A couple who had moved into a new apartment a couple of hours earlier got an unpleasant surprise after returning from a celebratory dinner.
Frankie and his partner are excited to be living in their new apartment. It ticked all the boxes for them. “It’s a newer development that’s close to where we were moving from, right by the ocean, with all the amenities we could have wanted,” he told Newsweek.
“We also loved that there was a clear focus on it being a community and family oriented property with it being dog friendly, an outdoor pool, huge shared lawn spaces with shared BBQ’s and firepits.”
However, an unexpected development, just hours after they moved in, has given Frankie pause for thought.
Disputes with neighbors, unfortunately, happen. A survey by the legal services information website FindLaw.com found that around four in 10 U.S. adults have been embroiled in an argument with a neighbor.
Frankie’s situation is more unique than most, though, because it would appear his neighbor has taken offense with him and his girlfriend almost immediately.
All of which is bizarre given that, to Frankie’s way of thinking, the day had gone smoothly. “We began moving small things in around 2pm,” Frankie wrote in a post shared to Reddit under the handle u/Practical_Ad_2427.
“We would do a trip at a time from car to apartment without leaving any boxes, containers or anything in hallways and common areas. From 2pm – 4pm we ran into two people on the elevator and both were super nice, welcomed us to the building and wished us good luck with the move.”
The only other thing they moved in was their mattress at about 6:30 p.m., and Frankie says they “didn’t see anyone in the elevator or halls” when they did so. Yet, when they returned from dinner together a few hours later, they found an angry letter taped to their door.
This note was what compelled Frankie to share his story on social media.
“We never thought we’d run into something like this,” he said. “It’s day 1 for you and you have already interrupted all of your neighbors’ lives,” the note begins. “Your disrespectful slamming doors, yelling, stomping etc. will not be tolerated!”
The letter, which is written in all caps, goes on to warn that “noise will not be tolerated!”
“Should this continue there will be noise violation warnings,” the note states. “We’ve paid very good money to purchase these homes to get away from ignorant, disrespectful rents!” The note ends with a single, underlined word: “enough!”
Reddit/Practical_Ad_2427
Frankie said both he and his girlfriend were “shocked” at the letter’s content.
“Everyone we had met so far was super friendly,” he said. “Most welcomed us to the building, said not to worry about the noise when we apologized for any we were making, and some even offered to lend us a hand.”
Frankie has no idea who penned the letter, noting in the Reddit post that they did see “a woman, probably in her late 60s, on her balcony 5 units down staring right into our unit.”
He’s not out to name and shame, though, just saddened.
“We’ve both lived in apartments for many years (I grew up in one) and know how disruptive noise can be. So when we saw and read that letter our hearts sank. I felt sick,” he said. “I hated the idea that we had angered someone this much that they felt compelled to write such a nasty, hateful letter.”
He did, however, refute the claims made in the letter.
“There was no excessive stomping, any slamming doors and certainly no ‘screaming,'” Frankie said. “We were both just confused and hurt and felt like we had made the biggest mistake by moving in.”
Thankfully, Frankie and his partner have received reassurances from both their landlord and the property managers that they have done nothing wrong. It’s now been several days, and they have received no further notes.
In the meantime, Frankie has found solace in the responses of many on Reddit who expressed sympathy with their situation.
“I needed to hear some unbiased opinions just to make sure I wasn’t crazy and this letter was, in fact, completely unhinged,” he said. At the time of writing, his post, which included the letter, has been upvoted 58,000 times.
Frankie is now focusing on the future, and the good news is that the apartment is “starting to feel like a home.”
“I truly hope that that person gets the help they need, because we aren’t going anywhere,” he said.
