The Collins Apartments in Huntsville, Alabama

I am a software engineer who works from home often so my living space must be free of noise and distraction.  I also have a secret clearance. I must choose living situations where I assume I will be living for a long time.  One of the qualities used for consideration in granting a clearance to an individual is his stability and consistency of living situation as well as the impression that the applicant makes on the people that live around him.      

• moving a lot
• changing phone numbers often
• changing jobs often
• problems with neighbors
• even numerous complaints to apartment management could be evidence of a disgruntled tenant 

All of these are important considerations when choosing a place to live. I try to ask enough questions and do enough research to feel that the following conditions are met:

1. Based on my asking current tenants' opinions, this is a place where I can see myself living long-term.
2. Those conversations usually dictate whether there is trust, respect, and communication among neighbors.
3. The apartment management and staff are professional and at least give the first impression that they are proactive and responsive when it comes to tenant needs.
4. The apartment will be peaceful enough that I can work from home without interruption

I moved from the Paddock Club Apartments to the Collins Apartments in April 2021. I moved because my complaints and phone calls about my upstairs neibhbors were literally being ignored.  There were two sets of upstairs neighbors.  The first was a family of five with three teenagers. They were apologetically aware they were noisy after my knocking on their door asking them to keep it quiet. But the second set of neighbors consisted of a married couple with two very, young children who were always jumping on the floor. That was somewhat understandable. However, they also had a large breed dog that would get excited, dance on the floor, and cause my aluminum light fixture to shake. It would awaken me every morning. During COVID, it was impossible to work from home. After my asking them nicely to control the noise and after many unreturned phone calls and voice mails to the front office, I knocked on the neigbors door and warned them I would call the police if they were not able to keep their dog and kids quiet. The following day the apartment manager left a note on my door asking me not to engage with them again.

I explained this to Chance when I submitted my application for the Collins apartments. She told me that between the hours of 10pm and 7am, noise complaints could be reported to the police department. I never envisioned a circumstance where that would be necessary, but the fact that some type of noise policy was being communicated convinced me that I was making the right move.

There were several other observations and assumptions I had made. The Collins was a new complex. It was likely to include the type of modern structural enhancements that would absorb or prevent the type of noise transmission I had experienced at Paddock Club Apartments which was an older apartment community. I also calculated that the only people able to afford the Collins' rent would be successful types, very aware of the importance of peace and quiet.

There were three separate clauses in the lease agreement that assured me I was making the right choice.

You are responsible for the animal’s actions at all times. You agree to abide by these rules: • The animal must not disturb the neighbors or other residents, regardless of whether the animal is inside or outside the dwelling...

If you, your guest, or any occupant violates any rule or provision of this Animal Addendum (based upon our judgment) and we give you written notice, you must remove the animal from the premises within the time period specified in our notice. We also have all other rights and remedies set forth in the Lease Contract, including damages and eviction to the extent allowed by law.

You must immediately and permanently remove the animal from the premises if we receive a reasonable complaint from a neighbor or other resident or if we, in our sole discretion, determine that the animal has disturbed neighbors or other residents.

The second set of neighbors moved into the apartment above me around June, 2022. I was recovering from a trip to the emergency room one night when I heard hammering on a weeknight at 11:00 pm. I had to take my cane and walk over to tell me neighbor he was preventing me from getting rest. He was in his garage putting together furniture and had been working all night. He seemed to be a very decent person and soon stopped.

Around September, I noticed there was a lot of barking coming from the apartment. Apparently, he had started taking care of his fiance’s dog as well as his. At times, there even sounded like there were three dogs. Listen to the clarity and volume of sound that can be heard from inside my apartment. 

The timeline of events happened loosely as follows:

1. It was the second week of recovery from hernia surgery for me and rest was important. He left home one Saturday night and the dogs barked for at least two hours non-stop. I got up from the bed with a cane and placed a post-it not on his door notifying him that his dogs’ constant barking was disturbing the peace. The barking did not stop and there was no follow-up from management.
2. I went online to notify management through the portal but for some reason could not find the chat option. I instead called the front desk and reported the problem to a seemingly receptive and concerned representative who told me she would give the information to the manager and even asked if I would like a status update. Pleased, I answered in the affirmative. The barking did not stop and there was no follow-up from management.
3. The dogs were now barking everyday all day. I started randomly recording them for thirty minutes or so at a time. They were barking through my video-conference calls for work. I logged a complaint through the portal and reminded them I had not received any type of communication about the first complaint. The barking did not stop and there was no follow-up from management.
4. The first week of January, I walked to the front office to play a recording of the dogs barking. It was a new staff. Neither Chance nor Halle were in the front office. (Actually, a weather induced power-outage had also rendered the magnetic card readers on the doors inoperable). I played the tape for a Caucasian female who was headed from the mail hallway back into the front office section of the building. She asked for clarification on the noisy apartment and said that she would handle it. The barking did not stop and there was no follow-up from management.

The Collins apartments breached the aforementioned clause of the Animal Addendum. Due to their failure to act:

1. There were disruptions in my work caused by the noise
2. I was unable to hold work meetings making it difficult for me to provide the type of work product expected by my company
3. The short amount of time at the Collins will certainly reflect poorly on my living stability for my next security clearance adjudication

It is not unfair to ask that I be paid back all rents paid from the first week in October, when I left a note on the door of my neighbor complaining of the noise October, through the end of my tenancy with the complex. That will cover the consequences of my having to move. I also ask for my full deposit due to the breach of contract.