*Really* need help on a housing/commercial building permit issue

[acehistr8]

In the interest of saving myself the typing, I am just going to copy what I sent to the county board. Summary, I moved into a new apartment recently and there is all night construction going on 4 floors below me. When I talked to one of the workers at 230am, he told me the city has allowed him to work through the night. Not that all the city names will mean anything to most of you, just wanted to get some general information if people out there are in the know on this type of thing.

Anyone out there familiar with commercial codes? Does this smell?

Email:
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On Sunday September 15th, I moved into a 2BR apartment at the Residences at Market Common. These apartments are located in Clarendon, above the Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrell shopping center. My rent is currently $2605 per month. When I moved in, I was given no indication the building was under construction. But every night since then, I have heard intense drillng and banging throughout the night, completely preventing me from sleeping. Sound travels easily through a building at 2am when you are only 4 floors above a massive contruction site. Last night I got so sick of it, I got up to find out what was going on.

Down on the 2nd floor, I found a dozen or so construction workers building the Bertuccis in the middle of the night. The vans said Clover PLumbing, there were also some other vans parked there that looked to be contruction type vehicles. Guy tells me they have a special permit from the city allowing them to work throughout the night. I tell him, yeah but even in an occupied building with 30-40 apartments occupied right now? People cant sleep! He tells me hey take it up with the city its not my problem. Is it really that important to get a damn pizza joint up and running quicker at the expense of residents sleeping?

So my problem is that instead of moving to Vienna, I chose to stay in Arlington and this is a very big problem right now for me and I imagine anyone else living in the building. The Rental Office says they are "looking into it".

I would like to speak to someone about this issue. I would like to find out when it was decided it was OK to give an all night construction permit to a company to build in an occupied building.

Please feel free to contact me at any time or email me.

Thanks.

 

[BahamaMama]

Re: *Really* need help on a housing/commercial building permit issue

I moved into a 2BR apartment at the Residences at Market Common. These apartments are located in Clarendon, above the Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrell shopping center. My rent is currently $2605 per month.

sorry, no idea as to laws at your end of the country, but you have officially made me ILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i rent out the downstairs of my house, which is a full apartment with fireplace (2 downstairs bedrooms) and i charge $600 a month which includes EVERYTHING........all utilities (including phone line) satellite TV, trash pick up, and even internet access right now....LOL.......gosh does an extra 2000 a month sound nice....what a cost of living difference!!!!

 

[SixFive]

Re: *Really* need help on a housing/commercial building permit issue

My rent is currently $2605 per month.
Thanks.

I have a 2700 sq ft house here, and my 15 year mortgage payment INCLUDING taxes and insurance is only $1050 a month. Also, I don't have to dodge bulletts everday Sorry, I can't help u with your problem, but I'm just apalled at that rent.

 

[BahamaMama]

amazing the difference between the northeast and the south and upper midwest, eh, sixfive??

 

[MadJack]

wow! a 20 year mortgage for 300,000 @ 7% (which is high) would be less than 2400 and you'd get a huge tax break too.

ouch!

plus, you have to listen to that noice all night long? there MUST be something you can do but i don't know what. sorry.

 

[THE KOD]

ace

I doubt that the construction workers have the proper certificate to work at night. I would call the police every night they disturbed me and encourage other neighbors to also. When the police arrive have them get the cerificate from the construction ppl. No permit and the police will make them stop and you can get back to sleep.

Its more likely that is the only time they have to do that job and he had to tell you something.


Scott-Atlanta

 

[skulldog]

ace, i've bee a real estate broker for 16 yrs and it kills me to see you paying that kind of jack for rent. There are numerous of mortgages that require little or no money down and your payment would be less than rent.

Anyone that can afford that kind of rent, should own a place of their own.

As far as the noise goes, that should be a form of disturbing the peace, i would file a complaint with your landlord if that doesn't work, then go to the police and if that doesn't work, then go to the newspapers.

The irs must love you every april 15th


gl ace

 

[acehistr8]

* The IRS doesnt love me as most years I max out my 401k and usually end up with a refund.

* Yes I should buy a place but no it wont be in the DC area. $500K in this area will buy you a nice townhouse. In Southern NH or Northern MA that kind of scratch will buy you 10+ acres and a 4,000 sqft house. In Southern Maine or inland further in NH, that kind of money will buy 30-40 acres. Thats where I grew up and my dad is still in Real Estate there. My girlfriend went to law school in Cambridge, so eventually we are going to buy a place somewhere between Boston and Portsmouth. Not that it makes a difference but our place is 1200sq ft with an additional 500 sqft terrace overlooking a park and the city monuments. We are a block from the Metro(subway) and there are a lot of nice things about this area. Can you compare it to what someone is paying for a mortgage in the Midwest or a rural area? Of course not.

I called the police last night at 12:01. They must have come, but the noise started up again at 4am. I called them again. I also called the construction company, told them I have a copy of their permit, the ear of the zoning comissioner and more information than apparently he does. The commissioner told me further violations will result in fines or him behing shut down.

I am not going to happy hour tonight just to stay home until 12:01 again. This company has become my new "project" in life.

 

[RAZ]

That is a little less than the Boston area for apartments with a view and that much square footage. I own a couple buildings in Beantown and build in the North Shore and in So. N.H., Windham, Atkinson specifically. $400k will get you about 2200-2400 sq. ft in Windham on an undersized lot (1 acre), Atkinson is much more expensive, $450k for the same, Ma. is much higher than N.H. especially in the more desirable communities, Andover, Newburyport, and the Greater Boston area. Night work requires a special permit in most states, especially as it applies to the noise factor. Mass. is the most expensive state in terms of real estate pricing in the residential market, followed by California. Good Luck
with the noise problem, shouldn't be much to rectify the situation, and enjoy the views!!

Raz

 

[BahamaMama]

Can you compare it to what someone is paying for a mortgage in the Midwest or a rural area? Of course not.

sure you can make the comparison, and chances are everything would equal out percentage wise when speaking wages. guessing wages around here are about 1/4 of what they are there, just as they were back in the mid 80's ...... let's use fast food as a comparison. Here, they start at 8.00 per hour, guessing in your area it's at LEAST 20.00, and probably more.

 

[AR182]

Ace,

Do the other people in the building feel the same way you do about the noise ? It doesn't sound right that these workers can work at these off hours.There is power in numbers so if other tenants feel the same way that you do,you should have a petition signed stating yor complaint.You should send this petition along with a letter to either the building manager or the landlord witha note that copies are being sent to the attorney general.Don't know if the ag can help but I have found that if you throw in threats about the ag,results tend to happen.

Good Luck.

 

[AR182]

BahamaMama,

I hope you don't mind me asking you how you came upon the monthly rent you charge your tenants? I also do rentals & am always interested about how people from other parts of the country set up rental fees on their property.

Out here a 2 bedroom ap't. in a housing community,which is less than an ap't. in a house, was $650/mo. in 1994.Presently it must be in the $800 price range.

As you said it is amazing how the prices are different in the various parts of the country.