessary.  I'm friendly with the people who work in the admin offices, too.  Last November, a new tenant moved into the unit next to me (judging from the conversations I can hear through the walls, he is Chinese), and from DAY ONE, he makes THE MOST DISGUSTING NOISES all day long.  Seriously, it's like living next to a hospital tuberculosis ward, and you can hear it throughout the entire floor.  Hacking, spitting, looging up phlegm - all extremely loudly and unabashedly.  This has been going on, day after day, morning and night, since November last year.  At first, I thought he might be sick, so I didn't say anything.  Then it went on for a week, constantly.  Then it went on for a month, then three months, then six, ALL THE TIME!  Literally all day whenever he's home.  I have complained to my owner and to the offices in my building, but they say there is nothing they can do because the tenant has a one-year lease.  So...I have been (somewhat) patiently biding my time, hoping he moves out at the end of October.  However, there seems to be nothing I can do to prevent the owner of his unit from renewing his lease.  As long as the tenant has the money and wishes to stay, the owner is all for that (easier to have a guaranteed tenant renew, than to try to find a new one, or leave it empty with no income at all).  I have talked, as politely as possible, with the neighbor...and the condo management has spoken with him, as well.  I've tried battling him with my own disgusting noises.  I've pounded on the wall.  And it did no good.  He's still as nauseating as ever.

 

I've been here five years; why should I have to find a new place to live because a new tenant moved in next door who's a total pig?!   I find it hard to believe I'm the only one annoyed, although I might be the only one actually complaining about it.  I'm sure the owner of my unit enjoys the steady income I have given her.  I've told her I'm ready to move out and it's directly because of the annoying, disgusting neighbor in the unit next door.  So if she loses my rental income, she can blame the other owner.  (figured I might get somewhere with that strategy)  Even the folks in the condo office say they don't want to see me go; I've been here a long time. 

 

I appreciate you letting me vent.  Do you have any advice for how to deal with such a neighbor who refuses to leave, refuses to acknowledge there's a problem, and refuses to recognize what a disgusting human being he is?

[Puchaiyank]

An omen of things to come for Thailand?   

 

Buy yourself some earplugs...buy a headset for your cell phone...

 

He likely has an allergic reaction to Bangkok air pollution...not going to go away...maybe you "should" consider moving...peace and quiet are worth the discomfort of making the transition...good luck!

[stubuzz]

I doubt the owner will kick him out because of you. Time to move on.

[Sandy Freckle]

Sorry to hear your tale. All I can suggest is you invest in a really good set of noise cancelling bluetooth headphones..., at least when you go to sleep or want to relax you'll have a chance. Really it's best to start looking and plan your move.
Not meaning to be spiteful or nasty but maybe you'll get lucky and where he's staying is in fact 'gods waiting room' ?
Apart from that..., I haven't heard the term 'looging'  in such a long time !

Edited August 7, 2019 by Sandy Freckle

[RotBenz8888]

Lucky you haven't bought that unit. This illustrates well why it's better to rent, if you get a shit neighbor, just leave!

[BritManToo]

25 minutes ago, Rael007 said:

Do you have any advice for how to deal with such a neighbor

Move.

[totally thaied up]

Move - but rent the next Condo on a short term contract if possible so you can be sure you get the peace and quiet you want. I have one friend that lived next door to a pub that opened up and it was not worth the sanity lost over the displeasure he had. He coped the music and it was not nice.

 

If you think he is not moving on and it is doing your head in, just go. Plenty of places to rent in this Country and you might be able to upgrade to something nicer. Just be sure to check the place out properly for noise from roads, clubs, people living nearby.

[Kinnock]

Yes, move - and try an apartment building with a single owner so they have the authority to help with any issues.

 

And ideally one that only accepts tenants from civilised countries. 

[ukrules]

Loud music might help to drive him away.

[SteveK]

11 minutes ago, ukrules said:

Loud music might help to drive him away.

Exactly what I was thinking. Put some music on, not too loud, but loud enough to annoy him. Go out all day and preferably over night until he approaches you and try and agree a compromise. If you don't have a stereo, a constantly ringing alarm clock should do it. If it was me, I would play world of tanks all day with the volume up. The only issue with this tactic is that you are going to annoy more than just him.

Edited August 7, 2019 by SteveK

[georgegeorgia]

Wait...there are other solutions without moving.

 

you say you spoke to him ?

what did he say ?  Did you really have a conversation with him or just the Condo manager?

 

Does he look sick ?

if he is there all day it means his not working,he obviously has a illness of some sort ?

 

 

[Phuketshrew]

Buy a rooster. The constant crowing at all hours of the day and night and early mornings will surely p!$$ him off.

[Joe Mcseismic]

1 hour ago, Puchaiyank said:

An omen of things to come for Thailand?   

 

Buy yourself some earplugs...buy a headset for your cell phone...

 

He likely has an allergic reaction to Bangkok air pollution...not going to go away...maybe you "should" consider moving...peace and quiet are worth the discomfort of making the transition...good luck!

Nope. I worked on a ship with a Chinese crew and they all do it, usually spitting in a sink or, a bin. It's a cultural thing and one of the reasons I don't like uneducated mainland Chinese.

[SteveK]

9 minutes ago, Phuketshrew said:

Buy a rooster. The constant crowing at all hours of the day and night and early mornings will surely p!$$ him off.

Or buy one of those little plastic battery powered Mosques which go off several times per day. Tell him you're a Muslim, doubt there's much he could do about that.

[Hank Gunn]

I kind of like the loud stereo/music idea. But you have to play the right music. For example, in some cases Led Zeppelin might work; some freaky John McGlaughlin can also be quite intense. However, in this case, I think some classic Black Sabbath would fit the bill. More specifically, "Sweat Leaf". ????

 

 

[Tagged]

4 minutes ago, Hank Gunn said:

I kind of like the loud stereo/music idea. But you have to play the right music. For example, in some cases Led Zeppelin might work; some freaky John McGlaughlin can also be quite intense. However, in this case, I think some classic Black Sabbath would fit the bill. More specifically, "Sweat Leaf". ????

 

 

And the Dragons Dies,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

[Golden Triangle]

Trust me annoying neighbours aren't only found in condo units, I have a neighbour on one side who is a total bell end, he has the ugliest dog in the world that makes a really noise when it barks, a sort of cross between a bark, a whine and a whimper, oh and it has football eyes, one at home one away, his Mrs will sit out the back talking on her phone at top volume for the whole village to hear and boy does she ever have the most irritating grating voice I have ever heard, and when they actually speak to each other !! well I'm pretty sure that they are both hard of hearing because one and all can hear them talking about the most personal of details.

 

I have asked him to keep his noise down but it's like water off a ducks back.

 

The other idiot opposite, what can I say ? I could go on for ages, so now during the day if they make a noise I turn up the radio to drown them out, at night I have rechargeable Blue Tooth headphones for the TV.

 

I like the suggestion of putting the stereo up loud with the emphasis on the bass and turn the speakers to the wall and bugger off out for a few hours or overnight, do that a few times and he may get the hint. Good luck   

Edited August 7, 2019 by Golden Triangle

[Genmai]

The loud music idea is ok but you will inevitably annoy others which will come back on you. An even better idea would be to play things that piss off Chinese mainlanders specifically. Think Falun Gong lectures, Taiwanese independence speeches, Taiwanese traditional songs/opera, audiobooks in Chinese on government atrocities. If he’s hacking and coughing this loudly he’s definitely from the mainland and not Taiwan or Hong Kong. Nobody in their right mind would think that all that noise is coming from you so you’re in the clear. Either he leaves because other people complain of “his” loud Chinese opera crap or he gets the point and shuts up.

 

Also you could play some 10 hour long “Chinese spitting and coughing” compilation off YouTube at full volume at his wall. 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Genmai

[geronimo]

Go to the pharmacy and ask for a very large dose of tolerance. That should do the trick!

[faraday]

16 hours ago, Phuketshrew said:

Buy a rooster. The constant crowing at all hours of the day and night and early mornings will surely p!$$ him off.

Don't think Rooster's wife will be happy about that...

 

[Rael007]

I appreciate all the advice. I've thought about the loud music thing, but I don't want to annoy others on my floor.  I've thought about more underhanded things, as well, but I'm generally not the kind of person who will "stoop to others' levels".  Also, I don't want to get into a war with him over this.  Could end badly for me.

 

My major peeve is that I - and some of my other neighbors - have lived here in harmony for quite some time.  Then this new tenant moves in, instantly becomes a nuisance, and refuses to see how he's annoying those around him.  So now, the resident whose been here for five years (me) has to change his lifestyle (wearing Bluetooth headphones or simply moving) instead of the new resident, who is a disgusting pig, changing his.  It would be different if I moved in next to him

 

one commenter asked if I'd actually spoken with the neighbor.  Yes, once.  He did not speak much English, or at least feigned ignorance.  Same for when the condo management came up to speak with him.  From what they told me, he said he was sick.  BS - he is not sick every day - literally every day - for the last 9 months.  If so, he should be confined to the hospital as a health hazard or deported.   (There is a part of me who thinks he might have TB; if so, how do I report that?)

[OneMoreFarang]

I guess one problem is you waited for too long.

I have a new neighbor since maybe two months. In the first days there was some noise, I thought maybe a party, and I accepted it.

Then the shouting and screaming started - a young couple.

After the third day I called security. They came up and knocket at the door and then it was quiet.

Next day the screaming started again and I called security again - and it stopped.

Then I talked to my condo management and they told me they will send him a waring per letter (no idea what they will write).

Since then it's quiet.

If they scream again I will call the security again. I guess that will annoy them enough to a) don't scream anymore or b) scream somewhere in another apartment.

 

I guess in your situation it's more difficult. But if you know on his door and the other neighbors do the same then maybe as some stage he will rethink his behavior.

[richard_smith237]

In a place you enjoy living you have no tolerance of the disgusting noises coming from your neighbour... I wouldn’t either, you’ve been more patient than many would. 

 

Find out his visa status.... you may find yourself lucky with an overstayer or illegal worker. 

 

———

 

My Wife nearly did some business with a French lady who moved the goal posts on the business arrangement at the last minute. 

My Wife didn’t like the changing terms & pulled the plug. The French lady didn’t like this & threatened my wife with charges & started harassing her by phone & email. 

I contacted a ‘friend’ and discovered this lady was on a retirement visa and was working illegally. 

I’m happy to write that’s where it ended and she stopped harassing my Wife... fortunately for the French lady as I was prepared to take things a step further had she pressed the issue. I don’t think she ever knew how close she was to being arrested by immigration.

[Pilotman]

A good example of why I would never live in a condo again. I did live in one in Hong Kong.  The Ops experience would be normal there, where that kind of behaviour is carried on into all public places.    

[Pilotman]

23 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

Trust me annoying neighbours aren't only found in condo units, I have a neighbour on one side who is a total bell end, he has the ugliest dog in the world that makes a really noise when it barks, a sort of cross between a bark, a whine and a whimper, oh and it has football eyes, one at home one away, his Mrs will sit out the back talking on her phone at top volume for the whole village to hear and boy does she ever have the most irritating grating voice I have ever heard, and when they actually speak to each other !! well I'm pretty sure that they are both hard of hearing because one and all can hear them talking about the most personal of details.

 

I have asked him to keep his noise down but it's like water off a ducks back.

 

The other idiot opposite, what can I say ? I could go on for ages, so now during the day if they make a noise I turn up the radio to drown them out, at night I have rechargeable Blue Tooth headphones for the TV.

 

I like the suggestion of putting the stereo up loud with the emphasis on the bass and turn the speakers to the wall and bugger off out for a few hours or overnight, do that a few times and he may get the hint. Good luck   

get two bigger and more annoying dogs than theirs.  Then invest in two large speakers, one front of house, one at the back, both facing the neighbours house. Good pair of wax ear plugs, plus a headset, then set the speakers going at 2am.   Try 10 minutes as a first step, then increase in 10 minute increments. When all is resolved, sell the speakers and shoot the dogs. 

[daveAustin]

Tempting to do all sorts of things, for sure - few short blasts of an SDS drill against a piece of batten on adjoining wall in the small hours is right up there in payback factor. Short of bunging management handsomely to not renew his lease or hoping he doesn't, only sure way is to just move on. Trying to justify that you've been there a long time, etc, will achieve nowt but do your head in.

[White Christmas13]

On 8/7/2019 at 10:20 PM, Joe Mcseismic said:

Nope. I worked on a ship with a Chinese crew and they all do it, usually spitting in a sink or, a bin. It's a cultural thing and one of the reasons I don't like uneducated mainland Chinese.

well lucky picking your nose does not make any noise or you could not

live anywhere in Thailand

[observer90210]

Get a short-time Chinese hooker girlfriend and have loud sex every day

[sunnyboy2018]

On 8/7/2019 at 3:20 PM, Joe Mcseismic said:

Nope. I worked on a ship with a Chinese crew and they all do it, usually spitting in a sink or, a bin. It's a cultural thing and one of the reasons I don't like uneducated mainland Chinese.

They are getting rid of throat devils.

[sunnyboy2018]

7 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

Get a short-time Chinese hooker girlfriend and have loud sex every day

Where are the Chinese hookers in Thailand?