When I found myself needing a new home last summer, I decided on a condo rather than a house.
At 55, I knew I didn’t want to be tackling home and yard maintenance on top of my job and parenting duties. I also hoped to find a community of neighbors in similar life stages – divorcees, empty nesters, small families, etc.
And, I figured a community pool of our own would help sweeten this big lifestyle change for my teenage daughter.
When I found my Lewis Center condo, it was love at first sight for both my daughter and I. It’s a lovely ranch home in a serene setting with tons of nature and peaceful vibes.
The interior of our condo even has several unique architectural touches that remind me of my beloved former home in The Shores.
Buying a home solo for the first time was not without its challenges, but I persevered. In August 2025, this little condo became our home sweet home!
While I loved our home itself from day one, I was a little disappointed at first that our neighbors didn’t seem as friendly as I had hoped they would be. Thankfully, over time, we’ve befriended a few of our neighbors. One woman in particular has become a truly special friend to Z, our dogs and me.
But unfortunately, we’ve also experienced a particularly unkind form of neighbor harassment from our upstairs neighbors, and it’s been distressing enough at times to make me actually regret buying this beautiful home.
Before moving to a condo, I had of course considered that my daughter and I would have to learn to live at a slightly lower volume. Moving from a three-story home to one with adjacent neighbors means we can’t crank our music quite as loud as we once could! But that’s a sacrifice we were more than willing to make.
Unfortunately, as anyone with teens (especially teen daughters!) knows, there can still be loud moments in teen parenting. Once in a while, we argue – and occasionally, Z gets mad enough to yell pretty loudly. As a result, we got a noise complaint within our first several months – and two more early this year about loud yelling and dogs barking.
One of the most upsetting aspects of these noise complaints is that the complaining neighbor never once tried to address it with us or have a conversation about things. Instead, they went right to the HOA to lodge a formal complaint.
From the very first complaint, I knew immediately who had made it: our upstairs neighbors. Although we park right next to each other every day, these two women never look my way, make eye contact or wave hello in return when I say hello or good morning to them. Instead, they ignore me and look away – and they’ve doing this ever since the day we moved in.
Now, I’m not denying that Z and I can be loud at times. I wish it were not the case; it’s something I take very seriously, and we’re working on it.
But the unfriendliness, unkindness and complete lack of empathy we’ve seen from these upstairs neighbors is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I’m literally starting to worry that they’re actually evil.
After the first complaint, I hand-wrote a very kind apology letter, including my phone number and email. I implored them to call, text or come say hi so that I could both apologize in person and learn how we can be quieter and better neighbors. For example, is it louder in the evenings or in certain rooms of their condo? I was eager to reconcile so that life could be more peaceful for both our households.
Unfortunately, just as these neighbors ignore my every “hello” and “good morning,” they also disregarded my letter. They continued to file noise complaints against us, resulting in a hearing for me with our condo board and a $50 fine. Fortunately, I was allowed to speak to the board on behalf of Z and I. Although it didn’t change the outcome, I’m still glad I was able to explain our side and share about the ongoing rudeness and unkindness of our upstairs neighbors.
I wish I could say it has gotten better. The other day, while Z was crying in her room and I was trying to help her get calmed down, one of these adult women yelled right into Z’s window, “Shut the f*#$ up, I’m sick of f@%$ing hearing it.” This is not only inappropriate language with which to address a distraught child, but also completely cruel and lacking in human decency.
Please send help. The situation is desperate and dire, and I have tried everything I can think of to be kind and befriend the women upstairs. If anyone has suggestions for how to reconcile with abusive, evil neighbors – I’m all ears.
