I just moved to marina del rey, california with my fiance and puppy. We opted for a higher end complex for the location, amenities and security. All seemed to be fine the first 12 hours....management helpful and the building residents friendly. Unfortunately that did not last. Our neighbour across the corridor is apparently an unstable woman who needs medication to be functional. We were not made aware of this and she seemed fine when we moved in...a small warning about our puppy (she seemed worried about her cat...and another note..our puppy is a friendly retriever!!) but nothing serious...this being a dog friendly building we were not concerned.
We woke up our first morning and shortly after we heard yelling and foul language. We moved closer to the door, nervously, we thought perhaps a domestic disturbance. We saw through our peep hole it was the woman across the hall. She was yelling obscenities and threats. Some threats seemed directed towards a possibly occupied elevator; unfortunately we could not see the elevator. After she yelled down the hall briefly, then she heard our puppy bark in response to her screaming...and from there on in all threats were directed to our door….she was daring us to come out and saying that she knew we were behind the door… There were death threats made to us and our dog. she threatened to cut off our arms and legs and dared us to walk by so she could kill the "FU**ING DOG" and throw is off the balcony. We were in shock. some of what she said made no sense...some racist remarks as she seemed to think I was arab and part of a cult who steals Korean babies….it doesn't make sense but this is what she said (not that it is relevant but we are scottish/irish decent).
We waited without the building security phone number ...there were no numbers we could find in our room...when she seemed quieter we decided to head out and find help. she still had her door open and as soon as we stepped in to the corridor she came out of her apartment in to the hall with a giant butcher knife. she did not make a physical advance, though her presence in the hall 2 feet away with an very large butcher knife was a physical threat especially when 5 minuted earlier she spoke of dismembering us via knife. We left as quickly as possible to the managers office and told them the situation. they "seemed surprised" but a group quickly responded and when they saw her state called a sheriff. We were advised to leave the premises, and happily fled so they could deal with the incident. they took our number so the sheriff could ring and get a statement...they didnt phone and eventually (45 mins – 1 hr) we returned. upon arrival we found out the sheriff was a childhood friend of the unstable neighbour's family and everyone seemed aware that she needed meds...family was called in. The only response taken besides a courtesy call to the family was asking the clearly unstable woman to remain in her apartment....if felt like this was not the first time this had happened., considering they knew exactly who to call and that she in fact, needed meds
we had to return to our apartment, not even a security escort offered, as we had no place to go...can you imagine how frightened we were? no one ever asked for information so we called the sheriffs dept. of our own volition...we were clear about how disturbed we were by the complete lack of communication with us by both management and law enforcement.
later that day officers returned to check on the unstable neighbour (note: they were in bullet proof vests). We approached them and were able to glean more information. There had been 3 past incidents when the sheriffs dept. had to be called in to help. Management claims ignorance...could this be possible? I doubt it as I was offered an upgrade...though not until I made them aware of my knowledge I had gained from the law officer. I visited the office to get make them aware of my recent discovery…The Manager was squirming in his seat as I spoke calmly. we were offered a new apartment...but will still need to pay extra money as it is an upgrade...they did offer a deal, but still a low ball. Moving expenses may very well be ours…least of our worries.
Nothing seems right to me.
What should we do with management and the neighbour?
Should we proceed with legal action? Who is responsible for the tenant?
We welcome any and all advice.
We woke up our first morning and shortly after we heard yelling and foul language. We moved closer to the door, nervously, we thought perhaps a domestic disturbance. We saw through our peep hole it was the woman across the hall. She was yelling obscenities and threats. Some threats seemed directed towards a possibly occupied elevator; unfortunately we could not see the elevator. After she yelled down the hall briefly, then she heard our puppy bark in response to her screaming...and from there on in all threats were directed to our door….she was daring us to come out and saying that she knew we were behind the door… There were death threats made to us and our dog. she threatened to cut off our arms and legs and dared us to walk by so she could kill the "FU**ING DOG" and throw is off the balcony. We were in shock. some of what she said made no sense...some racist remarks as she seemed to think I was arab and part of a cult who steals Korean babies….it doesn't make sense but this is what she said (not that it is relevant but we are scottish/irish decent).
We waited without the building security phone number ...there were no numbers we could find in our room...when she seemed quieter we decided to head out and find help. she still had her door open and as soon as we stepped in to the corridor she came out of her apartment in to the hall with a giant butcher knife. she did not make a physical advance, though her presence in the hall 2 feet away with an very large butcher knife was a physical threat especially when 5 minuted earlier she spoke of dismembering us via knife. We left as quickly as possible to the managers office and told them the situation. they "seemed surprised" but a group quickly responded and when they saw her state called a sheriff. We were advised to leave the premises, and happily fled so they could deal with the incident. they took our number so the sheriff could ring and get a statement...they didnt phone and eventually (45 mins – 1 hr) we returned. upon arrival we found out the sheriff was a childhood friend of the unstable neighbour's family and everyone seemed aware that she needed meds...family was called in. The only response taken besides a courtesy call to the family was asking the clearly unstable woman to remain in her apartment....if felt like this was not the first time this had happened., considering they knew exactly who to call and that she in fact, needed meds
we had to return to our apartment, not even a security escort offered, as we had no place to go...can you imagine how frightened we were? no one ever asked for information so we called the sheriffs dept. of our own volition...we were clear about how disturbed we were by the complete lack of communication with us by both management and law enforcement.
later that day officers returned to check on the unstable neighbour (note: they were in bullet proof vests). We approached them and were able to glean more information. There had been 3 past incidents when the sheriffs dept. had to be called in to help. Management claims ignorance...could this be possible? I doubt it as I was offered an upgrade...though not until I made them aware of my knowledge I had gained from the law officer. I visited the office to get make them aware of my recent discovery…The Manager was squirming in his seat as I spoke calmly. we were offered a new apartment...but will still need to pay extra money as it is an upgrade...they did offer a deal, but still a low ball. Moving expenses may very well be ours…least of our worries.
Nothing seems right to me.
What should we do with management and the neighbour?
Should we proceed with legal action? Who is responsible for the tenant?
We welcome any and all advice.
